Free Orange County property tax tools

Property tax math is not hard once you know which number goes where. The problem is that the numbers are spread across a property record, a TRIM notice and a tax bill, each using slightly different words. These free tools, built for Orange County owners, do the arithmetic for you and explain what each result means. Every calculation runs in your browser, and nothing you enter is stored.

Which tool answers your question?

Each tool links to the guide that explains the underlying rules, so you can check not only the number but also why it comes out the way it does. If you are new to Florida property taxes, start with the homestead calculator; it shows the whole path from assessed value to tax on a single screen, including the school and non-school split that confuses most newcomers.

The tools

Homestead savings calculator

The homestead savings calculator estimates how much the Florida homestead exemption, and any other exemptions you receive, reduce your annual property tax. It calculates school and non-school taxes separately, because the second portion of the homestead exemption does not reduce school taxes. You can enter the inflation-adjusted second homestead amount, add exemptions such as the $5,000 veterans disability exemption, and see what paying in November saves.

Use it when: you are deciding whether to buy, checking whether your exemptions were applied correctly, or explaining to a family member why homestead matters.

Millage rate comparison

The millage rate comparison tool converts two millage rates into dollars on the same taxable value. It shows the tax under each rate, the difference per year and per month, and the effective percentage rate. You can label each rate, for example "rolled-back rate" and "proposed rate," or "City of Orlando" and "unincorporated."

Use it when: your TRIM notice arrives and you want to know what a proposed rate costs you, or you are comparing homes in different parts of the county.

Deadline tracker

The deadline tracker is a live countdown to every key date in the Orange County property tax year: the January 1 assessment date, the March 1 exemption deadline, April 1 for TPP returns, the TRIM mailing and appeal window, bill mailing, each discount deadline and the March 31 due date. Dates within 30 days are highlighted.

Use it when: you want to know what is coming up next, or you are planning when to file, appeal or pay.

Portability calculator

Our Save Our Homes and portability guide includes a built-in portability calculator. It estimates how much of your Save Our Homes benefit you can transfer from a prior Florida homestead to a new one, using the upsizing and downsizing rules and the $500,000 limit.

Use it when: you are selling one Florida homestead and buying another within three years.

Finding every input on your TRIM notice

Your TRIM notice, mailed each August, is the best source for tool inputs. Its layout changes slightly over the years, but the same information is always there.

If you have a tax bill rather than a TRIM notice, it shows the adopted rates and final taxable values in a similar layout. Your property record on the official Property Appraiser site shows values and exemptions year-round. The property search guide explains where each item appears.

School and non-school millage

On most notices, school levies appear together at the top of the taxing authority table and may include several lines: a state-required rate, discretionary rates, capital outlay, and any voter-approved rate. Add these for school millage. Everything else, including the county general fund, library district, water management district, city or county service levies and special districts, adds up to non-school millage.

Converting between mills and percentages

• Mills to percent: divide by 10. 17 mills = 1.7%.
• Percent to mills: multiply by 10. 1.85% = 18.5 mills.
• Tax per $1,000: equal to the millage. At 17 mills, $17 per $1,000.
• Tax per $100,000: millage times 100. At 17 mills, $1,700 per $100,000.

Worked examples

These scenarios use illustrative numbers. Plug in your own values from your TRIM notice for real estimates.

1. A first-time buyer in Winter Garden

Maria is buying a $420,000 home in Winter Garden. The seller's bill was about $3,900 because they had homestead and years of Save Our Homes protection. Maria wants to know her own bill.

• After her purchase, the assessed value will reset to about market value. The Property Appraiser's market value may be a bit below her price because of the costs-of-sale adjustment, but she uses $400,000 to be safe.
• In the homestead savings calculator, she enters $400,000, school millage of 6.0 and non-school millage of 11.5 from a recent tax bill for the area.
• The estimated tax with homestead is about $6,280, compared with about $7,000 without it. Paid in November, it is about $6,020.

Maria budgets for the higher amount and files homestead by March 1. She also asks her lender to update escrow.

2. A retiree downsizing from Winter Park to a Maitland condo

Robert has owned his Winter Park home for 22 years. Its market value is $780,000 and its assessed value is $310,000, a Save Our Homes benefit of $470,000. He is buying a $450,000 condo in Maitland.

• In the portability calculator, he enters the three values. Because he is downsizing, he transfers the same percentage of his benefit: $470,000 ÷ $780,000 ≈ 60.3% of $450,000, or about $271,000.
• The condo's estimated starting assessed value is about $179,000 before exemptions.
• He then runs the homestead savings calculator with $179,000 as the assessed value.

He files homestead and portability by March 1 after moving in.

3. Checking a proposed rate increase

Denise's TRIM notice shows that one taxing authority's proposed rate is higher than its rolled-back rate. Her non-school taxable value is $240,000.

• In the millage comparison tool, she enters $240,000, the rolled-back rate as rate A and the proposed rate as rate B.
• The tool shows the dollar difference per year. That is the cost of the proposed budget increase for her home.

She decides to attend the September hearing listed on her notice. The TRIM notice guide explains how the rolled-back rate works.

4. Comparing a city home with an unincorporated home

James is choosing between two similar homes, one inside a city and one in unincorporated Orange County. He adds up the total millage for each from recent tax bills.

• Using the same taxable value, the comparison tool shows how much more or less the city home would cost each year.
• He also compares non-ad valorem assessments on each bill, since solid waste and other fees can differ.
• He checks each home's jurisdiction with the GIS maps guide.

5. A veteran checking exemptions

Tom, a veteran with a 30% service-connected rating, wants to confirm his $5,000 exemption is on his record.

• In the homestead savings calculator, he enters his assessed value and millage, and $5,000 in "other exemptions (all levies)."
• He compares the estimated taxable values with his TRIM notice.
• They match, so the exemption was applied. If they hadn't, he would contact the official office before the appeal deadline.

See the veterans exemption guide for all veterans benefits.

6. A small business owner

Priya runs a small bakery in Apopka. She wonders what her tangible personal property tax will be. Her equipment's depreciated value is about $60,000.

• The first $25,000 is exempt, leaving $35,000 taxable.
• In the millage comparison tool, she enters $35,000 as the taxable value and her location's total millage as rate A (and any other rate as rate B, or the same rate). At 18 mills, the tax is about $630.

She files her DR-405 return by April 1. See the TPP guide.

Doing the math by hand

If you prefer a pencil and paper, here is the full calculation for a homestead.

1. Start with assessed value. Say $300,000.
2. First homestead exemption: subtract $25,000 from both school and non-school values. School: $275,000. Non-school: $275,000.
3. Second homestead exemption: subtract the second portion (about $25,000) from the non-school value only. Non-school: about $250,000.
4. Other exemptions: subtract any others from the levies they apply to.
5. Multiply by millage and divide by 1,000. School: $275,000 × 6 ÷ 1,000 = $1,650. Non-school: $250,000 × 11 ÷ 1,000 = $2,750.
6. Add them up: $4,400.
7. Add non-ad valorem assessments from your notice.
8. Apply the discount if you pay early: $4,400 × 0.96 = $4,224 in November.

Getting accurate results

Most surprising results come from one of a handful of input mistakes. Check these before trusting a number.

Entering percentages instead of mills

Millage fields expect mills. If your notice shows a rate of 6.0000, enter 6, not 0.06 or 0.6. If you only know a percentage, multiply it by 10.

Using market value where assessed value belongs

The homestead calculator starts from assessed value. For a long-held homestead, market value can be far higher, and using it overstates your tax. For a recent purchase, assessed and market value are usually close.

Mixing school and non-school figures

Keep school and non-school millage separate. If you combine them into one rate, the calculator cannot apply the second homestead exemption correctly.

Forgetting special districts

Some parcels sit in special taxing districts with their own millage. If your estimate comes out low, look for extra lines in the taxing authority table.

Counting a local-option exemption for every levy

Senior exemptions and a few others apply only to the taxing authorities that adopted them. Entering the full amount against all non-school levies can overstate savings.

Estimating before your TRIM notice arrives

Between January and August, you won't have this year's notice. You can still build a good estimate:

1. Use last year's rates. Rates usually change only slightly year to year. Last year's tax bill has the adopted rates.
2. Estimate this year's assessed value. For a homestead, multiply last year's assessed value by up to 1.03, or by the published CPI cap if it is lower, unless you added improvements. For non-homestead property, multiply by up to 1.10 for non-school levies. For a new purchase, use the purchase price minus a modest allowance for costs of sale.
3. Subtract exemptions you expect to receive by March 1.
4. Run the homestead calculator, then treat the result as a range rather than a precise number.

When the TRIM notice arrives in August, replace your estimates with the real figures.

Using the tools with a mortgage escrow

If your lender collects property taxes through escrow, your monthly payment includes one-twelfth of the expected annual tax, plus a cushion. After a purchase, the first escrow analysis is often based on the seller's lower bill. When the reassessed bill arrives, the escrow account can come up short, and your payment jumps.

Use the homestead calculator with your expected post-purchase assessed value to estimate the real bill, then compare it with the tax portion of your monthly payment. If the gap is large, ask your servicer about adjusting escrow early to avoid a bigger shortage later. The monthly equivalent line in the millage comparison tool helps with this comparison.

New construction and community development districts

Buyers of new homes in master-planned communities often face two surprises:

• Partial-year assessments. A home not substantially complete on January 1 may be assessed only as land that year. The following year's bill reflects the completed home, often at a much higher value.
• CDD assessments. Many newer neighborhoods in areas like Horizon West, Lake Nona and southeast Orange have community development district assessments on the tax bill. They are flat charges not reduced by exemptions.

When estimating taxes on new construction, use the full expected value of the completed home, then add CDD and other non-ad valorem assessments from the developer's disclosures or a neighbor's tax bill. The property tax guide explains non-ad valorem assessments.

Rentals and second homes

The homestead calculator is designed for homesteads, but you can use it for a rental by setting the second homestead portion and other exemptions to zero and entering an assessed value with no first-exemption effect. The simplest approach for non-homestead property is the millage comparison tool: enter the assessed value as the taxable value and your total millage as rate A. Remember that non-homestead property is capped at 10% a year for non-school levies only, and that furnished rentals may owe tangible personal property tax as well.

What to do with your results

• If the estimate matches your TRIM notice, your exemptions are likely in place. Pay early for the discount.
• If your estimate is much lower, check for missing exemptions, special districts, or a reset assessment after a purchase.
• If your estimate is much higher, check whether you used market value instead of assessed value, or entered rates incorrectly.
• If you think the value itself is wrong, read the TRIM notice and appeals guide and act before the petition deadline.
• If you think you qualify for more exemptions, read our post on five exemptions owners leave on the table and file by March 1.

Glossary

Ad valorem tax. A tax based on value. Florida property taxes are ad valorem taxes, calculated from taxable value and millage.

Assessed value. Market value after caps such as Save Our Homes or the 10% non-homestead cap.

Agricultural classification. A special assessment for land used for bona fide commercial agriculture, valued on agricultural use. See the agricultural classification guide.

Just value. Florida's legal term for market value, as of January 1.

Market value. The Property Appraiser's estimate of what a property would sell for on January 1.

Millage. The tax rate. One mill is $1 per $1,000 of taxable value.

Non-ad valorem assessment. A flat charge for a specific service, such as solid waste or a community development district, collected on the tax bill.

Parcel ID. The unique number assigned to each parcel by the Property Appraiser.

Portability. The transfer of Save Our Homes benefit from one Florida homestead to another, up to $500,000.

Recapture. The annual increase in a capped homestead's assessed value toward market value, even in a falling market.

Rolled-back rate. The millage that would raise the same revenue as last year from existing property, excluding new construction.

Save Our Homes. Florida's cap on annual increases in a homestead's assessed value: 3% or CPI, whichever is lower.

Taxable value. Assessed value minus exemptions. The number multiplied by millage.

Tangible personal property (TPP). Business equipment, furniture and fixtures, taxed based on an annual return.

TRIM notice. The Notice of Proposed Property Taxes mailed each August.

Value Adjustment Board (VAB). The independent board that hears property value and exemption disputes.

Limits of these tools

• Estimates only. Official values, exemptions and bills come from the Property Appraiser and Tax Collector.
• No official rates built in. Rates vary by location and year. Use your own notice.
• Local-option exemptions. Senior and some other exemptions apply only to adopting authorities. The calculator lets you enter them, but you must decide which levies they affect.
• Non-ad valorem assessments are not included.
• Deadlines are general. Some dates are estimated and some shift for weekends or holidays.

Suggest a tool

We add tools based on reader requests. If there is a calculation you do every year and wish were easier, such as estimating a non-homestead cap or comparing installment plan payments with the November discount, tell us. We read every message, although we cannot look up individual records.

Privacy

The tools run entirely in your browser using JavaScript. We do not collect, transmit or store the values you enter. Standard website analytics and advertising cookies apply to page visits as described in our privacy policy and cookie policy.

More help

For explanations behind the numbers, read the property tax guide, the homestead exemption guide and the TRIM notice and appeals guide. For quick answers, visit the property FAQ, or return to the Orange County property appraiser guide homepage.