Is the TRIM notice a bill?

No — it is the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes, showing the values and proposed rates behind the bill that arrives in November. It is also the starting gun for any appeal.

Which number on the TRIM notice matters for an appeal?

The market (just) value. Only if the county's market value exceeds what the property was actually worth on 1 January is there something to appeal — and Save Our Homes can make even a winning appeal change nothing on a long-held homestead.

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Your TRIM notice, line by line

Every August, Florida counties mail the document with the least inviting name in property ownership: the TRIM notice — Truth in Millage, formally the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes. It is not a bill. It is a preview, and it is the only warning you get before the appeal window closes.

The three values, and what each is for

Market value (some counties print "just value"): the property appraiser's estimate of what your property would have sold for on 1 January, produced by a countywide statistical model. This is the only number an appeal can attack.

Assessed value: market value after caps — for homesteads, Save Our Homes limits the annual increase regardless of what the market did. On a long-held home this figure can sit far below market value, entirely lawfully.

Taxable value: assessed value minus exemptions. This, times the millage rates listed below it, is your actual tax.

The check worth five minutes

Compare the market value against reality — not against last year, not against your feelings about taxes, but against what the house was genuinely worth on 1 January. Then check the record behind it on the property appraiser's website: square footage, bedroom count, features. Plain record errors are common, feed every automated valuation of your house, and often get fixed with a phone call — no petition, no cost.

If the market value is genuinely too high and your assessed value isn't already sitting far below it under the cap, an appeal may be worth the effort. That second condition is the one that surprises people: on many homesteads, winning the argument changes nothing on the bill. The full arithmetic is here, and we will tell you which side of it you are on before you spend anything.

The clock

The Value Adjustment Board petition deadline falls in September, keyed to the mailing date printed on your own notice — confirm the exact date with your county's VAB office rather than any website, including this one. Miss it and the conversation resumes next August.

We prepare the valuation evidence for appeals across Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Broward counties — appraisals effective 1 January, built for a VAB magistrate. Residential only.

Tax assessment appeals · Call 561-853-2129