Property Taxes After You Buy in Florida: Why the Seller's Bill Is Not Yours

Short answer

Usually not. Florida resets a home's assessed value to market value on January 1 after it sells, so the seller's capped bill disappears and yours is based on roughly what you paid, as of November 2026. Filing for homestead by March 1, using portability and planning for Amendment 3 and an escrow shortage keep the jump under control.

Why the seller's tax bill is not yours

Florida Statute 193.155 caps the yearly rise in a homestead's assessed value at the lower of 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index. This is the Save Our Homes cap. A seller who has owned for 15 years may be taxed on a value far below today's price.

The cap does not transfer to you. The same statute says the home is reassessed at just (market) value as of January 1 of the year after a change of ownership. Values are set as of January 1 every year.

Example using Broward's average millage of 19.8394 mills, as of November 2026 (Broward Property Appraiser): on a $500,000 just value, that is about $9,920 a year before any exemptions or non-ad valorem fees. If the seller paid $4,500, that number is irrelevant to you.

At closing, taxes for the year of sale are split by days owned. See property tax proration. That credit covers this year, not next year's higher bill.

Homestead exemption: file by March 1

If the home is your permanent residence on January 1, apply for the homestead exemption with your county property appraiser by March 1 of that year. Palm Beach County moves the deadline to the next business day when March 1 falls on a weekend. Buy in November 2026, live there on January 1, 2027, and file by March 1, 2027.

Homestead does two things. It takes a set amount off your taxable value, and it starts your own Save Our Homes cap from the next year on. Miss the deadline and you pay a full year at the non-homestead level.

Most counties let you apply online. Bring your recorded deed, Florida driver license or ID showing the property address, vehicle registration and voter card if you have one.

Portability: bring your old savings, up to $500,000

Moving from another Florida homestead? Portability lets you carry your Save Our Homes benefit, the gap between the old home's market value and its capped value, to the new one, up to $500,000, per the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser.

Two rules matter:

• Establish the new homestead within three assessment years of giving up the old one. Miami-Dade's example: give up the exemption in March 2024 and you must establish the new one by January 1, 2027.
• File the portability application (form DR-501T) with your homestead application, by March 1.

Palm Beach County's property appraiser has a portability calculator. Selling one home and buying another? See bridge loans for timing the two closings.

Amendment 3: what changes in 2027

Florida voters passed Amendment 3 on November 3, 2026, with about 62% of the vote (unofficial until certified). As reported by CBS12 and WFTV:

• Homestead exemption, non-school taxes: rises to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then is indexed to inflation from 2029.
• New residents: owners who become permanent Florida residents after December 31, 2026 start with a smaller exemption that reaches the full amount in their 5th year of homestead. Ask the property appraiser how it applies to your move date.
• Non-homestead homes, rentals and second homes: the yearly assessment cap on non-school taxes drops from 10% to 5% starting January 1, 2027. The value still resets at sale.
• School taxes are not affected.

The first tax bills that reflect it go out in November 2027. Palm Beach County offers an Amendment 3 calculator. Implementing laws may refine the details.

The tax calendar: TRIM in August, discount in November

• January 1: values and exemptions are set.
• March 1: homestead and portability deadline.
• August: the TRIM notice (Notice of Proposed Property Taxes) arrives. It shows your just value, assessed value, exemptions and each taxing authority's proposed rate. Miami-Dade says owners have 25 days to file a petition with the Value Adjustment Board if they disagree.
• November: tax bills go out. Under s. 197.162 you get a 4% discount paying in November, 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February. Full amount in March.

If you escrow, your servicer pays the bill, usually in November to capture the discount.

Escrow shortage: the surprise in year two

Your lender sets the first escrow deposit from an estimate. If that estimate leaned on the seller's capped bill, the account runs short when your reassessed bill arrives.

Under federal Regulation X (12 CFR 1024.17), your servicer reviews the account every year and must send a statement within 30 days of that review. It may keep a cushion of up to one-sixth of the year's payments. A shortage of one month's payment or more may be spread over at least 12 months. Your payment rises for the shortage and for the higher tax going forward.

Ask us to underwrite your loan on an estimated new-owner tax, not the seller's bill, so the payment you plan for is closer to the payment you get.

Estimate your own bill before you offer

Each county property appraiser has a free estimator based on the price you plan to pay, as of November 2026:

• Miami-Dade: Property Tax Estimator.
• Broward: Homebuyer's Tax Estimator. It uses the county average millage; use the estimator on the property's own record for a closer number. Fees like fire or garbage are not included.
• Palm Beach: Property Tax Calculator.

QMS Lending, an independent mortgage broker in Miami, FL, builds every quote on the new-owner tax. See Florida closing costs or call 305-425-1990, in English or Spanish. Subject to credit approval.