Why did my property taxes go up so much after I bought my house in Florida?
Because Florida reassesses a home at full market value on the January 1 after it changes hands. The seller’s bill was based on a capped assessed value that grew no more than 3% a year (2.7% for 2026) under Save Our Homes, and that cap died at closing. Your first full-year bill is built on what the property is worth now, minus your own homestead exemption once you file it by March 1. On a $450,000 Winter Garden purchase, the worked example below takes the bill from about $3,660 to about $6,800.
The question belongs before the contract is signed, not after the first full bill arrives, and the only useful answer is the county’s own math on the specific parcel. Here’s how the math works in Orange and Lake County, what it does to your monthly payment, and what changes if Amendment 3 passes.
The seller’s tax bill is not your tax bill
Florida property tax runs on three numbers: just value (the property appraiser’s estimate of market value), assessed value (just value after any caps), and taxable value (assessed value minus exemptions). You pay millage on taxable value. One mill is $1 per $1,000.
Save Our Homes caps how fast a homesteaded owner’s assessed value can rise: the lower of 3% or the change in CPI. The Florida Department of Revenue set the 2026 cap at 2.7%. A seller who bought in 2016 has been paying on a number that fell further behind market every year.
When the property changes ownership, Florida law requires the appraiser to remove the exemptions and reset assessed value to just value on the following January 1. That’s the whole story. The listing showed the seller’s capped bill. You will pay on the current value.
Here’s what that looks like on a $450,000 purchase inside Winter Garden city limits, using the Orange County Property Appraiser’s 2025 total millage of 17.0128 mills:
- Seller’s bill: assessed value capped at about $265,000, minus $50,000 in homestead exemptions, roughly $3,660 a year.
- Your first full year, no homestead filed: $450,000 × 17.0128 mills, roughly $7,660.
- Your first full year with homestead filed by March 1: about $6,800.
That’s the gap: same house, same street, and the bill nearly doubles. The homestead exemption brings it down, but it does not bring it back.
A note on the math: the first $25,000 of homestead exemption applies to every taxing authority, including schools. The additional exemption ($26,411 for 2026) skips school taxes, so the true number lands a little above the simple calculation. That’s why I run the county’s own estimator on the actual parcel rather than a rule of thumb.
What it does to your monthly payment
The tax reset doesn’t arrive as one bill. It arrives as an escrow shortage.
Your lender set up your escrow account using the tax bill that existed at closing, which was the seller’s capped bill. Then the January 1 reset happens, the TRIM notice comes in August, the new bill posts in November, and your servicer discovers the account is short. The next escrow analysis raises your payment to cover the shortage and the new, higher annual amount.
On the Winter Garden example above, going from $3,660 to $6,800 a year is about $262 a month. If you skipped the homestead filing, it’s closer to $333 a month, which is why a missed March 1 deadline belongs on any list of things not to do when buying a home. Budget on the reset number from day one, not the listing number.
New construction adds a second step. If the house was not finished on January 1, the appraiser assessed the lot only. Your first bill looks tiny. The year after completion, the full value hits the roll, and that’s the jump most new-construction buyers never budgeted for. If you’re buying new construction, plan on the year-two bill, not the year-one bill.
If you are still deciding whether the payment works at all, the honest version of renting versus buying uses the reset tax number, not the seller’s.
The same price, a different city, a different bill
Millage is set by each taxing authority, so where the house sits changes the answer. Using 2025 total millage from the Orange County and Lake County property appraisers and a $400,000 taxable value (a $450,000 home after $50,000 in homestead exemptions):
| City | 2025 total millage | Estimated annual tax |
|---|---|---|
| Windermere | 15.2311 | $6,092 |
| Clermont | 16.6766 to 17.1351 (varies by district) | $6,671 to $6,854 |
| Ocoee | 16.9886 | $6,795 |
| Winter Garden | 17.0128 | $6,805 |
| Minneola | 17.5866 | $7,035 |
| Groveland | 17.7866 | $7,115 |
| Oakland | 18.1378 | $7,255 |
| Unincorporated Orange County (includes Horizon West) | 16.0858 to 18.1401 | $6,434 to $7,256 |
Windermere to Oakland is about $1,160 a year on the same purchase price. Horizon West sits in unincorporated Orange County, where the mill codes run the widest range on the list, so two homes a mile apart can carry different rates. Add a CDD assessment in many Horizon West villages and the gap widens. Verify the mill code on the parcel, not the city name in the address.
What sellers and move-up buyers should know
If you’re selling, the low tax bill you’ve enjoyed is not something your buyer inherits, and a buyer who budgeted on your bill is a buyer whose lender may re-qualify them once the real escrow figure shows up. Price and present the home knowing the buyer’s carrying cost is higher than yours. This is one of the things I walk every seller through before we list, because it changes who can afford the house.
If you’re selling one Florida homestead and buying another, you have portability. The difference between your just value and your capped assessed value is a savings account you can carry to the next home, as long as you establish the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you gave up the old one. On a Winter Garden home you’ve owned for a decade, that difference can be a large number, and it directly lowers the reset on your next purchase. Carry it with you when you move to Clermont or Windermere.
Investors and second-home buyers get a different cap: non-homestead property is limited to a 10% annual assessment increase, and it too resets to full market value in the year after a sale.
What Amendment 3 would change if it passes November 3
The measure on the November 3, 2026 ballot, CS/HJR 1F, needs 60% of the vote. If it passes, the non-school portion of the homestead exemption rises from about $26,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments after that. The $25,000 school-tax exemption stays where it is. The cap on non-homestead property drops from 10% to 5%, for non-school taxes only.
Two things to weigh before you count on it. First, neither Orange nor Lake County has published a per-household savings example, and the exact figure depends on the school share of your bill, which Orange County says is the largest part. Second, buyers who establish a new Florida homestead on or after January 1, 2027 start at a smaller exemption and phase into the full amount over several years. How that applies to someone who closes in late 2026 and files by March 1, 2027 is a question for the property appraiser, not a blog post, and it’s one I’d want answered before I structured a purchase around it.
Orange County projects the amendment would cut its revenue by about $165 million in 2027 and $275 million in 2028. That’s the tension behind the vote, and it’s a reason to expect the local conversation about fees and millage to continue regardless of the outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the seller’s tax bill stop applying to my home in Florida?
The seller’s exemptions and Save Our Homes cap stay on the property through the calendar year you buy. On the following January 1, the appraiser removes them and resets assessed value to just value. Your November bill that year is the first one based on what you paid.
How do I estimate property taxes on a home in Orange or Lake County before I make an offer?
Multiply the purchase price, minus $50,000 if you’ll homestead, by the total millage for the parcel’s taxing district, then divide by 1,000. Winter Garden’s 2025 rate is 17.0128 mills; Clermont’s is 16.6766 or 17.1351 depending on district. Both county property appraisers publish an estimator that uses the exact mill code, and that’s the number your lender should escrow against.
Do I get the homestead exemption in the year I buy?
You get the seller’s, if they had one, for the year of purchase. To get your own, you have to own and occupy the home on January 1 and file with the county property appraiser by March 1 of that year. Miss the deadline and you wait a full year.
What is homestead portability and how long do I have to use it?
Portability lets you move the difference between your old home’s just value and its capped assessed value to a new Florida homestead. You must establish the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you abandoned the old one, and you apply by March 1 with the same forms as the exemption itself.
Will Amendment 3 lower my property taxes if it passes?
For homesteaded owners, yes on the non-school portion, starting with the 2027 bill: the exemption rises to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. School taxes are unchanged. New homesteads established in 2027 or later phase into the larger amount over several years.
The number to plan on
Plan on the reset bill, not the seller’s bill. Run it on the exact parcel, file homestead by March 1, and if you’re selling a homestead to buy another one in Central Florida, carry your portability with you. Those three moves decide whether your payment holds steady in year two or jumps by a few hundred dollars a month.
If you want the real number on a specific home in West Orange or South Lake County, including the mill code, the CDD line, and the escrow math, book a strategy session at mvphomegroup.com/nelsoncruz. If you are a first responder, veteran, nurse, or teacher, HonorFloridaHeroes.com walks through the Florida Hometown Heroes program and what you may qualify for. If you are moving into Central Florida, the relocation guide at LiveMoveOrlando.com covers the corridors, commutes, and communities, starting with the Winter Garden guide.
About Nelson Cruz, P.A.
Nelson Cruz, P.A. is a REALTOR® (Florida license SL3491226) and the Founder & Team Leader of MVP Home Group at Real Broker LLC in Winter Garden, Florida. He spent 18 years in law enforcement before real estate and has been responsible for over $50 million in personal production, working extensively with first responders, veterans, nurses, and teachers, including buyers using the Florida Hometown Heroes program. Reach him at mvphomegroup.com/nelsoncruz.