Property tax in Clay County, Florida

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

In Clay County, the property tax bill comes from the Clay County Tax Collector. The 2026 bill is due March 31, 2027. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Clay County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.

The median property tax bill in Clay County, Florida is $2,241 a year, which is about 0.72% of the county's median home value of $312,500. That effective rate is about the same as the typical Florida county (0.72%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.

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

The bill comes from the Clay County Tax Collector. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Clay 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 mails the bill and takes payment. If your mortgage company pays through escrow, you receive an information-only copy of the bill. Clay County does not offer the 25-year senior longevity exemption; the Property Appraiser says only the Town of Orange Park and the City of Green Cove Springs have adopted it, against their own taxes. The value-appeal window closes in September, before the bill arrives in November, so a disagreement with the value has to be raised from the TRIM notice mailed in August; a Value Adjustment Board petition costs $35 filed online or $50 on paper. Online payments run through a separate payment site that the Tax Collector links to; e-checks are free and card payments carry a 2.50% fee.

When are property taxes due in Clay County?

For the 2026 bill, Clay County has one due date: March 31, 2027. Bills are mailed by November 1, 2026, and taxes are due and payable from November 1. Paying early earns a discount: 4% if paid in November, 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February; the full amount is due by March 31. For mailed payments the postmark decides the discount. January 31 and February 28, 2027 fall on Sundays; the Tax Collector extends the discount for walk-in payments to the next working day when a deadline falls on a weekend or observed holiday. Owners on the quarterly installment plan (open when estimated taxes are more than $100; apply by April 30, and enrollment renews each year on its own) instead pay by June 30, September 30, December 31 and March 31, with discounts of 6%, 4.5%, 3% and none. The first installment can be paid late through July 31 without its discount; missing it cancels the plan and the regular due dates apply. A partial payment plan (no discounts, not online) is also available from November 1 to March 31 with an application. Unpaid real estate taxes become delinquent on April 1, 2027, when a 3% charge is added. Additional fees are due from May 1, when delinquent taxes are advertised in the local newspaper once a week for three weeks. A tax certificate sale, which places a lien on the property, is held on or before June 1, with bidding starting at 18% interest. Prior-year delinquent taxes must be paid in full in certified funds (cash, PIN debit, cashier's check or money order), and the amount due depends on the date the payment reaches the office.

From Clay 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 Clay County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Clay County's average effective rate of 0.72% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $2,250 / year

Property tax in Clay County at a glance

Clay County, Florida property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$2,241
Median home value	$312,500
Effective tax rate	0.72%
Typical Florida county rate	0.72%
National median county rate	0.81%

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 Clay County compare in Florida?

Among Florida's 67 counties, Clay County has the 34th highest effective property-tax rate: 33 rank higher and 33 rank lower. That is near the middle for Florida. Nationally, it ranks 1813th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Florida county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Clay County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Clay County's 63,522 owner-occupied homes, 32.7% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 52% pay at least $2,000, and 10.7% pay under $800. Another 5.4% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Clay County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	6,785	10.7%
$800 to $1,499	12,087	19%
$1,500 to $1,999	8,208	12.9%
$2,000 to $2,999	12,234	19.3%
$3,000 or more	20,750	32.7%
No property tax paid	3,458	5.4%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,468 and owners without one pay $1,829. 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 Clay County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $2,241 is about 2.3% of the median income of Clay County homeowner households, $98,471 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 75.9% of Clay 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 Clay County?

Yes. The median bill went from $1,565 in 2015-2019 to $2,241 in 2020-2024, a 43.2% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 68.6%, from $185,400 to $312,500. 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 Clay County

Clay County borders 5 counties.

Clay County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Putnam County, FL	0.78%	$1,249	$160,300
St. Johns County, FL	0.76%	$3,721	$489,200
Duval County, FL	0.75%	$2,264	$303,500
Clay County, FL (this county)	0.72%	$2,241	$312,500
Baker County, FL	0.64%	$1,631	$256,700
Bradford County, FL	0.55%	$1,164	$212,500

How is a home assessed in Clay County?

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

Is there a homestead exemption in Clay 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 Clay County. Florida's exemptions and relief programs in full.

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

Senior exemption for persons 65 and older (limited income): An additional $50,000 homestead exemption from Clay County taxes (including its dependent districts and municipal service taxing units) for an owner aged 65 or older on January 1 whose household adjusted gross income is under a limit adjusted every year for inflation; it does not reduce school or city taxes, and the income statement must be filed again every year. Apply by March 1.
Granny flat assessment reduction: When a homestead owner builds or remodels living quarters for a parent or grandparent (of the owner or spouse) aged 62 or older who lives there as a primary residence, the county reduces the home's assessed value by the increase that the construction caused, up to 20% of the home's total assessed value; after the first approval you do not need to reapply unless the ownership or use changes. Apply by the end of February (state law requires the application before March 1; the county code says by March 1).

How to appeal your Clay County property assessment

In Clay County you appeal to the Clay County Value Adjustment Board (petitions filed with the Clerk of Court and Comptroller). The deadline: Within 25 days after the Property Appraiser mails the TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice of proposed taxes. For 2026 the notices were mailed August 21 and the petition deadline was September 15, 2026. Paper petitions must be in the Clerk's hands by the deadline; a postmark does not count. A petition over a denied exemption or classification was due July 31, 2026, for denials mailed July 1. 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

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Clay County, Florida: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.