Buyer Tools
Florida property tax calculator
The seller's tax bill is not your tax bill. Florida resets the assessed value when a home sells, so estimate from your purchase price, your county and city millage, whether you will homestead, and any CDD line. This calculator does that and projects five years under the Save Our Homes cap.
Your purchase
In Florida the assessed value resets to about the sale price the January after you buy.
≈ 16.2 mills total, 7.0 of it school board.
Shows on the tax bill as a non-ad valorem line in Lake Nona, Horizon West, Celebration and most new master-planned communities.
Drives the 5-year projection only.
Estimated year-1 property tax
$8,262
$689 / month into escrow · 1.50% of price
Breakdown
- School board (7.0 mills)
- $3,675
- County, city & districts (9.2 mills)
- $4,587
- CDD (non-ad valorem)
- $0
- Taxable value (non-school)
- $498,589
Homestead saves you
$648
vs. the same home as a second home or rental, in year 1 alone. The Save Our Homes 3% cap widens the gap every year after.
| Year | Assessed value | School | County / city | CDD | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $550,000 | $3,675 | $4,587 | $0 | $8,262 |
| 2 | $566,500 | $3,791 | $4,739 | $0 | $8,529 |
| 3 | $583,495 | $3,909 | $4,895 | $0 | $8,805 |
| 4 | $601,000 | $4,032 | $5,056 | $0 | $9,088 |
| 5 | $619,030 | $4,158 | $5,222 | $0 | $9,380 |
Assessed value is capped at 3% growth per year under Save Our Homes, assuming 4% market appreciation. Millage shown is an approximate 2025–2026 combined rate; the exact figure for an address is on the county property appraiser site. Estimates only, not tax advice.
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How it works
Three numbers decide your bill
Assessed value. Set by the county property appraiser each January 1. The year after a sale it lands close to the purchase price. From then on a homesteaded home can only rise 3% a year (Save Our Homes); a second home or rental is capped at 10% on the non-school portion.
Exemptions. Homestead takes $25,000 off for every taxing authority and a second, inflation-indexed $26,411 (2026) off everything except the school board. Veterans, seniors with limited income, and surviving spouses may qualify for more.
Millage. County, school board, water management district, library, fire, and any city or special district, added together. Schools are the largest single piece and are the same across a county. The city layer is why the same house costs more inside Orlando city limits than in unincorporated Orange County.
Read the full guide: Florida property taxes explained, Orange County millage and sample bills, homestead exemption guide, and Amendment 3 on the November 2026 ballot.
Questions buyers ask
Property tax FAQ
- How are Florida property taxes calculated?
- Taxable value times the millage rate. One mill is $1 per $1,000 of taxable value. Taxable value is the assessed value minus exemptions. In most of unincorporated Orange County the combined rate is about 16.2 mills (1.62%); inside the City of Orlando it is about 18.1 mills. New buyers should budget roughly 1.4% to 1.8% of the purchase price in year one.
- Why will my property taxes be higher than the seller's?
- Florida reassesses a home to market value the January after it sells. A long-time owner's assessed value was capped at 3% growth per year under Save Our Homes, so their bill reflects an old value. Yours resets to roughly what you paid. Always estimate from the purchase price, never from the seller's last bill.
- How much does the homestead exemption save?
- For 2026 the exemption is $51,411: the first $25,000 applies to all millage and the inflation-indexed second tier applies to non-school millage. At about 16 mills that is roughly $700 to $750 a year, and the Save Our Homes 3% cap on assessed value is worth far more over time. File with your county property appraiser by March 1.
- What is a CDD fee and is it part of my property tax?
- A Community Development District assessment repays bonds that built a community's roads, utilities and amenities. It appears as a non-ad valorem line on the same tax bill, typically $1,500 to $3,500 a year in Lake Nona, Horizon West, Celebration and most newer master-planned communities. It is not reduced by homestead.
- Which Central Florida county has the lowest property taxes?
- Among the metro counties, Lake and Brevard typically have the lowest combined millage, Seminole is lower than Orange, and Volusia and the City of Orlando run highest. The city layer drives most of the difference; the school board portion is similar across a county.
Next step
Put the tax number into your full payment
Taxes are usually the second-largest piece of a Florida house payment after the mortgage itself. Carry this estimate into the mortgage calculator, or have Ryan pull the exact parcel figures for a home you are considering.