Florida Property Tax: County Differences, Payments and Deductions

Property tax is an annual cost of owning a house, condo or land in Florida. The amount depends on the property's location, its assessed value and the owner's exemptions. Florida's lack of a state individual income tax does not remove this obligation.

To plan your budget, start with four questions: what will the tax be after you buy, which exemptions can you claim, when and how can you pay, and can you deduct the payment on your federal tax return? This guide covers Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Rules and figures checked as of October 1, 2026. Historical figures are labeled with their year.

How property tax is calculated in South Florida

There is no single rate for all of Florida or even for an entire county. Your bill combines taxes imposed by the county, school district, municipality and special taxing districts. In unincorporated areas, local service levies may apply in place of a municipal tax.

• The Property Appraiser determines values for tax purposes and reviews exemption applications.
• Taxing authorities, including the county, city and school board, set their own rates.
• The Tax Collector issues the bill and collects payments.

Questions about an excessive valuation go to the Property Appraiser. Questions about payment or installments go to the Tax Collector. The Florida Department of Revenue explains these roles.

Three values to understand

Rates are expressed in mills: 1 mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of taxable value. Each levy is calculated as taxable value ÷ 1,000 × millage rate. The individual levies are then added together.

Non-ad valorem assessments are added separately. Examples include solid waste charges and special district assessments. These may not depend on the home's value, and a homestead exemption generally does not reduce them.

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach: what changes by county?

All three counties follow Florida law, but local levies and total bills differ. There can also be substantial differences between cities within the same county. Saying that one county always has lower taxes is not a reliable way to compare individual homes.

A real example within one county. The 2025 Broward rate table lists 18.4464 mills for Fort Lauderdale district 0312 and 20.8985 mills for Hollywood district 0513. Assuming the same $500,000 taxable value for every levy, the amounts would be $9,223.20 and $10,449.25. That is a difference of $1,226.05 per year before special assessments and discounts.

This example applies to those district codes and that year. It is not a current rate for every property in those cities. Homestead makes the calculation more complex because different levies may have different tax bases. When buying, compare address-specific estimates using the same assumptions about exemptions.

Why the seller's tax bill is not your future bill

The previous owner may have accumulated years of protection against assessment increases. After a typical sale, the property is generally reassessed as of January 1 of the following year. The seller's exemptions do not automatically transfer to the buyer.

For example, an October 2026 purchase may still involve a 2026 bill reflecting the seller's tax position. Reassessment as of January 1, 2027 will affect the next tax cycle. The official guide for homebuyers explains the process.

Request a tax estimate for a new owner before buying. Use the county's calculator, the expected purchase price, your intended use and your own exemptions. With new construction, make sure the estimate includes the completed building. An earlier bill may cover only the land or an unfinished property.

At closing, taxes are usually allocated between buyer and seller through proration under the purchase contract. Proration does not necessarily mean the annual bill has been paid. Ask the closing agent who will pay the Tax Collector and how the final tax amount will be handled.

Homestead, Save Our Homes and portability

The homestead exemption reduces the tax base of a qualifying permanent residence. You generally must own the property and use it as your permanent residence on January 1. The standard application deadline is March 1. Buying a home does not establish the exemption automatically; the Property Appraiser reviews the application.

The first $25,000 applies to all qualifying levies. In 2026, an additional exemption of up to $26,411 applies only to non-school levies on assessed value above $50,000. The maximum reduction in the non-school tax base is $51,411 for a property with sufficient assessed value. This is a reduction in taxable value, not a $51,411 refund. See the homestead eligibility rules and the 2026 inflation adjustment.

Save Our Homes limits annual increases in an eligible homestead's assessed value to the lower of 3% or the applicable CPI change. Protection generally starts in the year after homestead is first granted. It does not cap increases in the entire tax bill.

Portability may let you transfer some or all of your accumulated SOH assessment benefit from a previous Florida homestead to a new one, including a home in another county. It requires an application and does not transfer the seller's benefit. You must establish the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you abandoned the previous homestead, rather than simply within three years after selling. See the Florida Department of Revenue's guide for requirements and forms.

Second homes and ordinary investment properties generally do not qualify for homestead. Eligible non-homestead properties have a 10% assessment increase cap for non-school levies, subject to exceptions such as reassessment after an ownership change. Other exemptions for seniors, veterans and people with disabilities have specific eligibility rules and may depend on local adoption. Check the official exemption list.

Property tax trends: what can change each year?

Your bill changes with the property's assessment, tax rates, exemptions and special assessments. Even if the county keeps its rate unchanged, your total can rise. School, city and other levies are set separately.

Figures come from the official Save Our Homes table. A fall in market value does not always reduce assessed value. The latter can keep rising within the cap while remaining below market value, as explained in the SOH rules.

You can also track the rates themselves. For Fort Lauderdale district 0312, the combined rate was 18.8172 mills in 2023, 18.5433 in 2024 and 18.4464 in 2025. The source is the Broward rate archive. This history concerns one taxing district; it does not show how every owner's bill changed.

To understand your own trend, download several years of bills and compare four items: assessed value, taxable value, millage and non-ad valorem assessments. A lower rate does not necessarily mean a lower bill.

When to pay the annual tax bill

The TRIM Notice usually arrives in August. It shows the assessment and proposed taxes; it is not a bill. The annual bill is issued in the fall, and the standard payment period runs from November through March 31 of the following year.

This standard schedule is explained in the Palm Beach Tax Collector's guide. For your bill, check the amount due, holiday adjustments, postmark rules and online payment deadlines. Card processing fees are not included in the example.

The 2026 tax is normally payable from November 2026 through March 2027. An unpaid balance generally becomes delinquent on April 1.

Can you pay in installments or monthly?

1. The quarterly Installment Payment Plan

This official plan lets you prepay the year's tax in four installments. You generally apply by April 30 of the tax year you want to pay, and estimated tax must exceed $100. By November, it is too late to enroll for that same year's bill.

The first installment can be paid by July 31 without the June discount. Missing that payment removes you from the plan. The 6% discount applies only to the first installment, not the entire annual bill. Find rules and applications for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

2. Partial payments after the bill is issued

This is a different arrangement. Miami-Dade offers a Partial Payment Plan. For 2026 taxes, it runs from November 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027, without early payment discounts. Restrictions apply, including for mortgage escrow accounts, quarterly plan participants and VAB petitions.

Broward allows up to five partial payments of a current bill, with a $100 minimum payment. Contact the office first to enable online partial payments. Palm Beach does not accept partial payments outside its scheduled installment plan. Do not assume that you can simply send part of the balance.

Partial payments can forfeit early payment discounts. The unpaid balance must still be settled by the deadline; making one payment does not protect the rest from becoming delinquent.

3. Monthly payments through mortgage escrow

Your mortgage servicer may collect money for taxes and insurance with each monthly mortgage payment. It holds the money in an escrow account and pays the county bill when due. This is a lender arrangement, not a monthly tax payment plan offered by the county.

Check whether your mortgage payment includes taxes and whether the servicer actually paid them. Reassessment can cause an escrow shortage and raise your monthly payment. If your lender handles the tax, coordinate with it before paying separately or joining an installment plan.

How to pay: eCheck, card, check or wire transfer

Start at your county Tax Collector's official website. Find the property by address or folio / parcel / PCN number, and confirm the tax year and amount. Keep the receipt and check that the payment has posted.

Fees reflect published terms as of the review date. Confirm the final charge before submitting payment. eCheck requires an eligible bank account with available funds; it is not an international wire transfer. Obtain wire instructions from the Tax Collector. Delinquent taxes may have different payment requirements.

Can you deduct property tax on your federal return?

In some cases, yes. A deduction does not refund the entire payment. It reduces taxable income, subject to the rules that apply to your property use and federal return.

A primary residence or second home used personally

Qualifying property taxes may be included in itemized deductions on Schedule A. If you take the standard deduction, you cannot add this personal expense separately. It falls within the combined SALT limit for eligible state and local taxes. See IRS: Deductible Taxes.

For tax year 2026, the overall SALT limit is $40,400, or $20,200 for married filing separately. It starts decreasing when modified adjusted gross income exceeds $505,000, or $252,500 for married filing separately, but cannot fall below $10,000 or $5,000 respectively. This is a combined limit, not a separate allowance for each home. Source: the IRS correction for 2026.

Rental property

Tax attributable to a rental property is generally treated as a rental expense, often on Schedule E. The personal SALT cap does not apply to that expense. Costs must be allocated when a property has both rental and personal use, and other rules can restrict the use of losses. See IRS Publication 527.

Amounts you should not include automatically

Charges for specific services, HOA dues and capital improvement assessments do not become deductible property taxes simply because they relate to a home. With escrow, the relevant figure is the amount the lender actually paid to the taxing authority, not all the money you deposited. See IRS Publication 530.

Keep the tax bill, proof of payment, escrow statement and closing statement. For a non-U.S. resident, an LLC or a property with mixed use, check the treatment with a CPA. Applicable forms and tax rules may differ.

What if the bill is wrong or you cannot pay?

If the assessment or exemption is incorrect, contact the Property Appraiser first. You may also petition the Value Adjustment Board, or VAB. Valuation appeals generally have a deadline 25 days after the TRIM Notice is mailed. Use the date on your notice. Speaking with the appraiser does not itself extend the deadline.

A dispute does not automatically suspend payment. VAB cases have rules requiring specified payments before delinquency. Confirm which requirements apply to your situation. The Florida taxpayer information page explains the official process.

If money is tight, contact the Tax Collector before the deadline. Eligible owners may qualify for Homestead Tax Deferral. This postpones payment subject to conditions, interest and a lien; it does not forgive the tax.

Unpaid taxes lead to interest and charges. A tax certificate may then be sold, followed later by a tax deed sale if the debt remains unpaid and the required process is completed. A certificate sale does not immediately transfer the home, but the debt should not be ignored.

How to include property tax in your buying budget

1. Find the property on the correct county's Property Appraiser and Tax Collector websites.
2. Review the current bill and several previous years.
3. Estimate the tax after purchase using your own exemptions.
4. Include special assessments; budget separately for HOA dues and insurance.
5. Choose full payment, quarterly installments or mortgage escrow.
6. Add homestead, payment and TRIM review deadlines to your calendar.
7. After paying, verify that the county has credited the payment.

To compare homes, divide the expected annual tax by 12 and add it to the other monthly ownership costs. This is a budgeting calculation, not permission to pay the county monthly. BonaDomus can help compare properties by total ownership cost; the Property Appraiser determines eligibility for exemptions.

Frequently asked questions about property tax