Florida property tax answers · Updated June 2026
How do I appeal my property taxes in Florida?
The short answer
Florida's process runs off your TRIM notice (Truth in Millage), which your county property appraiser mails in August. You then have 25 days from the mailing date to file a Form DR-486 petition with your county Value Adjustment Board, for a $15 filing fee. Bring comparable sales or comparable assessments lower than yours to a short hearing with a special magistrate. The clerk must receive your petition by the deadline, a postmark does not count.
The Florida appeal, step by step
- Wait for your TRIM notice. Your county property appraiser mails it in August. It shows your assessed value, exemptions, proposed millage rates, and an estimated tax bill. It is your trigger to appeal, not a bill, so do not throw it away.
- File a Form DR-486 petition with your county Value Adjustment Board (VAB) within 25 days of the date the TRIM notice was mailed. The fee is typically $15 per parcel, and most counties let you file online.
- Gather evidence from your county property appraiser's website: comparable sales below your assessed value, or comparable homes assessed lower than yours. Florida values rose unevenly after the pandemic, so neighborhood disparities are common.
- Attend the VAB hearing. It is a short, informal session with a special magistrate (an attorney or appraiser), not a courtroom. Present your comparables, stay factual, and the magistrate issues a recommendation the board then votes on.
- Mind the hard rule: the Clerk of Court must RECEIVE your petition by the deadline. A postmark does not count, and there are no exceptions once the window closes.
Timing is the whole challenge
The Florida window is tight, 25 days from an August mailing, so the homeowners who win are the ones who already know their case before the notice lands. Check your home now and you give yourself a six-week head start to gather evidence and file the day the TRIM notice arrives. Our Florida page flags where over-assessment is concentrated and lets you check your specific address.
Two Florida specifics worth confirming on your TRIM notice: that your homestead exemption (worth up to $50,000 off assessed value) is correctly applied, and that the 3% Save Our Homes cap is holding your assessed value in check year to year. A missing exemption is often a bigger error than the valuation itself.
Walk into the VAB with data
Magistrates hear dozens of cases a day and reward brevity and evidence: 3 to 5 printed comparables and a calm explanation of the gap beat ten minutes about tax rates. The free check shows how your assessment compares to similar properties before you ever file, and if the record shows a case, the $49 protest kit comes with the comparable table pre-filled, ready to sign and submit. You keep 100% of the savings, with no contingency.
Check your Florida home before the TRIM notice lands
Search your address and see how your assessment compares against similar properties, free, no signup, about 30 seconds. Florida's appeal window is only 25 days from the August TRIM mailing, so knowing your case in advance is the difference between filing prepared and missing it. If the record shows a gap, the $49 protest kit comes pre-filled with your comparable evidence, ready to sign and submit, and you keep 100% of the savings.
Check my Florida address · FreeFlat $49, one time, no contingency. The free check works year-round, well before TRIM notices mail.