Property tax in Marion County, Florida

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

The bill comes from the Marion County Tax Collector. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Marion 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 and takes payment. 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 late summer; a Value Adjustment Board petition costs $50. If your mortgage company pays your taxes from escrow, it receives the tax notice and you receive a copy, but you remain responsible for making sure the taxes are paid. Mailed payments go to P.O. Box 63, Ocala, FL 34478-0063.

When are property taxes due in Marion County?

For the 2026 bill, Marion County has one due date: March 31, 2027. Tax bills are mailed on or before November 1, 2026. Paying early earns a discount: 4% if paid in November, 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February; the full gross amount is due by March 31. 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 on the quarterly installment plan (open when the prior year's taxes were more than $100; apply by April 30, and the plan renews on its own) instead pay by June 30, September 30, December 31 and March 31, with discounts of 6%, 4.5%, 3% and none. A missed June payment can still be made by July 31 without the discount; missing that too removes the account from the plan, and you must reapply by the following April 30. Unpaid taxes become delinquent on April 1, 2027, when 3% interest plus advertising costs are added; the delinquent list is advertised in May. Tax certificates are sold on all unpaid real estate accounts on or before June 1; a certificate is a lien on the property. After April 1, the amount owed depends on the date the Tax Collector's office receives your payment, not the postmark date.

From Marion 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 Marion County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Marion County's average effective rate of 0.74% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Property tax in Marion 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 Marion County compare in Florida?

Among Florida's 67 counties, Marion County has the 29th highest effective property-tax rate: 28 rank higher and 38 rank lower. That is near the middle for Florida. Nationally, it ranks 1750th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Florida county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Marion County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Marion County's 127,737 owner-occupied homes, 23% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 42.7% pay at least $2,000, and 16.1% pay under $800. Another 5.1% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,998 and owners without one pay $1,552. 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 Marion County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $1,806 is about 2.8% of the median income of Marion County homeowner households, $65,212 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 77.5% of Marion 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 Marion County?

Yes. The median bill went from $1,276 in 2015-2019 to $1,806 in 2020-2024, a 41.5% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 73.8%, from $139,900 to $243,100. 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 Marion County

Marion County borders 7 counties.

How is a home assessed in Marion County?

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

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

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

• Long-term resident senior exemption: For a homesteaded owner aged 65 or older whose household income does not exceed a limit the state adjusts every year ($38,686 for 2026), who has lived in the home at least 25 years, and whose home had a just value under $250,000 in the first year the owner applied, Marion County exempts the home's assessed value from county taxes, including county special districts and taxing units; the City of Ocala offers the same exemption against its own taxes. The separate $50,000 limited-income senior exemption is offered only by the City of Belleview and the Town of McIntosh, not by the county. Apply by March 1.
• Living quarters for parents or grandparents (granny flat) reduction: For a homesteaded owner who builds or rebuilds living quarters for a parent or grandparent aged 62 or older who lives there, the added value is deducted from the home's assessed value, up to 20% of the assessed value as improved. It must be applied for every year, before March 1, and ends when the parent or grandparent no longer lives there. Apply by Before March 1.

How to appeal your Marion County property assessment

In Marion County you appeal to the Marion County Value Adjustment Board (petitions filed with the Marion County Clerk of Court and Comptroller). The deadline: By 5:00 p.m. on the 25th day after the Property Appraiser mails the TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice of proposed property taxes; the deadline date is printed on the notice. The petition must be in the Clerk's hands by then, and a postmark is not enough. A petition over a denied exemption or classification is due within 30 days after the denial notice is mailed. 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 Marion 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 Marion County

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