Property Tax in Florida
Homeowners pay Florida real estate property taxes annually when buying a home.
Florida real estate property taxes help to pay for local and state services.
Florida property tax rates are based at the local level and can vary by county. They are based on the value of a property.
What are the basics?
Florida is one of the few US states without a state income tax. Property tax in Florida can be missed from your financial budget so it is important to understand what it is.
One of the ways it makes up for this missing revenue is through real estate property taxes.
Every Floridian is required to pay real estate taxes on their home or land.
Around 50% of public education and 30% of local government funding comes from property taxes in Florida.
Florida real estate property tax income helps to operate public schools, libraries, medical services and essential infrastructure.
The local property appraiser sets the property tax amount you pay each year, effective from 1st January onwards.
School buildings, churches and government properties are exempt from paying real estate taxes in Florida.
The Florida Department of Revenue calculates real estate taxes.
The amount of tax owed depends on the value of a property, plus the county in which it is located.
If you own real estate as an individual or business, you pay property tax on it in Florida.
Even if the property was gifted through an estate or you own a rental property, you must still pay real estate taxes in Florida.
There are no minimum or maximum real estate property taxes you could owe in Florida.
Whether you have a $10,000 or $1,000,000 house, you will pay real estate property taxes in Florida.
Are Florida real estate property taxes high?
If you own property in Florida, that property is assessed annually by the county property appraiser.
This assessment determines the amount of real estate property taxes owed each year on a property.
Property taxes are collected annually by the county tax collector.
When are Florida taxes due?
Florida real estate taxes are due 1st November and become delinquent after 31st March of the following year.
Many counties in Florida offer an early bird discount of up to 4% for paying a property tax bill early.
County assessors in Florida can charge penalties and late fees.
Once real estate taxes are late, a Tax Certificate is filed against the property, a lien on the property.
This Certificate can be auctioned on or after 01 June.
Interest continues to accrue on the debt until the Tax Certificate is redeemed.
The taxpayer must pay it with cash, certified funds, or a wire transfer.
If the real estate property tax debt is unpaid after two years, the Tax Certificate holder can file a Tax Deed Application, and the property can be sold to redeem the investment costs.
How to work out your liability
Real estate property taxes in Florida are implemented in millage rates.
A millage rate is one-tenth of a per cent, which equates to $1 in taxes for every $1000 in home value.
In Florida, each county sets its own millage rate, which is used to calculate real estate taxes.
The millage rates are the same across property categories, so a residential property has the same millage as an industrial property.
Florida has 640 local governments (county, school boards and special districts) that assess a property tax.
The property appraisers in each county set the property’s value based on its anticipated value on 1st January.
Each property owner is notified in August of the impending real estate tax bill through a yearly Notice of Proposed Property Taxes from the county property appraiser.
It is the home’s value and proposed local millage rate.
After the local governments have finalized their budget estimates in late October or November, the county tax collector sends a tax bill to each residence.
Real estate property taxes are then due the following 31st of March.
Florida’s Department of Revenue verifies that the information from each local government is accurate, approves its budget, and ensures the taxing rates comply with Florida Truth-In-Millage (TRIM) requirements.
One TRIM benefit is that it limits the maximum millage rate based on the per capita Florida personal income.
To calculate your Florida real estate property taxes, you will need to know the assessed value of your property, the millage rate for your county, city or special district, plus any exemptions or special programmes that apply to you.
The millage rate is set by each county and varies from year to year.
You may decide to sell a Real Estate property and want to know how much Capital Gains Tax you need to pay the IRS. We have a free online US capital gains tax calculator for you to use.
Florida property tax needs to be carefully managed throughout your investment journey.