What is the property tax rate in Tampa?

The City of Tampa's total 2025 millage was 19.8428 mills, or about $19.84 per $1,000 of taxable value, before non-ad valorem charges such as CDD or solid waste assessments.

Does the Hillsborough tax estimator include CDD fees?

No. The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's estimator excludes non-ad valorem assessments, including CDD, road, fire, garbage, lighting, drainage, water and sewer charges.

Home › Guides

Tampa · Hillsborough County

Hillsborough County property tax: what a home buyer should expect

Buying in Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City or unincorporated Hillsborough? Here's how the property tax on a home is built, and where to check it before you offer.

Last reviewed October 5, 2026 · Written for Florida home buyers and buyer's agents

The rate: millage

Florida property tax is charged in mills: one mill is $1 per $1,000 of taxable value. Your total depends on which taxing districts the home sits in. Hillsborough County's official 2025 totals:

Area	Total millage (2025)
City of Tampa	19.8428
Temple Terrace	19.5319
Plant City	18.2926
Unincorporated Hillsborough	18.2515

The school portion, 6.34 mills, is the same everywhere in the county. These totals do not include non-ad valorem charges such as CDD assessments (see below). 2026 rates are set in the fall. Check the property appraiser's site for the latest.

The value: it resets after a sale

Florida taxes a home on its assessed value. For a long-time homestead owner, that value can sit far below market value because of the Save Our Homes cap. After a sale it resets to full value on the next January 1. Our guide Why Florida property tax goes up after you buy a home explains it with a worked Tampa example.

The county's own estimator

The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser runs a free Tax Estimator. You look up the property, enter the purchase price, say whether the buyer will claim homestead, and can add the values of a home being sold to estimate portability.

What it leaves out. The estimator says it does not include non-ad valorem charges "such as assessments for roads, fire, garbage, lighting, drainage, water, sewer, or homeowner association fees." In some neighborhoods those add hundreds or thousands of dollars a year. Check the current tax bill for them.

The charges on top: non-ad valorem assessments

Below the tax on a Hillsborough bill you may find flat charges that don't depend on value: solid waste, special lighting or drainage districts and, in many newer communities, CDD assessments. They usually pass to the next owner unchanged. See CDD fees in Florida.

Homestead in Hillsborough

Apply to the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser by March 1 of the year after you move in.
You must own the home and live in it as your permanent residence on January 1.
For 2026 the exemption is up to $51,411 for non-school taxes and $25,000 for school taxes.

Paying the bill

Bills go out around November 1. Paying early earns a discount: 4% in November, 3% in December, 2% in January, 1% in February. Taxes become delinquent on April 1.

Buyer's agent in Tampa Bay?

Send us one address you're showing. We'll send back a one-page report under your name: what the home will really cost, and what's not in the listing. Free.

Request a free report

Sources

This guide explains Florida law and public records in plain English. It is not legal, tax or insurance advice, and laws change. Check important details with the county property appraiser, the tax collector or a Florida attorney.