| January 1: The legal date of assessment and the date property is valued each year. It is also the effective date for establishing the validity of exemptions and agricultural classifications. |
| March 1: The legal deadline for filing an application for Homestead Exemption and all other property tax exemptions and agricultural classifications. |
| April 1: The legal deadline for filing Tangible Personal Property Tax Returns. |
| July 1: The date the Property Appraiser mails denial notices of disapproved exemptions and agricultural classifications. |
| July 31 or 30 Days Following Denial Notice Mailing: The legal deadline for filing appeal petitions (online or printed) to the Value Adjustment Board on denied exemptions and agricultural classifications. |
| August: The timeframe when notice of Proposed Property Taxes (TRIM Notices) are mailed to taxpayers. |
| September - 25 days after Truth In Millage (TRIM) notices are mailed: The legal deadline for filing petitions (online or printed) to the Value Adjustment Board (VAB), usually the third week in September. |
| November 1: The date the Tax Collector (NOT the Property Appraiser) mails tax bills to taxpayers. |
| December 31: The legal deadline to establish permanent Florida residency for Homestead exemption purposes. |
Senior citizens over age 65 can defer the portion of their property taxes that exceeds 3% of their annual income, not including Social Security, on their homestead property.
Application to participate in this program must be made through the Tax Collector.
Tax Collector Telephone - North Brevard: 321-264-6969
Tax Collector Telephone - South Brevard: 321-633-2199 Ext. 46969
In Florida, all real and tangible property is valued by the Property Appraiser annually for assessment purposes.
The legal assessment date is January 1, and valuations are based on conditions as of that date. Tax bills are mailed in November of each year. Although the market as well as other conditions for any given property may have changed between January 1 and November, the valuation on which the tax rate is applied is based on conditions as of January 1 - approximately eleven months prior to when tax bills are mailed.
At least once every five years, each parcel of property in Brevard County is inspected by one of our appraisers in accordance with Florida Law. Some inspections are done remotely with aerial imagery, street-level photography, and other off-site research, and some are done on site. The type of inspection depends on the complexity of the property, the quality of available imagery, the accessibility of the property, tree cover, and other factors. Our goal is to be as unintrusive as possible while still complying with the law in producing an accurate and equitable assessment roll.
Individual property values may be adjusted between scheduled appraisals due to sales activities or other variables affecting real estate values in your neighborhood. Sales of similar properties are a strong indicator of values in the real estate market in your area.
To determine the value of property, the Property Appraiser will consider such factors as what other properties are selling for (recent sales), what would be the cost to replace the property today, how much it takes to operate the property and to keep it in repair, what rental income the property may earn, and many other applicable factors that affect its value.
Using these facts, the Property Appraiser has three primary methods available for consideration in determining your property's value, that is; through the sales comparison approach, the cost approach and the income approach. As a result of the large number of properties involved in various categories, the Property Appraiser must employ applicable features of each method and apply uniform rates to similar types of properties in a process known as mass appraisal
When you receive your Truth In Millage (TRIM) Notice in the month of August each year, you will note that there is a column for "market value" and a column for "assessed value." The "market value" of a property is defined as the most probable price which the property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, with the buyer and seller each acting prudently and knowledgeably, and neither being under duress to act, and represents the estimated net proceeds to the seller. This is the value established for ad valorem purposes in accordance with section 193.011 (1) and (8), Florida Statutes. This value does not represent anticipated selling price for the property appraised. See the Sales Comparison Approach section, above, for additional information on what constitutes market value. State law requires the Property Appraiser to make a determination of the market value of all property on the first day of January each year. This is the value found in the TRIM Notice column marked 'Market Value'.
Including a market value for your property resulted from the legislation implementing Constitutional Amendment 10 in 1994. As a result of the Amendment, the Property Appraiser must now also determine and maintain your property's market value because the market value of homestead property may and probably will increase at a greater rate than the assessed value (see the Calculating Residential Assessed Value example below). The market value terminology was, therefore, used by the State to differentiate between the two values for homestead properties. However, for properties other than homestead, both the market value and the assessed value will be the same, with the exception of agricultural and similarly assessed property pursuant to other preferential tax treatment as provided by law.
The "assessed value" is defined as the value of each property used in the computation of the property taxes. After allowances for personal exemptions, it becomes the taxable value to which the tax rate is applied. However, the implementation of Constitutional Amendment 10 in 1994, limits subsequent annual increases in assessed value. Amendment 10 established the annual increase as either the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 3%, whichever is less.
| Year | Market Value | Assessed Value | CPI from Prior Year or 3% Cap | Assessed Value Increase* |
| Base Year 2005 | $100,000 | $100,000 | N/A | N/A |
| 2006 | $100,000 | $100,000 | 3.0 | -0- |
| 2007 | $110,000 | $103,000 | 3.0 | $100,000 x 030 = $3,000 |
| 2008 | $110,000 | $105,575 | 2.5 | $103,000 x 025 = $2,575 |
| 2009 | $115,000 | $108,742 | 3.0 | $105,575 x 0.030 = $3,167 |
| 2010 | $125,000 | $108,851 | 0.1 | $108,742 x 0.001 = $109 |
| 2011 | $120,000 | $111,790 | 2.7 | $108,851 x 0.027 = $2,939 |
| 2012 | $125,000 | $113,467 | 1.5 | $111,790 x 0.015 = $1,677 |
| 2013 | $135,000 | $116,871 | 3.0 | $113,467 x 0.030 = $3,404 |
| 2014 | $160,000 | $118,858 | 1.7 | $116,871 x 0.017 = $1,987 |
The Base Year will always be either the first year the program started (1994) or the first year that the homestead exemption was filed and approved. The assessed value will always equal the market value in the base year.
In the example above, the assessed value stayed at $100,000 in 2006 because there was no increase in market value. In 2008, since the market value increased, the CPI of 2.5% was applied, as it was lower than the Amendment 10 cap of 3%. In other words, a 2.5% increase applied to the previous year's assessed value resulted in an increase in assessed value of $2,575 in this particular case. In the example, this same procedure has been applied for each calendar year thereafter to exemplify how it works on a year to year basis with different CPIs. The assessed value is either full market value or less; assessed value can not exceed market value. This limitation applies until the homestead property is sold and the market value becomes the assessed value in a new base year, at which time the process starts over.
In arriving at just valuation as required under s.4, Art. VII of the State Constitution (reference Chapter 193.011, Florida Statutes), the Property Appraiser shall take into consideration the following factors:
- The present cash value of the property, which is the amount a willing purchaser would pay a willing seller, exclusive of reasonable fees and costs of purchase, in cash or the immediate equivalent thereof in a transaction at arm's length;
- The highest and best use to which the property can be expected to be put in the immediate future and the present use of the property, taking into consideration any applicable judicial limitation or local or State land use regulation and considering any moratorium imposed by executive order, law, ordinance, regulation, resolution, or proclamation adopted by any governmental body or agency or the Governor when the moratorium or judicial limitation prohibits or restricts the development or improvement of property as otherwise authorized by applicable law. The applicable governmental body or agency or the Governor shall notify the Property Appraiser in writing of any executive order, ordinance, regulation, or proclamation it adopts imposing any such limitation, regulation, or moratorium;
- The location of said property;
- The quantity or size of said property;
- The cost of said property and the present replacement value of any improvements thereon;
- The condition of said property;
- The income of said property; and
- The net proceeds of the sale of the property, as received by the seller, after deduction of all of the usual and reasonable fees and costs of the sale, including the costs and expenses of financing, and allowance for unconventional or atypical terms of financing arrangements. When the net proceeds of the sale of any property are utilized, directly or indirectly, in the determination of just valuation of realty of the sold parcel or any other parcel under the provisions of this section, the Property Appraiser, for the purposes of such determination, shall exclude any portion of such net proceeds attributable to payments for household furnishings or other items of personal property.
Reference Florida Statute 200.065
(1) Upon completion of the assessment of all property pursuant to s. 193.023, the Property Appraiser shall certify to each taxing authority the taxable value within the jurisdiction of the taxing authority. This certification shall include a copy of the statement required to be submitted under s. 195.073(3), as applicable to that taxing authority. The form on which the certification is made shall include instructions to each taxing authority describing the proper method of computing a millage rate which, exclusive of new construction, additions to structures, deletions, increases in the value of improvements that have undergone a substantial rehabilitation which increased the assessed value of such improvements by at least 100 percent, and property added due to geographic boundary changes, will provide the same ad valorem tax revenue for each taxing authority as was levied during the prior year. That millage rate shall be known as the "rolled-back rate." The information provided pursuant to this subsection shall also be sent to the tax collector by the property appraiser at the time it is sent to each taxing authority.
(2) No millage shall be levied until a resolution or ordinance has been approved by the governing board of the taxing authority which resolution or ordinance must be approved by the taxing authority according to the following procedure:
(a) l. Upon preparation of a tentative budget, but prior to adoption thereof, each taxing authority shall compute a proposed millage rate necessary to fund the tentative budget other than the portion of the budget to be funded from sources other than ad valorem taxes. In computing proposed or final millage rates, each taxing authority shall utilize not less than 95 percent of the taxable value certified pursuant to subsection (1).
2. The tentative budget of the county commission shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with s. 129.03.
3. The tentative budget of the school district shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with chapter 237, provided that the date of submission shall not be later than 24 days after certification of value pursuant to subsection (1).
4. Taxing authorities other than the county and school district shall prepare and consider tentative and final budgets in accordance with this section and applicable provisions of law, including budget procedures applicable to the taxing authority, provided such procedures do not conflict with general law.
Reference Florida Administrative Code 12D-1
(2) 'Just Value' -- 'Just Valuation', 'Actual Value' and 'Value' - mean the price at which a property, if offered for sale in the open market, with a reasonable time for the seller to find a purchaser, would transfer for cash or its equivalent, under prevailing market conditions between parties who have knowledge of the uses to which the property may be put, both seeking to maximize their gains and neither being in a position to take advantage of the exigencies of the other.
Property tax is "ad valorem," which means, "based upon value." When the market value of a property changes, so may its appraised value. Your property's market value can change as a result of the economy in general. For example, in a community with a healthy growth rate, with more and more people taking up residence (i.e. more buyers in the market place), the demand for housing usually increases, which in turn increases the market value for your home. Conversely, with a sluggish economy, slow growth, and no demand or few potential buyers in the market, your residential property's value will probably flatten or decline.
The Property Appraiser creates none of these market situations; individuals in the community create value by their transactions in the market place. The Property Appraiser is, however, mandated by State Law with the legal responsibility to discover these market changes and to appraise all affected properties accordingly.
The Property Appraiser is not the Tax Collector, and the Property Appraiser has nothing to do with the total amount of taxes collected. As a property owner, however, you should not only be interested in what value the Property Appraiser places on your property, but in how the amount of taxes you must pay is determined.
How it works:
If the Property Appraiser has found the assessed value of your home to be $55,000 and you apply for and are found to be eligible for the $25,000 Homestead Exemption, that $25,000 is deducted from the assessed value of your home to leave a taxable value of $30,000.
For this example, assume a total tax rate of 17 mills ($17.00 of taxes per $1,000 of taxable value) which is an accumulation of all the tax rates set by each of the taxing authorities. Divide the taxable value of your home ($30,000) by $1,000, which is 30; multiply that 30 by $17.00 to determine what your property tax will be, which in this case equals $510. This is the amount of tax due on your home by March, unless you pay the Tax Collector early and receive a discount. If paid in the following months, the discounts are: 4% in November, 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February.
An annual determination of the just or fair market value of an item or property or the value of the homestead property as limited pursuant to s. 4(c), Art. VII of the State Constitution or, if a property is assessed solely on the basis of character or use or at a specified percentage of its value, pursuant to s. 4(a) or (b), Art. VII of the State Constitution, its classified use value or fractional value.
Assessed value may be less than the market value if the property is a residential property having homestead exemption and is therefore protected by the 'Save Our Homes' Constitutional assessment limitations.
In Florida, 'Just Value' is legally synonymous with 'Market Value'. Just value is the price at which a property, if offered for sale in the open market, with a reasonable time for the seller to find a purchaser, would transfer for cash or its equivalent, under prevailing market conditions between parties who have knowledge of the uses to which the property may be put, both seeking to maximize their gains and neither being in a position to take advantage of the exigencies of the other. (Florida Administrative Code 12D-1.002[2])
In determining just value for assessment purposes, the Property Appraiser considers criteria in accordance with Florida Statute 193.011.
Because of these and other considerations, just (market) value for assessment purposes may not precisely reflect the amount for which your property would sell
For the purposes of ad valorem taxation, personal property shall be divided into four categories as follows:
- Household Goods: Wearing apparel, furniture, appliances, and other items ordinarily found in the home and used for the comfort of the owner and his or her family. Household goods are not held for commercial purposes or resale.
- Intangible Personal Property: Money, all evidences of debt owed to the taxpayer, all evidences of ownership in a corporation or other business organization having multiple owners, and all other forms of property where value is based upon that which the property represents rather than its own intrinsic value.
- Inventory: Chattels consisting of items commonly referred to as goods, wares, and merchandise (as well as inventory) which are held for sale or lease to customers in the ordinary course of business. Supplies and raw materials shall be considered to be inventory only to the extent that they are acquired for sale or lease to customers in the ordinary course of business or will physically become a part of merchandise intended for sale or lease to customers in the ordinary course of business. Partially finished products which when completed will be held for sale or lease to customers in the ordinary course of business shall be deemed items of inventory. All livestock shall be considered inventory. Items of inventory held for lease to customers in the ordinary course of business, rather than for sale, shall be deemed inventory only prior to the initial lease of such items. For the purposes of this section, fuels used in the production of electricity shall be considered inventory.
- Tangible Personal Property: All goods, chattels, and other articles of value (but does not include the vehicular items enumerated in s. 1(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution and elsewhere defined) capable of manual possession and whose chief value is intrinsic to the article itself. 'Construction work in progress' consists of those items of tangible personal property commonly known as fixtures, machinery, and equipment when in the process of being installed in new or expanded improvements to real property and whose value is materially enhanced upon connection or use with a preexisting, taxable, operational system or facility. Construction work in progress shall be deemed substantially completed when connected with the preexisting, taxable, operational system or facility. Inventory and 'Predominant use of property' means use of property for exempt purposes in excess of 50 percent but less than exclusive household goods are expressly excluded from this definition.
Land, buildings, fixtures, and all other improvements to land. The terms 'land,' 'real estate,' 'realty,' and 'real property' may be used interchangeably. Real property includes all other permanent improvements on the land and is broadly classified, based on land use, as follows:
- Single family and multi-family residential, condominium, cooperatives, townhouses, time-share developments and mobile homes; Vacant residential and unimproved acreage; Commercial/Industrial, vacant or improved; and, Agricultural.
- By July 1 of each year, the Property Appraiser must report the just value of all real property in the county as of January 1. Factors to be considered in determining just value are: present cash value; use; location; quantity or size; cost; replacement value of improvements; condition; income from property; and net proceeds if the property is sold.
- The tax due for each parcel is calculated by multiplying the taxable value by the tax rate (millage) levied by the taxing authorities within that county. The proposed tax bill is mailed to the taxpayer, usually in August or September. Any timely appeal of the tax assessment shall be made against this notice. The actual tax bill is mailed to the taxpayer, usually by November 1. The payment must be made to the tax collector by April 1 of the following year. There are discounts for early payment and penalties for delinquency.
Set by the taxing authority for the governmental unit within which the property is located. The Florida Constitution directly authorized counties, school districts, and municipalities to levy ad valorem taxes. It also provides that special districts may be created and authorized by law to levy ad valorem taxes.
The total tax rate is the combined tax rates (millage's) of all taxing authorities having jurisdiction over property in the county. That part of the rate for general county operations and maintenance is constitutionally limited to a maximum of ten mills and is set by the county commissioners. The remainder of the county tax rate consists of various referendum-approved debt service millage for bonds and millage required by state law. Also, school districts and municipalities are limited to a maximum of ten mills for operations and maintenance. The Florida Constitution provides that no state ad valorem tax will be levied. However, each year the legislature prescribes a required local millage for each school district to provide revenue for the Florida Education Finance Program. Each special district tax rate is levied by the district taxing authority against the property lying within the special district itself. Such districts include hospital, drainage, and lighting districts. Special districts are usually less than county-wide; some districts, such as the water management districts, may cover several counties. Each tax bill consists of the total of all millage applicable to the particular property. The tax bill also includes the related taxes due for all the taxing authorities having jurisdiction over the property.