Property tax in Alachua County, Florida

Who sends the property tax bill in Alachua County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Alachua County Tax Collector. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Alachua County Property Appraiser, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.

Two offices handle your tax: the Property Appraiser sets the value and grants exemptions, and the Tax Collector sends the bill in November and takes payment. The value-appeal deadline falls in September, before the bill arrives, so a disagreement with the value has to be raised from the TRIM notice mailed in August; the Property Appraiser also offers an informal review by phone first. To keep a pending value petition alive you must pay all non-ad valorem assessments and at least 75% of the ad valorem taxes, less any discount, before they become delinquent. Online e-check payments carry a $1.00 fee; credit cards and PayPal carry a 2.5% fee, and debit cards a fee of at least $2.50.

When are property taxes due in Alachua County?

For the 2026 bill, Alachua County has one due date: March 31, 2027. Tax bills are normally mailed on or before November 1, 2026. Paying early earns a discount: 4% in November, 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February; the full amount is due by March 31, 2027. January 31 and February 28, 2027 fall on Sundays; under state law (section 197.162), a discount period that ends on a weekend or legal holiday extends to the next working day if the payment is delivered to a Tax Collector office. Owners already on the quarterly installment plan pay their 2026 taxes in four parts: June 30 and September 30, 2026 (discounts of 6% and 4.5%), then December 31, 2026 (3%) and March 31, 2027 (no discount). To join the plan for 2027 taxes, estimated taxes must be over $100 and the application must reach the Tax Collector by April 30, 2027; state law (section 197.222) lets a late first installment be paid, without the discount, through July 31. Unpaid taxes become delinquent on April 1, 2027, when a mandatory charge of at least 3% is added. An advertising charge is added in May. Taxes still unpaid go to an online tax certificate sale beginning on or before June 1, where bidding starts at 18% interest; a certificate is a lien on the property. A postmark is not accepted for delinquent taxes: the payment must reach the office.

From Alachua County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Alachua County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Alachua County's average effective rate of 0.96% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Property tax in Alachua County at a glance

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Alachua County compare in Florida?

Among Florida's 67 counties, Alachua County has the highest effective property-tax rate. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 1213th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Florida county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Alachua County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Alachua County's 63,185 owner-occupied homes, 43.5% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 63.7% pay at least $2,000, and 8.8% pay under $800. Another 3.8% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,000 and owners without one pay $2,470. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.

How does the Alachua County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $2,773 is about 2.9% of the median income of Alachua County homeowner households, $95,048 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 54.1% of Alachua County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Alachua County?

Yes. The median bill went from $2,088 in 2015-2019 to $2,773 in 2020-2024, a 32.8% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 54.7%, from $186,700 to $288,800. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Alachua County

Alachua County borders 7 counties.

How is a home assessed in Alachua County?

Florida assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Alachua County included. How Florida assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Alachua County?

Yes. Florida exempts up to $50,000 of a permanent resident's home: the first $25,000 from all taxes and a further $25,000 from everything except school levies. Apply with the county property appraiser by March 1. That is the Florida rule, and it applies in Alachua County. Florida's exemptions and relief programs in full.

On top of the Florida programs, Alachua County runs its own:

• Senior citizen exemption (limited income): For a homesteaded owner aged 65 or older on January 1 whose household adjusted gross income is under the limit the Florida Department of Revenue sets each year ($38,686 for 2026 exemptions), an additional exemption from Alachua County taxes and from the taxes of cities that have also adopted it; it does not reduce school taxes, and once approved it renews automatically unless income rises above the limit. Apply by March 1.
• Long-term senior exemption (25-year residents): For an owner who qualifies for the senior citizen exemption, has lived in the home for at least 25 years and whose home's market value was under $250,000 when first qualifying, an exemption of the home's assessed value from Alachua County taxes; it does not reduce school taxes, and most cities in the county have not adopted it. Apply by March 1.

How to appeal your Alachua County property assessment

In Alachua County you appeal to the Alachua County Value Adjustment Board (administered by the Clerk of the Court). The deadline: Within 25 days after the Property Appraiser mails the TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice of proposed taxes, which goes out in mid-August, so the deadline falls in mid-September; the exact date is printed on your TRIM notice. A petition counts as filed on the day the Value Adjustment Board clerk receives it, not the postmark date. A petition over a denied exemption or classification is due within 30 days after the Property Appraiser mails the denial notice (state law, section 194.011). How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.

How Florida's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.

Florida rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Florida page.

Work out your own numbers

• How much house can I afford?

  Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Alachua County's tax rate to hand.

• Mortgage calculator

  Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.

• Florida income tax

  Brackets, standard deduction and what Florida actually taxes.

• Sales tax in Alachua County

  The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.