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Glossary · Property Tax

Just Value vs. Assessed Value

Florida's three-value system, and why the gap between them is where all the tax savings live.

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Quick definition
Florida values every property three ways. Just value is the property appraiser's market-value estimate. Assessed value is just value minus accumulated cap benefit — homesteads can rise at most 3% a year (Save Our Homes); non-homestead property at most 10%. Taxable value is assessed value minus exemptions (like the homestead exemption). Taxes are computed on taxable value — and a sale resets assessed value to market, which is why buyers must never budget from the seller's bill.

How the gap builds

In rising markets the caps do their work: a long-held homestead's assessed value climbs 3% a year while its just value climbs with the market, opening a gap that can reach six figures. That gap is the Save Our Homes benefit — real, portable (within limits), and extinguished by a sale.

What a sale does

The buyer's first January 1 after purchase, assessed value resets to just value. The seller's accumulated benefit disappears from that parcel. This single mechanic explains most 'my taxes doubled after I bought' stories in Florida — the bill you inherited mid-year was computed on the seller's capped value.

Working the system legally

Homestead owners moving within Florida can transfer up to $500,000 of Save Our Homes benefit to the new home (portability, with its own deadline rules). Buyers estimating a purchase should use millage × expected post-reset value — the arithmetic our estimator runs with verified county millages.

Common questions.

Why is assessed value lower than market value in Florida?
Assessment caps: homestead assessed value can rise at most 3% per year (Save Our Homes), non-homestead at most 10%, regardless of how fast market value climbs. The difference is accumulated cap benefit.
What happens to assessed value when a home sells?
It resets to just (market) value as of the next January 1. The prior owner's cap benefit is removed, which is why first-full-year bills routinely exceed the seller's old bill.
Which value do exemptions come off of?
Exemptions (homestead and others) subtract from assessed value to produce taxable value — the number the millage is applied to.
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