Florida property owners who believe a county’s assessed value is too high can challenge it through the county’s Value Adjustment Board (VAB), a formal but accessible administrative process separate from going to court. Missing the petition deadline is the single most common way an otherwise valid challenge never gets heard.
| TRIM notice | Mailed by the county property appraiser, typically mid-August, listing the proposed assessed value |
|---|---|
| Petition deadline | 25 days after the TRIM notice is mailed (Fla. Stat. 194.011) - the VAB must receive it by that date, a postmark is not enough |
| Filing fee | Commonly around $15 per parcel, set by the county (Fla. Stat. 194.013) |
| Hearing | Before a special magistrate or the VAB itself; the property owner can attend, submit evidence, and be represented |
The VAB is a quasi-judicial county body, established under Florida law, that hears challenges to a property’s assessed value, an exemption denial, or certain other property appraiser determinations. It rules on the petitioner's requested relief - it does not change the millage rate or the tax bill directly; the corrected assessment flows through to a corrected bill.
It is a separate track from filing a lawsuit against the property appraiser in circuit court, which remains available but is a slower, more expensive process most owners only use if the VAB result is unsatisfactory.
The petition must be filed within 25 days of the county mailing the TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice, which typically goes out in mid-August. Fla. Stat. 194.011 sets this window, and the VAB has to actually receive the petition by that date. UNVERIFIED: this is commonly described as meaning a postmark on the deadline is not sufficient - confirm that specific receipt-vs-postmark rule with the county VAB clerk before treating it as certain, since acting on it wrong is what actually causes a missed appeal.
A late petition can sometimes still be heard if the petitioner shows good cause for the delay, but that is decided case by case and is not something to plan around. UNVERIFIED: confirm the exact current-year deadline with the specific county, since the TRIM mailing date can vary by a few days county to county.
Comparable sales of similar properties, an independent appraisal, and evidence of a factual error in the county’s own property record (wrong square footage, wrong year built, a condition issue the county was not aware of) are the strongest categories. A general belief that the value ‘seems high’ without comparable evidence rarely succeeds.
UNVERIFIED: the burden-of-proof allocation between the property owner and the property appraiser is a specific, statute-governed rule (Fla. Stat. 194.301) that has been amended over time and is not a simple 'the owner must overcome a presumption' default in every case - confirm the current allocation rather than assuming it.
A filing fee, commonly around $15 per parcel, set within limits by Fla. Stat. 194.013 and collected by the county. That is the direct cost of the petition itself - hiring a property tax consultant or attorney to prepare and argue the case is a separate, optional cost many owners skip for straightforward cases and use for larger or more complex ones.
No. Property taxes remain due on the normal schedule while a VAB petition is pending. Florida law lets a petitioner pay taxes based on the assessment being disputed, or a required partial amount, without waiving the appeal, so the practical move is to pay on time and let the VAB process work in parallel, not withhold payment while waiting on a hearing.
UNVERIFIED: the exact required minimum payment percentage during a pending appeal has specific statutory rules - confirm with the county tax collector or a professional before assuming any number here.
No, and the two are frequently confused. The Save Our Homes cap limits how much a homesteaded property’s assessed value can increase year over year, regardless of what the property is actually worth. A VAB petition challenges whether the county’s assessed value for the current year is correct at all - it applies to homesteaded and non-homesteaded property alike, including investment property with no cap protection.
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