Florida property taxes catch new owners out more often than any other cost of a home here. The bill a seller has been paying is not the bill a buyer will get, and two homes a mile apart can be taxed at very different rates. These are the seven myths we hear most, each with the fact and its source.
Key takeaways
- A sale resets a home's assessed value to market value the next January 1, so a buyer's bill can be much higher than the seller's.
- The homestead exemption is not automatic. You apply to the county property appraiser by March 1.
- Rates are set by taxing district. In 2025 a home inside the City of Davenport paid 19.3579 mills and one in the county area beside it 12.9291.
- A tax bill also carries assessments that are not based on value, such as a community development district's.
- Paying in November earns a 4 percent discount, and the bill is delinquent on April 1.
Myth: My tax bill will match the seller's
The seller's bill reflects the seller's history with the home. Florida limits how fast a homesteaded home's assessed value can rise: no more than 3 percent a year or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. The Department of Revenue set the limit for 2026 at 2.7 percent. After years of that limit, a long-time owner's assessed value can sit far below what the home would sell for.
A sale ends it. The assessment resets to market value on the next January 1, and the new owner's limit starts from there. Ask the county property appraiser for an estimate based on your purchase price, and use that figure in your budget, not the seller's bill.
Myth: The homestead exemption is automatic
It is not. Florida law says an owner must file an application with the county property appraiser on or before March 1, and that missing the date waives the exemption for that year. The home has to be your permanent residence.
The Department of Revenue's exemptions page says the exemption can lower a home's taxable value by as much as $50,000, and that it is what qualifies the home for the yearly limit above. If you buy in the fall, put the March 1 date in your calendar the day you close.
Myth: The exemption takes $50,000 off every tax
It works in two parts. The first $25,000 comes off the value for all taxes, including the school board's. The second part comes off the non-school taxes only, and only on value above $50,000. It was $25,722 in 2025 and rises with inflation each January 1.
On a home assessed at $350,000 in the Polk County area north of Davenport, the 2025 figures work out to about $4,525 without the exemption and about $4,005 with it. Inside the City of Davenport they are about $6,775 and $5,930. Our Davenport guide has the full table.
Myth: Florida property taxes are the same across a county
The rate is the total millage of the taxing districts a parcel sits in, and those change at a city line. Polk County's 2025 millage rates show it plainly:
- Polk County general fund: 6.6348 mills everywhere
- Polk County School Board: 5.2900 mills everywhere
- City of Davenport: 7.2500 mills, inside the city only
- County parks, library and stormwater units: 0.8212 mills, outside the city only
With the water management district, the totals are 19.3579 mills inside the city and 12.9291 in the county area. A Davenport mailing address can be either one. The parcel's record on the Property Appraiser's site names its taxing district, and each of our community guides lists the rates for its own county.
Myth: Millage is the whole bill
A tax bill has a second kind of line, called a non-ad valorem assessment. It is a flat charge, not a share of the home's value, and the homestead exemption does not reduce it.
The largest is usually a community development district's. Solterra Resort's district, near Davenport, set its assessments for fiscal year 2025-2026 at $3,618.80 to $4,629.72 per home, depending on the lot. County-area bills in Polk also carry a fire services assessment, which is $385.00 for a single-family home on the 2026 roll. Where the county collects trash there is a $366.80 charge for that.
Look at the whole bill for the address you are buying, not only the millage. Our post on CDD fees explains how the districts set theirs. Homeowners association dues are separate again and never appear on the bill.
Myth: A second home or a rental gets the same limit
The 3 percent limit belongs to homesteaded homes. Other residential property has its own: the assessed value can rise no more than 10 percent a year, and that limit does not apply to school taxes.
So a home you rent out or use part of the year can see its taxable value climb faster than the house next door. Plan for that if you are buying one to rent.
Myth: It makes no difference when I pay
It does. State law makes the tax due on November 1 and delinquent on April 1. Polk County's Tax Collector lists the discount for paying early: 4 percent in November, falling a point each month to 1 percent in February.
Most owners with a mortgage pay through an escrow account, and the lender sends the payment. Your lender's Loan Estimate shows what it expects taxes, insurance and assessments to cost each month. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains how to read that estimate. If it was drawn up from the seller's bill, ask the lender to redo it from your purchase price.
For what a homeowner can deduct on a federal return, see IRS Publication 530 or ask a tax professional.
Property taxes are worth working out before you make an offer, not after. Try a figure in our mortgage calculator, or contact the office and we will pull the tax record for a home you are considering.
