Florida has no state income tax, but it does tax real property, and the bill can be substantial — especially on a newly purchased home before Save Our Homes has a chance to compound. The homestead exemption is the single biggest lever an owner-occupant has to cut that bill. This calculator estimates your annual property tax and shows the dollar value of the exemption for the county you choose.
The exemption tiers below are exact Florida law. The millage-rate presets are approximate composite rates and vary by municipality and special district, so the calculator lets you override them with the figure printed on your TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice.
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Estimate your Florida property tax
Orange (Orlando) County · 18.3 mills · with homestead exemption · effective rate 1.65%
Estimate only. The $25,000 / $50,000 homestead exemption tiers are exact Florida law; millage rates are approximate and re-set annually by each taxing authority. Save Our Homes (3%/CPI assessment cap) applies to later years, not this first-year estimate. Excludes non-ad-valorem assessments (fire, solid waste, CDD) that appear on many Florida tax bills.
How the homestead exemption is actually calculated
Florida’s homestead exemption is really two exemptions stacked together, and they apply to different parts of your tax bill. The first $25,000 comes off the assessed value for every taxing authority. The second $25,000 only comes off value between $50,000 and $75,000, and only for non-school taxes. Schools never honor more than the first $25,000.
| Assessed value | Exemption vs school levies | Exemption vs non-school levies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $25,000 | $25,000 | Below $50k — only the first tier exists. |
| $60,000 | $25,000 | $35,000 | Second tier phasing in ($10k of the $50k–$75k band). |
| $75,000 and up | $25,000 | $50,000 | Full exemption reached. |
| $400,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 | Exemption is capped; the rest is fully taxable. |
Millage varies enormously by county
Your tax rate is set in mills — one mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value. A typical Florida composite rate (county + school + city + special districts) runs from roughly 11 mills in low-tax counties like Collier to well over 20 mills in others. The table below shows the approximate first-year tax on a $400,000 homesteaded home; your own TRIM notice is the authoritative number.
| County | Approx. total millage | Est. annual tax (homesteaded) | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collier (Naples) | 10.9 | ~$3,925 | ~0.98% |
| Orange (Orlando) | 18.3 | ~$6,580 | ~1.65% |
| Duval (Jacksonville) | 18.9 | ~$6,780 | ~1.70% |
| Broward | 19.6 | ~$7,025 | ~1.76% |
| Miami-Dade | 19.7 | ~$7,065 | ~1.77% |
| Leon (Tallahassee) | 20.5 | ~$7,350 | ~1.84% |
Save Our Homes: why your neighbor pays less
Once you have the homestead exemption, the Save Our Homes cap limits how fast your assessed value can rise — the lesser of 3% or the change in CPI each year. In a hot market, market value can jump 10–15% while your assessed value only moves 3%, and the gap compounds. After a decade, a long-time owner’s taxable value can be tens of thousands of dollars below a new buyer’s for the identical house. This first-year calculator assumes assessed value equals market value; the cap benefit shows up in later years and is portable to your next Florida home (up to $500,000 of accrued benefit) if you move within two years.
Filing for homestead, step by step
- Own and occupy by January 1.The property must be your permanent residence on January 1 of the tax year you’re claiming.
- File by March 1. Apply with your county property appraiser between January 1 and March 1. Most counties accept online filings; the exemption then renews automatically.
- Prove Florida residency. Florida driver license, vehicle registration, and voter registration (or a recorded Declaration of Domicile) all listing the homestead address.
- Stack additional exemptions if eligible. Seniors, veterans, surviving spouses of first responders, and disabled owners may qualify for extra exemptions on top of the standard homestead — ask your property appraiser.