Property Taxes in Florida
Florida property tax bills are built from several stacked millage rates -- county, school district, city, and special districts -- applied to an assessed value that homestead status can protect from big year-to-year jumps. The statewide average understates just how much county-to-county variation exists, and that variation is large enough to matter when choosing where in Florida to buy.
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Learn moreThe statewide average, and real county-level spread
Florida's statewide average effective property tax rate runs somewhere between about 0.79% and 0.9% depending on the source and calculation method -- this site's Florida overview cites 0.79% (with a median annual property tax bill of $1,885), while other 2026 aggregator estimates put the statewide average closer to 0.9%. Either way, that average sits below the national norm, but it hides enormous county variation: Monroe County (the Keys) has a median annual property tax bill of about $3,943, while Holmes County, in the rural Panhandle, runs a median around $527 -- roughly a 7-to-1 spread within the same state. Effective rates show similar variation: Alachua County runs about 1.03%, versus about 0.66% in Baker County.
South Florida carries the highest dollar bills, for two compounding reasons
Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties tend to produce the highest actual annual tax bills in the state -- not necessarily because their millage rates are dramatically higher, but because high home values and local millage stack together. Broward County's typical homeowner pays around $4,423 annually at an effective rate near 0.94%, for example. When comparing counties, look at the actual dollar bill on a home at your target price point, not just the millage rate in isolation.
The homestead exemption and Save Our Homes cap
For a primary residence, Florida's 2026 homestead exemption totals $51,411: a fixed $25,000 exemption that reduces assessed value for every taxing authority, including school districts, plus a second, inflation-indexed exemption ($26,411 for 2026) that applies only to non-school levies. Once homesteaded, the Save Our Homes provision caps annual increases in assessed value at the lesser of 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index -- 2.7% for 2026. This is why two otherwise identical homes on the same street can carry very different tax bills: a long-time owner's assessed value has been capped for years, while a recent buyer's assessment reset to the purchase-year market value and only starts accruing the cap the following year.
Portability lets you carry accumulated savings to a new Florida home
Florida's portability provision lets an existing homesteaded owner transfer some or all of their accumulated Save Our Homes benefit -- up to $500,000 -- to a new Florida homestead, rather than starting over at full market-value assessment. To qualify, the new homestead generally must be established by January 1 of the third year after abandoning the prior one. This matters for anyone relocating within Florida (say, downsizing from South Florida to a lower-cost county), not just for people moving into the state for the first time.
Non-homestead property plays by different rules
Second homes, seasonal property, and rentals don't qualify for the homestead exemption or the Save Our Homes cap. Instead, Florida law caps their annual assessment increase at 10% -- a real protection against runaway increases, but a much looser one than the homestead cap. Buyers purchasing investment or seasonal property should budget accordingly rather than assuming homestead-level tax protection.
Key takeaways
- Florida's statewide average effective property tax rate runs roughly 0.79%-0.9% depending on the source, but county-level bills vary enormously -- from a median around $527/year in Holmes County to about $3,943/year in Monroe County.
- South Florida counties (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach) tend to produce the highest dollar tax bills in the state, from a combination of high home values and local millage.
- The 2026 homestead exemption totals $51,411, and the Save Our Homes cap limits assessed-value growth to 2.7% for 2026 for homesteaded owners -- but a new buyer's first-year bill is based on the purchase-year assessment, not the capped value.
- Portability lets an existing Florida homesteaded owner carry up to $500,000 of accumulated Save Our Homes savings to a new Florida home; non-homestead property (second homes, rentals) is capped at 10% annual assessment growth instead, with no exemption.
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