Property Taxes in Miami
Miami-Dade has some of the highest property tax bills in Florida in dollar terms, driven mostly by high property values rather than an unusually high rate -- and the effective rate a specific owner pays depends heavily on whether the homestead exemption and Save Our Homes assessment cap apply. Sources measure the rate differently enough that this page presents the range rather than picking one number.
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Learn moreMillage Rates Depend on Jurisdiction
For unincorporated Miami-Dade, the combined 2025-26 millage rate is 16.9317 mills, breaking down as 1.9090 mills for unincorporated municipal services, 5.7361 mills countywide (county operating, debt, library, Children's Trust), 6.4990 mills for the school district, 0.3911 mills for regional water management, and 2.3965 mills for other services, per Miami-Dade County's own 2025-26 budget documentation. A separate figure for the City of Miami proper -- 19.9878 mills, per a Virtuance 2025-26 breakdown, down slightly from 20.0332 in 2024 -- covers a different jurisdiction (city vs. unincorporated county) and isn't directly comparable to the unincorporated figure above without adjusting for which taxing entities apply where you live.
Effective Rate Depends on Measurement and Exemption Status
Two sources gave different effective-rate figures using different methods: one cites an effective rate of about 1.56% at a total millage of 17.59 mills after the standard $50,000 homestead exemption is applied; another states Miami-Dade collects on average about 1.94% of a property's assessed fair market value, calling it the highest property-tax county in Florida by that measure. These aren't necessarily contradictory -- they likely reflect homesteaded vs. all-property averages -- but this research pass could not reconcile them to a single number, so treat effective rate as a 1.5-2% range rather than a precise figure.
Homestead Exemption and Save Our Homes
Florida's standard homestead exemption reduces a primary residence's taxable value by up to $50,000, and the Save Our Homes provision caps annual increases in assessed value for homesteaded properties, which is a meaningful protection in a market where market values have risen sharply over the past decade. This benefit applies only to owner-occupied primary residences, not investment or second-home purchases.
Investment and Non-Homestead Buyers Pay More
Investment properties, second homes, and any non-homesteaded property in Miami-Dade are taxed on full assessed value without the Save Our Homes cap, meaning the effective rate for these owners can run meaningfully higher than the homesteaded averages cited above -- a material consideration for anyone buying a Miami property as a rental or vacation home rather than a primary residence.
Key takeaways
- Miami-Dade's 2025-26 millage rate for unincorporated areas is 16.9317 mills; the City of Miami's separate rate is 19.9878 mills -- these are different jurisdictions, not two measures of the same thing.
- Effective property tax rate estimates range from about 1.56% (homesteaded, per one source) to about 1.94% (county-wide average, per another) -- sources disagree on methodology and this page does not force them into one number.
- The homestead exemption (up to $50,000) and Save Our Homes assessment cap apply only to owner-occupied primary residences -- investment and second-home buyers pay full freight.
- Miami-Dade is frequently cited as Florida's highest property-tax county in dollar terms, driven mainly by high property values.
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