Property tax in Santa Rosa County, Florida

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

In Santa Rosa County, the property tax bill comes from the Santa Rosa 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 Santa Rosa County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.

The median property tax bill in Santa Rosa County, Florida is $1,891 a year, which is about 0.57% of the county's median home value of $329,800. That effective rate is lower than 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 Santa Rosa County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Santa Rosa County Tax Collector. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Santa Rosa 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. The bill combines the taxes set by the County Commission, the School Board and the other taxing bodies, plus non-ad valorem assessments for things like fire service and street lighting. 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 $50. If your mortgage company pays through escrow, it requests the bill and you are mailed a copy. Online payments run through a separate payment site that the Tax Collector links to; e-checks are free and card payments carry a convenience fee.

When are property taxes due in Santa Rosa County?

For the 2026 bill, Santa Rosa County has one due date: March 31, 2027. Tax notices are normally mailed on or before November 1, 2026, and collection begins November 1. 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; the Tax Collector says, as state law provides, that a discount period ending on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday extends to the next business day. Owners on the quarterly installment plan (open when the prior year's tax was 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. State law requires the Tax Collector to accept a late first installment through July 31, without its discount, and sets no penalty; the Tax Collector's installment page instead says July 30 and adds a 5% penalty to July payments. Missing the first installment cancels the plan for that year and the full bill is due by March 31. Unpaid real estate taxes become delinquent on April 1, 2027, when a 3% charge is added, and advertising fees are added on May 1. After April 1 the Tax Collector accepts only cashier's check, money order, cash or credit card, and the amount due depends on the date the payment reaches the office. A tax certificate sale, which places a lien on the property, begins on or before June 1; interest on a certificate can run up to 18% a year.

From Santa Rosa 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 Santa Rosa County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Santa Rosa County's average effective rate of 0.57% (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: $1,880 / year

Property tax in Santa Rosa County at a glance

Santa Rosa County, Florida property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$1,891
Median home value	$329,800
Effective tax rate	0.57%
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 Santa Rosa County compare in Florida?

Among Florida's 67 counties, Santa Rosa County has the 58th highest effective property-tax rate: 57 rank higher and 9 rank lower. That places it among the least taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 2360th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Florida county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Santa Rosa County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Santa Rosa County's 58,531 owner-occupied homes, 23.5% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 43.5% pay at least $2,000, and 16.1% pay under $800. Another 7% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Santa Rosa County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	9,447	16.1%
$800 to $1,499	11,426	19.5%
$1,500 to $1,999	8,126	13.9%
$2,000 to $2,999	11,706	20%
$3,000 or more	13,750	23.5%
No property tax paid	4,076	7%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $2,109 and owners without one pay $1,507. 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 Santa Rosa County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $1,891 is about 1.9% of the median income of Santa Rosa County homeowner households, $98,751 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 80.6% of Santa Rosa 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 Santa Rosa County?

Yes. The median bill went from $1,399 in 2015-2019 to $1,891 in 2020-2024, a 35.2% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 65.6%, from $199,200 to $329,800. 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 Santa Rosa County

Santa Rosa County borders 3 counties, 1 of them across the state line.

Santa Rosa County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Escambia County, FL	0.58%	$1,495	$257,200
Okaloosa County, FL	0.57%	$2,011	$351,200
Santa Rosa County, FL (this county)	0.57%	$1,891	$329,800
Escambia County, AL	0.39%	$530	$136,500

How is a home assessed in Santa Rosa County?

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

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

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

Senior exemption for persons 65 and older (limited income): An additional $50,000 homestead exemption from county taxes for an owner aged 65 or older on January 1 whose household adjusted gross income is no more than $38,686 (the 2026 limit, adjusted every year). It applies only to taxes levied by the County Commission, including its dependent districts and municipal service taxing units, not to school or city taxes, and the income statement must be filed every year. Apply by March 1.
Senior longevity exemption (25-year residents): For an owner aged 65 or older who meets the same income limit and has lived in the home at least 25 years, on a home with a just value under $250,000, the county exempts the home's full assessed value from county taxes (not school or city taxes). 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 excludes the added value from the assessment, up to the smaller of the value added or 20% of the home's total assessed value; the application must be filed every year. Apply by the end of February (the county ordinance and state law require the application before March 1).

How to appeal your Santa Rosa County property assessment

In Santa Rosa County you appeal to the Santa Rosa 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, which goes out in August. For 2026 the petition deadline was September 14, 2026, in the Clerk's office by 4:00 pm Central time. 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

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Santa Rosa 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.