How do I appeal my Florida property tax assessment?

File a petition with your county's Value Adjustment Board (VAB) within 25 days of the TRIM notice mailing date (typically late August). The petition form is available from your county property appraiser's website. The filing fee is typically $15. You'll receive a hearing date where you present evidence to a special magistrate. Evidence that works: comparable sales in your neighborhood from the prior year at lower prices, evidence of property condition issues not reflected in the assessment, or errors in the property record (wrong square footage, bedroom count, etc.).

What is Florida's TRIM notice?

TRIM stands for Truth in Millage. It's the annual notice sent by the county property appraiser in August disclosing the proposed assessed value of your property and the resulting estimated tax. The TRIM notice is your window to challenge the assessment — you have 25 days from the mailing date to file a VAB petition. Many homeowners receive the TRIM notice, don't realize it's appealable, and miss the window. Set a reminder in August each year to review your assessment.

What is Save Our Homes and how does it affect my taxes?

Save Our Homes (SOH) is a Florida constitutional amendment that caps annual increases in assessed value for homestead-exempt properties at 3% (or the CPI increase, whichever is lower). In practice: once you establish homestead exemption, your assessed value can only increase 3% per year regardless of what the market does. Long-term homeowners pay significantly less than market-rate taxes. New buyers restart the clock — their property is reassessed to the sale price in the year after purchase, then the cap applies going forward.

What exemptions can reduce my Florida property tax bill?

Florida homestead exemption: $25,000 off assessed value (all taxing authorities) plus an additional $25,000 off assessed value for non-school levies — total up to $50,000 reduction for primary residence owners. Must apply by March 1. Additional exemptions: widow/widower ($500 exemption), disability exemption (varies), senior citizen exemption (income-qualified), veteran/disabled veteran exemptions (up to full exemption for totally disabled veterans). Apply at your county property appraiser's office — exemptions are not automatic.

How to Appeal Your Florida Property Tax Assessment: A Practical Guide

Florida property taxes are calculated based on your property's assessed value — and that assessed value can be challenged through the Value Adjustment Board process. Most homeowners never appeal because they don't know the process exists, or they miss the filing window. This guide explains how it works and when an appeal is worth pursuing.

How Florida property taxes work

Property taxes in Florida follow this calculation:

Assessed Value − Exemptions = Taxable Value × Millage Rate = Tax Bill

Assessed value: Set annually by the county property appraiser based on market value as of January 1 of the tax year. For homestead properties with Save Our Homes (SOH) protection, the assessed value increase is capped at 3% per year.

Exemptions: Florida offers multiple exemptions that reduce the taxable value. The homestead exemption is the largest and most important — up to $50,000 off assessed value for primary residence owners.

Millage rate: The combined tax rate from multiple taxing authorities (county, city, school district, water management district, special districts). Expressed in mills (1 mill = $1 per $1,000 of taxable value).

Example: $500,000 assessed value − $50,000 homestead exemption = $450,000 taxable value × 20 mills = $9,000 tax bill

The TRIM notice: your appeal window

Each August, Florida county property appraisers mail the Truth in Millage (TRIM) notice — a document showing:

Your property's current year assessed value
Your current exemptions
The proposed millage rates from each taxing authority
Your estimated tax bill based on proposed rates

The critical deadline: You have 25 days from the TRIM notice mailing date to file a petition with the Value Adjustment Board. In most Florida counties, this means filing by mid-to-late September.

Miss this window and you cannot appeal your current year assessment — you'll need to wait until next August's TRIM notice.

When an appeal makes sense

Not every assessment warrants an appeal. Appeals make the most sense when:

1. You have comparable sales evidence

The strongest appeal argument is comparable sales: properties similar to yours (location, size, age, condition) that sold for less than your assessed value in the 12 months before January 1 of the tax year.

If your home is assessed at $450,000 and you can document 3 comparable sales at $395,000–$415,000, you have a strong case.

2. You're a new buyer with an inflated assessment

When you purchase a property, the county reassesses it at the sale price for the following tax year. If you bought at the peak of the market (2021–2022) and prices have since softened, your assessment may now exceed market value. Your purchase price is evidence of value — but so are more recent comparable sales.

3. Your property record has errors

Incorrect square footage, wrong bedroom/bathroom count, missing data about condition issues — these errors can inflate assessed value. Request your property record from the appraiser's website and verify all data.

4. Your property has condition issues

Deferred maintenance, structural issues, foundation problems, roof condition — these reduce market value but may not be reflected in a mass appraisal. Document condition issues with repair estimates and present them at your hearing.

The appeal process: step by step

Step 1: Get your property record

Download your property record from your county property appraiser's website. Verify all factual information: square footage, bedroom and bathroom count, year built, pool, garage. Note any errors.

Step 2: Research comparable sales

Access Florida's public sales data through your county property appraiser's website. Search for similar homes (same neighborhood, similar square footage ±20%, similar age ±10 years) that sold in the 12 months before January 1.

For the 2025 tax year (assessed January 1, 2025): look for comparable sales from January 2024 through December 2024.

Free sources: county property appraiser database, Zillow sales history, Realtor.com sold data.

If comparable sales are consistently below your assessed value, you have grounds for appeal.

Step 3: File the VAB petition

File online or by mail with your county Value Adjustment Board before the 25-day deadline. The filing fee is typically $15.

You'll need:

Property parcel ID number (on your TRIM notice)
Your proposed value (what you believe the assessment should be)
Category of issue (market value, exemption denial, classification)

Step 4: Prepare your evidence package

For a market value appeal, prepare:

Comparable sales summary: Table showing 3–5 comparable sales with address, sale date, sale price, square footage, price per sq ft
Subject property comparison: How your property compares to each comparable (size, condition, location)
Condition documentation: Photos of any condition issues; repair estimates if applicable
Adjusted value calculation: Your argued value based on comparable data

Tip: Most county property appraisers post their comparable sales analysis online — you can see what comps they used to arrive at your assessment and determine whether you can find stronger counter-evidence.

Step 5: Attend your hearing

Value Adjustment Board hearings are conducted by a special magistrate — typically an experienced appraiser or attorney. The hearing is informal: you present your evidence, the property appraiser's representative presents their case, and the magistrate issues a recommendation.

What to bring: Printed copies of all evidence; any comparable sales printouts from the county database; property record with errors highlighted.

How it goes: Most hearings last 20–30 minutes. Magistrates are experienced at evaluating comparable sales evidence. If your comps are legitimate and your adjustment is reasonable, magistrates often split the difference or accept the lower value.

Step 6: The decision

The magistrate issues a recommended decision to the Value Adjustment Board, which ratifies it. You'll receive written notice. If the decision reduces your assessment, your tax bill is recalculated. If you disagree with the VAB decision, you can appeal to circuit court — but this is rarely worth the cost for residential property.

Save Our Homes and new buyer dynamics

New buyers face a specific tax dynamic in Florida:

Year of purchase: Your property taxes are calculated based on the previous owner's assessed value (which may have been capped significantly below market under SOH).

Year after purchase: The county property appraiser reassesses your property at the sale price. You receive a TRIM notice with the new assessment — often significantly higher than the previous year.

Your options:

Accept the new assessment (it's based on your actual purchase price — hard to argue it's wrong)
If the market has declined since your purchase, you may have grounds to argue the assessment exceeds current market value
Apply for homestead exemption by March 1 to reduce your taxable value

The portability benefit: If you're selling a Florida homestead and buying another Florida homestead, you can "port" up to $500,000 of your SOH benefit to your new home. This can significantly reduce your first-year assessment at the new property. File the portability application with the homestead exemption by March 1 of the year following your purchase.

Homestead exemption: don't miss this one

The homestead exemption is worth approximately $500–$1,000/year in tax savings depending on your county's millage rate — and it also locks in the SOH cap on future increases.

Who qualifies: Primary residence owners with a Florida driver's license or ID showing the property address, Florida voter registration at the address (or equivalent declaration), and the property titled in your name.

How to apply: File with your county property appraiser's office by March 1 of the tax year you want the exemption to apply. You only file once — the exemption automatically renews each year.

Deadline: March 1 is firm. Missing it means waiting until the following year.

Additional exemptions worth knowing

Widow/widower exemption: $500 reduction in assessed value — small but available.

Disability exemptions: Range from $500 reduction to full exemption depending on disability classification. Totally and permanently disabled veterans with VA certification can receive full exemption.

Senior citizen exemption: Income-qualified seniors (65+) in some counties may qualify for additional exemptions. Varies by county — check with your local property appraiser.

Agricultural classification: If you have acreage used for bona fide agricultural purposes, agricultural classification can dramatically reduce assessed value. Complex application process — consult an agricultural appraiser or attorney.

Ryan Solberg works with buyers and sellers across Central Florida. If you're purchasing a property and want to understand what your property taxes will look like after your purchase, ask Ryan to walk through the TRIM notice and exemption process as part of your closing preparation.