Overview of Florida Taxes
At a 0.80% average effective property tax rate, property taxes in Florida rank below the national average, which currently stands at 0.99%. Median annual property tax bills in the Sunshine State follow suit, as its $2,338 mark is over $400 cheaper than the U.S. median.
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To calculate the exact amount of property tax you will owe requires your property's assessed value and the property tax rates based on your property's address. Please note that we can only estimate your property tax based on median property taxes in your area. There are typically multiple rates in a given area, because your state, county, local schools and emergency responders each receive funding partly through these taxes. In our calculator, we take your home value and multiply that by your county's effective property tax rate. This is equal to the median property tax paid as a percentage of the median home value in your county.
Florida Property Taxes
Property taxes in Florida come in a bit below national averages. The state’s average effective property tax rate is 0.80%, which is lower than the U.S. average (0.99%). The typical homeowner in Florida pays $2,338 annually in property taxes, although that amount varies greatly between counties.
There are some laws that limit the taxes due on owner-occupied homes in Florida. For example, the Save Our Homes assessment limitation caps increases in assessments for property taxes at 3% annually.
Property taxes are just one of the many things to consider when purchasing a home. If you're looking to refinance an old mortgage or get a new one, you’ll want to look at SmartAsset’s Florida mortgage guide for information on current mortgage rates in the Sunshine State and more.
A financial advisor can help you understand how homeownership fits into your overall financial goals. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
How Do Florida Property Taxes Work?
The first step in the Florida property tax process is property appraisal, which is the act of placing a value on a piece of real estate. Every county in Florida has a property appraiser, which is an elected official who's responsible for the annual appraisal of every lot in the county. In general, this person does this through a mass appraisal, or a systematic analysis of market data in order to assign values to multiple properties at once.
Property tax rates are applied to the assessed value, not the appraised value, of a home. Assessed value takes into account exemptions, including the Save Our Homes assessment limitation.
The most widely claimed exemption is the homestead exemption, which you can claim on owner-occupied residences to protect the value of the home from property taxes, creditors and challenges that arise from the death of a homeowner spouse. It frees the first $25,000 of the home’s assessed value from all property taxes, and it exempts another $25,000 from non-school property taxes. This can get confusing, so here’s an example:
Let’s say you have a home with an assessed value of $80,000. The first $25,000 would be exempt from all property taxes. The next $25,000 (the assessed value between $25,000 and $50,000) is subject to taxes. Then, the next $25,000 (the assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000) is exempt from all taxes except school district taxes. The remaining $5,000 in assessed value is taxable, though.
The end result is that the homestead exemption reduces assessed value by $25,000 for school taxes and by $50,000 for all other types of property taxes.
Homeowners who receive the homestead exemption also benefit from the Save Our Homes assessment limitation, which caps increases in assessed value at 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. So even if you own a home in a hot housing market, your taxes won’t skyrocket (unless one of your local government bodies increases rates).
It's a good idea for homeowners to review their annual Truth in Millage (TRIM) notice, which declares their home’s appraised and assessed value. If the appraised value is too high (higher than what you could get for selling your home), you can file an appeal to the county adjustment board. It’s important to act quickly, though, as you have only 25 days to file an appeal.
Florida Property Tax Rates
Property taxes in Florida are implemented in millage rates. A millage rate is one-tenth of a percent, which equates to $1 in taxes for every $1,000 in home value. A number of different authorities, including counties, municipalities, school boards and special districts, can levy these taxes.
The table below shows the median property tax payment and average effective tax rate for every county in Florida. The effective tax rate is the median annual tax payment as a percentage of median home value. It can help compare tax burdens between counties and even between states, as it reflects actual payments and incorporates differences in assessments and exemptions.
Want to learn more about your mortgage payments? Check out our mortgage loan calculator.
Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County is the southernmost county in the mainland U.S., and it's home to some of the most beautiful beach-front property in the world. So how are the area’s property taxes? The county has an effective property tax rate of 1.01% %. That's slightly higher than the 0.99% % national average.
If you have questions about how property taxes can affect your overall financial plans, a financial advisor in Miami can help you out.
Broward County
Broward County sits north of Miami-Dade and contains the cities of Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood, among others. It has one of the highest average effective property tax rates of any Florida county at 1.20%. Homeowners in Broward County pay a median property tax bill of $3,375 annually.
Palm Beach County
While Palm Beach County contains lots of nice real estate, it has some hefty property taxes. Palm Beach County’s average effective property tax rate is 1.11%, which is higher than most Florida counties. The median real estate tax payment is $3,344, also one of the highest.
Hillsborough County
Hillsborough County contains the city of Tampa and has a population of nearly 1.4 million people. In terms of both annual payments and effective property tax rates, this county is pricier than Florida averages. In fact, there's a $2,677 median annual property tax payment and a 1.15% average effective rate, the latter of which is higher than the state average.
Orange County
Homeowners in Orange County pay a median annual property tax bill of $2,621 annually in property taxes. In Orlando, Orange County’s largest city, the millage rate varies from about 18.5 and up to more than 19.7 mills depending on where in the city you reside.
Pinellas County
Pinellas County sits between Old Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and has property taxes well below both state and national averages. Homeowners in Pinellas County pay a median property tax of $2,107 per year. That’s less than the state average and much less than the national average.
Tax rates in the county are likewise relatively low. The average effective tax rate in Pinellas County is 0.96%.
Duval County
The average effective property tax rate in Duval County is 0.97%. This means that the typical Duval County homeowner can expect to pay about 1% of their home value in property taxes each year. So, for example, if your home has a market value of $150,000 (close to the county’s median value) you may be paying about $1,410 annually in real estate taxes.
Lee County
Lee County is in Southwest Florida along the Gulf Coast. It has an effective property tax rate of 1,03%. The median annual real estate tax payment in Lee County is $2,432.
Polk County
The median home value in Polk County, which sits between the cities of Tampa and Orlando, is $162,400. The typical Polk County homeowner pays $1,578 in annual real estate taxes. Therefore, the county’s average effective property tax rate is 0.97%.
Brevard County
Property taxes in Brevard County are somewhat lower than state and national averages. The county’s average effective property tax rate comes in at 0.92%, with a median annual property tax bill of $2013.
Property Tax: Which Counties are Getting the Best Bang for Their Buck
SmartAsset’s interactive map highlights the places across the country where property tax dollars are being spent most effectively. Zoom between states and the national map to see the counties getting the biggest bang for their property tax buck.
Methodology
Our study aims to find the places in the United States where people are getting the most for their property tax dollars. To do this we looked at school rankings, crime rates and property taxes for every county.
As a way to measure the quality of schools, we calculated the average math and reading/language arts proficiencies for all the school districts in the country. Within each state, these schools were then ranked between 1 and 10 (with 10 being the best) based on those average scores.
For each county, we calculated the violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents.
Using the school and crime numbers, we calculated a community score. This is the ratio of the school rank to the combined crime rate per 100,000 residents.
We used the number of households, median home value and average property tax rate to calculate a per capita property tax collected for each county.
Finally, we calculated a tax value by creating a ratio of the community score to the per capita property tax paid. This shows us the counties in the country where people are getting the most bang for their buck, or where their property tax dollars are going the furthest.
Sources: US Census Bureau 2014 American Community Survey, Department of Education, Federal Bureau of Investigation, State Police or Justice Department websites
