Every August, Florida property owners receive a document that looks official, arrives once a year, and is easy to set aside: the TRIM notice. It is not a bill, and it is one of the few chances you get each year to understand and question the value the county placed on your property. This guide walks through the notice section by section, explains what each number means, and points out what may be worth a closer look.
What “TRIM” Means
TRIM stands for Truth in Millage. A “mill” is one dollar of tax for every $1,000 of taxable value, and the millage rate is the tax rate each local government proposes to charge. The notice exists so you can see, before any tax bill is issued, how much each taxing authority proposes to collect and how that compares with last year.
Why the Notice Is Issued and When It Arrives
Florida law requires your county property appraiser to prepare and mail this notice to every owner on the current assessment roll. Its formal name is the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes, and both its content and layout are set by state law under section 200.069 of the Florida Statutes. Counties generally mail these notices in August, though the exact date is set locally each year. Because the mailing date drives your deadline to challenge the value, the arrival of the notice is the moment your clock starts.
Why It Is Not the Final Tax Bill
The top of the notice states, in required language, “DO NOT PAY — THIS IS NOT A BILL.” The figures shown are proposed. Each taxing authority holds public budget hearings before adopting its final rate, and the amounts can change at those hearings. Your actual tax bill arrives later in the year. Waiting for that bill is the most common and costly mistake, because by the time it arrives, the window to petition the value has generally closed.
Page One: Tax Rates, Proposed Taxes, and Hearings
The first page compares your property taxes across three scenarios in columnar form. State law requires seven columns showing, for each taxing authority, your taxes last year, last year’s adjusted (rolled-back) tax rate, what your taxes would be this year if no budget change is adopted, the proposed tax rate, the taxes under the proposed budget, and the date and location of that authority’s public hearing.
Reading across each row tells a specific story. The difference between the “no budget change” column and the “proposed budget” column is the tax change each local government is proposing. State law is explicit that this difference reflects a budget decision, not a change in your assessment. That distinction matters: a higher proposed tax can come from a rate increase, a higher value, or both, and the notice is designed to separate the two.
You will typically see separate rows for the county, public schools (split between a state-required levy and a local board levy), your city or municipal service taxing unit, the water management district, and any special districts or voter-approved debt levies that apply to your parcel.
Page Two: Your Property’s Values and Exemptions
The second page is where a valuation concern usually shows up. State law requires it to show your property’s market value and, for each taxing authority, the assessed value, the value of exemptions, and the taxable value, for both the prior year and the current year. The reverse of that page contains definitions of these terms.
These are three different numbers, and the difference between them is not an error. Market value (also called just value) is the appraiser’s estimate of what the property would sell for. Assessed value can be lower because of assessment limitations. Taxable value is what remains after exemptions are subtracted and is the figure your tax is actually calculated on. Because these three values do different jobs, the article on assessed value vs. market value vs. taxable value explains how they interact in detail.
Two limitations commonly explain a gap between market and assessed value:
- Homestead exemption. For a qualifying primary residence, a portion of value is exempt from certain taxes, reducing taxable value.
- Save Our Homes. For homestead property, Florida law caps the annual increase in assessed value at the lower of 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index. Over years of rising markets, this cap can push assessed value well below market value. When a home changes ownership, the assessed value generally resets to just value the following January 1, which is why a recent purchase can produce a large one-year jump.
Non-Ad Valorem Assessments
Ad valorem taxes are based on value. Non-ad valorem assessments are charges for specific services such as fire, garbage, lighting, drainage, or road maintenance, and they are based on a unit or benefit rather than value. Some counties include these on the TRIM notice; others do not. The notice carries a required warning that your final bill may contain non-ad valorem assessments not shown on the notice. If a charge looks unfamiliar, it may be a non-ad valorem line, and questions about those go to the levying local board or the tax collector rather than to a value petition.
Who Is Responsible for What
The property appraiser determines your property’s value and prepares the notice. The individual taxing authorities set the tax rates through their budget hearings. The tax collector later issues and collects the bill. The Value Adjustment Board (VAB) is the independent body that hears petitions challenging value, exemptions, or classification. Understanding which office is responsible for which number tells you where to direct a concern.
The Deadline and Why It Depends on the Mailing Date
Near the values on page two, the notice includes a required paragraph telling you that if you believe the market value is inaccurate, or that you are entitled to an exemption or classification not shown, you may contact the property appraiser, and that if the matter is not resolved you may file a petition with the Value Adjustment Board. That paragraph includes a printed date and the words “ON OR BEFORE.”
That printed date is the one that governs. As a general framework, the petition deadline falls within 25 days after the property appraiser mails the notice, which is why the exact date shifts from county to county and year to year. Do not rely on last year’s date or a neighbor’s date. Read the date printed on your own notice, and verify your county deadline and filing method with your county property appraiser or Value Adjustment Board. Missing the applicable deadline may limit the administrative options available to you.
Not sure whether the value on your notice is worth a closer look? A Free Assessment Review compares your assessment against available property and comparable-sales data and tells you whether the issue may merit further investigation. You decide whether to file, and you file directly with your county.
What to Compare With Last Year
Because the notice shows prior-year and current-year figures side by side, a few year-over-year comparisons are worth making. Look at the change in market value and ask whether it is consistent with what similar homes near you have actually been selling for. Check that your homestead and any other exemptions still appear; a missing exemption can quietly raise taxable value. If your assessed value jumped sharply, consider whether a change of ownership, new construction, or the loss of an exemption explains it.
What May Signal a Concern
Not every increase is an error, but certain patterns are worth investigating: a market value noticeably higher than recent sales of comparable homes; an exemption that was present last year and is now missing; a classification (such as agricultural) that changed; or property-record details that describe your home incorrectly, such as the wrong living area, year built, or number of bathrooms. A rising tax bill by itself does not prove an assessment error, because rates and values move independently, but a market value out of line with the local market is a reason to look further.
What Documents to Gather
If you want to evaluate a possible concern, start collecting: your current and prior-year TRIM notices; the parcel record from your county property appraiser’s website; recent sales of comparable homes near you; photographs and any repair estimates if condition is an issue; and documentation of anything the county record has wrong. The companion article on evidence for a Florida property assessment appeal explains which of these tend to carry weight and which are commonly misunderstood.
Section-by-Section Checklist
| Section of the notice | What to check |
|---|---|
| Header | Confirms this is a notice, not a bill; note the year |
| Property identification | Parcel number, legal description, and owner name are correct |
| Market (just) value | Consistent with recent comparable sales? |
| Assessed value | Any large year-over-year jump explained by a sale, new construction, or lost exemption? |
| Exemptions | Homestead and any other exemptions still applied? |
| Taxable value | Reflects exemptions being subtracted from assessed value? |
| Proposed millage and taxes | Rate increase, value increase, or both? |
| Public hearing dates | Noted, if you want to attend or comment |
| Non-ad valorem assessments | Any unfamiliar service charges to question? |
| VAB petition date | The exact “on or before” date printed on your notice |
Before You Request a Free Assessment Review
Have your notice, your parcel record, and a rough sense of recent nearby sales in front of you. That is enough to start. A Free Assessment Review looks at the available property and assessment information and explains whether your assessed value appears high enough to justify a closer look. If it does not, you will be told that too. You remain responsible for deciding whether to file and for submitting any petition directly to your county Value Adjustment Board.