Florida Property Tax Appeal: TRIM Notice to VAB Hearing

Florida gives you 25 days from the date your property appraiser mails the TRIM notice to petition the county's Value Adjustment Board, using a DR-486 form filed with the clerk of the court (Fla. Stat. section 194.011(3)(d)). TRIM notices go out in August, so the 2026 windows closed in the first three weeks of September, county by county. If yours has closed, the useful move now is to get ready for next August's notice rather than looking for a late-filing option that Florida law does not provide.

The TRIM notice starts the clock

Florida's property appraisers mail the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes, known as the TRIM notice, in August of each year. The Florida Department of Revenue states it directly: "Property owners who want to appeal their property value to the value adjustment board must file a petition (one of the DR-486 forms) with the clerk of the court within 25 days of the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes." The clock runs from the date the appraiser mails the notice, per Fla. Stat. section 194.011(3)(d), which allows the petition to be filed "at any time during the taxable year on or before the 25th day following the mailing of notice by the property appraiser." That mailing date, not the date it lands in your mailbox, is what your county's deadline is measured against.

Talk to the property appraiser first: the informal conference

Before or alongside a formal petition, Florida law gives you the right to talk to the office that set your value. Fla. Stat. section 194.011(2) states that a taxpayer who objects "may request the property appraiser to informally confer with the taxpayer," and the appraiser or staff "shall confer with the taxpayer regarding the correctness of the assessment." This conversation can catch a record error without a hearing, but it does not pause your 25-day clock. File the DR-486 petition regardless if the deadline is close, and let the conference happen in parallel.

Filing DR-486 with the Value Adjustment Board

The petition itself is filed with the clerk of the court, not the property appraiser, using one of the DR-486 forms. Fla. Stat. section 194.011(3) also sets who can put their name on it: the petition must be signed by the taxpayer, or accompanied by the taxpayer's written authorization, unless it is filed by someone listed in Fla. Stat. section 194.034(1)(a) who certifies under penalty of perjury that they have that authorization. That covers an authorized agent or representative filing on a homeowner's behalf, as long as the paperwork or certification is in order.

The filing fee: capped at $50, but county-set

Florida law sets a ceiling, not a statewide price. Fla. Stat. section 194.013(1) allows the board to set a fee "not to exceed $50 for each separate parcel." That ceiling used to be $15; ch. 2025-208, Laws of Florida, raised it to $50 effective July 1, 2025. Below that ceiling, each county's Value Adjustment Board sets its own number, and they vary widely.

If your county is not on this list, check your county's VAB page directly for the current fee; do not assume it matches a neighboring county.

Keep paying: the 75 percent rule

Filing a petition does not let you skip the tax bill. Fla. Stat. section 194.014 requires a petitioner challenging value to "make a partial payment of at least 75 percent of the ad valorem taxes" before the delinquency date. The consequence for skipping that payment is spelled out in the same section: "The value adjustment board must deny the petition by written decision by April 20 if the petitioner fails to make the payment required by this subsection." Pay the 75 percent, keep your receipt, and let the case proceed. A win comes back as a corrected bill or a refund.

Special magistrates hear the case

In larger counties, your hearing is not in front of the elected property appraiser. Fla. Stat. section 194.035(1) requires that "in counties having a population of more than 75,000, the board shall appoint special magistrates for the purpose of taking testimony and making recommendations to the board." For a residential value dispute, the statute requires the magistrate hearing it to be "a state certified real estate appraiser with not less than 5 years' experience in real property valuation." The magistrate makes a recommendation; the Value Adjustment Board issues the decision.

2026 county deadlines: most have closed

Every Florida county sets its own VAB petition deadline within the 25-day window the statute allows, and the date is tied to when that county's property appraiser mailed its TRIM notices. The list below reflects each county clerk's or VAB's posted 2026 date as of late August 2026. When this guide was verified on September 13, 2026, most of these dates had already passed and the rest were days away.

If your county is not listed here (Hillsborough and Manatee, among others, had not posted a firm calendar date as of the last check), the date printed on your own TRIM notice controls. Do not use another county's date as a stand-in for yours; each property appraiser mails on its own schedule.

What to do if your window already closed

If your county's 2026 deadline has passed, filing late is not an option Florida law provides for a routine value petition. That is frustrating, but the annual cycle means you get another notice next August. Three things are worth doing now, while this year's assessment and your reasoning are still fresh. Pull your property record from the appraiser's site and check every fact against your home: square footage, bedroom and bathroom counts, condition, any features that do not exist. Start collecting sales of comparable homes near the January 1 valuation date each year, so you have a file ready rather than a scramble next August. When the 2027 TRIM notice arrives, request the informal conference under Fla. Stat. section 194.011(2) right away rather than waiting, since it does not extend your petition deadline and you want time for both.

Save Our Homes and the appeal

If your home carries a homestead exemption, a separate rule limits how fast its assessed value can rise from year to year regardless of what happens with an appeal. Fla. Stat. section 193.155(1) caps the annual increase at the lower of 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index. An appeal and the Save Our Homes cap work on different things: the cap limits next year's increase, while an appeal challenges whether this year's number was ever right. Homestead exemption vs. appeal covers how the two interact and what a lower value this year means for your capped base going forward.

Do you need help?

Filing DR-486, paying the 75 percent, and presenting to a special magistrate are all things a homeowner can do without a lawyer. South Florida owners can start with the Miami-Dade guide or the Broward County guide, which cover each county's fee, filing system, and office. The complete appeal guide covers the record check and comparable sales work that apply in every state, and what happens after you file walks through the sequence from petition to decision. If you would rather hand off the record check, the comparable sales, and the filing, Drop Property Tax offers a free review of your address and charges nothing unless the appeal wins.

Common questions

When exactly does the 25-day clock start?

It starts on the date the property appraiser mails your TRIM notice, per Fla. Stat. section 194.011(3)(d), not the day it arrives or the day you open it. Check the date on the notice itself and count 25 days from there; your county's clerk or VAB page states the resulting deadline.

Where do I file the petition, and what form do I use?

File one of the DR-486 forms with the clerk of the court, not with the property appraiser's office. The petition needs the taxpayer's signature or written authorization, unless a certified representative under Fla. Stat. section 194.034(1)(a) files it instead.

How much will the filing fee cost me?

No more than $50 per parcel, the statewide ceiling set by Fla. Stat. section 194.013(1). Many counties charge less: Miami-Dade charges $15, Palm Beach $20, and Broward $25, while several others charge the full $50. Check your county's VAB page for its exact number.

Do I still have to pay my tax bill while the petition is pending?

Yes, at least 75 percent of it before the delinquency date, under Fla. Stat. section 194.014. If you do not make that payment, the board is required to deny your petition by April 20.

My county's 2026 deadline already passed. What now?

There is no late-filing option for a routine value petition once the 25 days run out. Use the time before next August's TRIM notice to check your property record for errors and gather comparable sales, and request the informal conference as soon as the 2027 notice arrives.