Florida property taxes: how they work and why year one misleads

The math, in one line

The county property appraiser assigns an assessed value to the home. Any exemptions you qualify for are subtracted from that value, and the result is multiplied by the rate, which in the United States is expressed in thousandths and called millage. Each taxing authority, the county, the city, the school district and special districts, adds its share.

On a 350,000 dollar home in Lake, Polk or Osceola counties, the annual tax lands in the range of 3,500 to 5,250 dollars. If the community has a CDD, that assessment arrives inside the same bill and can add 1,000 to 3,000 dollars more per year.

The second-year jump, explained

This is the part I do not want anyone to find out late. Assessed value is frozen on January 1 of each year. If your home was finished in March, on the preceding January 1 what existed on that lot was dirt. The bill that arrives in November of that year is calculated on the value of the vacant lot.

The following year the appraiser records the completed home and the assessed value rises to the real figure. The bill can triple or more. It is not an error and not a tax increase: it is the first complete bill.

Example on a 350,000 dollar home in Central Florida, with figures as of November 2026. I always request the county's estimate for the year after purchase and hand it to you before the reservation, so the budget is built on the true number.

The homestead exemption rises sharply in 2027

Until now, anyone using the home as a primary residence could deduct 50,000 dollars from assessed value: the first 25,000 against all taxes, including school, and another 25,000 against non-school taxes.

On November 3, 2026, Florida voters approved Amendment 3, with about 62% of the vote. Per the approved text, the exemption against non-school taxes rises to 150,000 dollars in 2027 and to 250,000 dollars in 2028. The 2026 bills do not change: the measure takes effect starting January 1, 2027.

For anyone buying to live in the home, it is the most significant change in years. For anyone buying to rent, the news is more modest: the homestead exemption requires the home to be your primary residence, so an investment property does not qualify.

Amendment 3 passed according to unofficial results released on November 3, 2026. Some accounts also describe a reduction in the annual assessment cap for properties that are not a primary residence, from 10% to 5%, for non-school taxes. Before counting on the savings, confirm the amounts and how they apply with your county property appraiser.

The two caps that hold increases down

• Save Our Homes, for a primary residence. While the home carries the homestead exemption, assessed value cannot rise more than 3% per year, or the inflation index if that is lower. It is why a neighbor who bought fifteen years ago pays far less than you on an identical house.
• A 10% cap for everything else. Properties that are not a primary residence, such as rentals, second homes and land, have a 10% annual cap on non-school taxes. No application is needed, it applies automatically.
• Portability. If you sell your primary residence in Florida and buy another in the state, you can carry much of the accumulated Save Our Homes benefit to the new home. It must be claimed and has deadlines, so ask when you move.

One important caveat: the caps protect assessed value, not the rate. If the county raises the millage, the bill rises anyway. And when a home changes hands, the cap resets to market value at that moment.

The calendar worth keeping in your head

If you are a foreign owner renting the home out

Property tax is the same for every owner, wherever they live. What changes is the tax on rental income: a non-resident owner is subject to withholding on gross rent, unless they elect to report net income and file the corresponding annual return, which usually works out far better. That requires an ITIN.

And when you sell there is a federal withholding, FIRPTA, which is not an extra tax but an advance. I cover it in detail in the article on buying through an LLC and FIRPTA.

General market and legislative information current as of November 2026, for planning. Not tax or legal advice. Rates, exemptions and assessments are set by the county and the state, and your particular situation should be confirmed by an accountant licensed in the United States.