Florida Property Tax Basics

Florida property tax works differently from Texas, and the vocabulary is different too. Before comparing any numbers, it helps to know who does what and which of the three "values" on your paperwork is which.

Who does what

• The county property appraiser values every parcel each year as of January 1, administers exemptions, and does not set tax rates.
• Taxing authorities (county, school board, municipalities, special districts) set the tax rates — called millage rates — but do not value property.
• The tax collector mails tax bills and collects taxes; the bills arrive after the review process has closed.
• The Value Adjustment Board (VAB) is the county body that hears petitions disputing assessments and exemption denials.

The three values: just, assessed, taxable

This is where Florida most differs from Texas. Florida's chain has three steps, and the middle one does not exist in Texas:

1. Just value — the property appraiser's determination of your property's value as of January 1. Florida law lists the factors that go into it: present cash value, highest and best use, location, size, cost and replacement value, condition, income, and net sale proceeds.
2. Assessed value — just value after any assessment limitation applies. For homesteads this is the Save Our Homes limitation; for certain non-homestead residential property there is a separate 10% cap. In Texas, "assessed value" essentially means the appraised value — in Florida it means post-cap value, which is a different thing.
3. Taxable value — assessed value minus exemptions (for example, the homestead exemption). Millage rates are applied to this figure.

Worked example (illustrative)

Illustrative example with made-up round numbers — not a valuation, not your property, and not a prediction. Real figures depend on your property and your county.

1. Inputs: just value $400,000; last year's assessed value $330,000; the property has homestead exemption; your county's combined millage is 20 mills ($20 per $1,000 of taxable value, illustrative).
2. Step — the cap: 3% of $330,000 is $9,900, so the highest assessed value allowed this year (before considering the CPI leg of the rule) is $339,900. Assessed value stays below just value, so the cap is doing work.
3. Step — the exemption: the homestead exemption removes the first $25,000 of assessed value, plus up to another $25,000 of the value between $50,000 and $75,000 for non-school levies. Taxable value is $339,900 − $50,000 = $289,900 (for non-school levies).
4. Result: taxes (non-school) are computed on $289,900, not on the $400,000 just value — a gap of more than $110,000 created by the cap plus the exemption working together.

What this tells you: in Florida, a big difference between just value and assessed value usually means the Save Our Homes limitation has been accumulating for years — it is not, by itself, a sign of an error.

What it does not tell you: whether your just value is right (that is a market-value question), what the actual CPI leg of the cap was this year, or your final bill (rates are set later, and school levies are computed differently).

What this does not cover

County-specific procedures, deadlines for a specific county, or any property appraiser's local practices are not covered on this site. AssessCheck has no data connection to any Florida property appraiser.

Where to go next

• Save Our Homes and the caps — how the 3%/CPI limitation and the non-homestead 10% cap work.
• The TRIM notice explained — the annual notice that starts the review window.
• Filing a VAB petition — the process, deadlines, and requirements.
• Evidence for a VAB petition — what each kind of evidence can and cannot show.