The Florida TRIM notice that arrives in your mailbox each August is a disclosure document, not a tax bill. TRIM stands for Truth in Millage, and the notice tells you three things: what the county property appraiser thinks your property is worth, which local governments plan to tax it and at what rates, and when and where you can object before any of it becomes final. Your actual bill does not come until November, and you have a short window after the notice arrives to challenge the value or speak at the budget hearings.
What the Notice Shows
The layout is set by Florida Statute 200.069, so every county’s notice contains the same elements.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 200069 – TRIM Notices and Truth-in-Taxation Disclosures Near the top you will see three values for your property:
- Market value is what a willing buyer would pay in a normal sale.
- Assessed value is market value after Florida’s annual assessment caps are applied.
- Taxable value is assessed value minus any exemptions you qualify for. This is the number your tax is actually calculated from.
Below the values, the notice lists every taxing authority that levies against your parcel: the county, the school board, the city if you are inside one, and any special districts such as water management. For each entity you see last year’s millage rate next to the rate being proposed for the coming year. The side-by-side format is the whole point of the TRIM Act: it forces each government to show you, line by line, who is raising your taxes.2Florida Department of Revenue. Truth in Millage (TRIM) The notice also prints the date, time, and location of each authority’s public hearing.
A millage rate is the tax per $1,000 of taxable value. If your taxable value is $200,000 and the combined millage is 18, your tax is $3,600.3Florida Department of Revenue. Homeowner Guide to Millage
Check Your Value and Your Exemptions First
Before worrying about millage rates, confirm the valuation side of the notice is right. The appraiser sets values as of January 1 each year. For residential property, the usual method is comparing recent sales of similar homes in your neighborhood. If those comparables sold for less than what the appraiser put on your parcel, you have grounds for a challenge.
Then check your assessment cap. If the property is your homestead, Save Our Homes limits your annual assessed-value increase to the lesser of 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index.4Florida Department of Revenue. Save Our Homes The cap starts the year after you first receive homestead exemption and runs with the property as long as you keep it. In a strong market the gap between your market value and your assessed value can grow large, and that gap is money you are not paying tax on.
If you moved recently, portability lets you carry up to $500,000 of accumulated Save Our Homes benefit to a new Florida homestead. You file Form DR-501T by March 1 after establishing the new homestead, and you have up to three tax years from leaving the old one to make the transfer.
Non-homestead property, including rentals, vacation homes, and commercial buildings, has its own cap: assessed value cannot rise more than 10 percent per year. The 10 percent cap does not apply to the school district portion of your taxes.
Now look at exemptions. Florida’s standard homestead exemption removes the first $25,000 of assessed value from all levies. A second exemption applies to assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000 for everything except school taxes; for 2026 it is worth up to $26,411 after the annual CPI adjustment.5Florida Department of Revenue. Additional Homestead Exemption Adjustment Additional exemptions exist for disabled veterans, lower-income seniors, surviving spouses, and first responders disabled in the line of duty. Each has its own application through the county property appraiser, and most must be filed by March 1. If an exemption you qualify for is not showing on the notice, that is the first problem to fix.
Read the Millage Side With the Rolled-Back Rate in Mind
The TRIM notice includes a figure called the rolled-back rate for each taxing authority. That is the millage that would raise the same total revenue as last year once you account for changes in the overall tax base. If countywide values rose 8 percent, the rolled-back rate drops to compensate.
Any proposed rate above the rolled-back rate counts as a tax increase under Florida law, even if the number on paper is lower than last year’s rate.6The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 200065 – Levy of Ad Valorem Taxes; Procedure for Fixing Millage This is the comparison that matters when you are deciding whether to speak up at a hearing.
Speak at the Public Hearings
Every taxing authority must hold two public hearings before adopting its final millage. The first covers the tentative budget and proposed rate, held 65 to 80 days after the appraiser certifies values, which usually puts it in September. The second finalizes the budget and rate within 15 days after the tentative one, following newspaper advertisement.6The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 200065 – Levy of Ad Valorem Taxes; Procedure for Fixing Millage
Hearings must start after 5 p.m. on weekdays and cannot fall on a Sunday. The county commission and school board get protected dates no other authority in the county can use. You can address elected officials directly about specific line items or the proposed rate itself. Boards do sometimes scale back their proposals when enough residents turn out. The exact dates and addresses are printed on your notice.
File a Value Adjustment Board Petition
If the assessed value looks wrong, you petition the county Value Adjustment Board using Form DR-486, available from the property appraiser or clerk of court.7Florida Department of Revenue. Form DR-486 – Petition to the Value Adjustment Board The form asks for the parcel identification number printed on your TRIM notice, a statement of what you are contesting, and a signature.
The deadlines are short. You have 25 days from the date the TRIM notice was mailed to challenge the valuation, and 30 days to challenge a denied exemption.8Justia. Florida Code 194011 – Assessment Notice; Petition to Value Adjustment Board Miss the date and you lose the right to contest that year’s assessment through the board. Write the deadline on your calendar the day the envelope arrives.
The filing fee is up to $50 per parcel. That is an increase from the previous $15 cap, in effect since July 1, 2025, and it is non-refundable.9Florida Department of Revenue. PTO BUL 25-01 Increased Filing Fee for Petitions Filed with the Value Adjustment Board Most counties take petitions online; mailing to the clerk of court also works.
What Evidence Wins
A petition without evidence rarely moves the number. The strongest exhibits are recent closed sales of comparable homes, similar in size, age, condition, and location, that sold for less than the appraiser’s figure. Listing printouts, closing statements, or MLS data give the magistrate something concrete to weigh.
If the property has physical problems that reduce its value, document them: photographs of a failing roof, contractor estimates for foundation repair, engineering reports on flood damage. Each one needs a dollar figure attached. For commercial property, income and expense statements showing lower rent than the appraiser assumed go straight at the valuation model.
What Happens at the VAB Hearing
After the clerk processes your petition, you get a hearing date. A special magistrate runs the hearing. For real-property valuation disputes the magistrate must be a state-certified real estate appraiser with at least five years of experience; for exemption disputes, a Florida Bar member with at least five years of ad valorem tax experience.10The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 194035 – Special Magistrates; Powers and Duties Magistrates cannot work for any taxing authority in the county.
You present your evidence first, then the appraiser’s office presents theirs. Each side can question the other. The magistrate recommends a decision, and the full Value Adjustment Board votes on it. You receive the result by mail. If the board lowers your assessed value, the reduction flows into that year’s tax bill.
If the board rules against you, you can still take the case to circuit court under Florida Statute 194.171, generally with an attorney.11The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 194036 – Appeals You must pay the uncontested portion of the taxes first, and the action must be filed within 60 days of the VAB’s certified decision. Circuit court is uncommon for ordinary homestead disputes and more typical for high-value commercial parcels where the legal cost makes sense.
Your Actual Tax Bill and the November Discount
After the final hearings, the tax collector mails bills in November.12Florida Department of Revenue. Tax Collector Property Tax Calendar The amount may differ slightly from what the TRIM notice projected, because rates can shift during the hearings.
Florida gives an early-payment discount that shrinks each month: 4 percent in November, 3 percent in December, 2 percent in January, 1 percent in February, and nothing after March 31, when the full amount is due. On a $4,000 bill, paying in November saves $160. If your taxes are escrowed through your mortgage, the lender normally pays in November to capture the full discount for you.