A home inside the City of Boca Raton carries a 2026 property tax rate of 16.9090 mills, or about $16.91 for every $1,000 of taxable value, before any flat assessments. On a luxury purchase that works out to roughly 1.69 percent of the price a year, because Florida reassesses a home to market value on the January 1 after it sells and the seller’s capped assessment does not transfer to you. The homestead exemption itself is small at this price point, worth about $703 a year inside the city in 2026. What protects a primary-residence owner is the Save Our Homes cap, which holds annual increases in assessed value to 3 percent or inflation, whichever is lower (2.7 percent for 2026), and which you can later carry, up to $500,000 of accumulated benefit, to your next Florida home. On November 3, 2026, Florida voters will also decide Amendment 3, which would raise the non-school homestead exemption to $250,000 by 2028 for people who were Florida residents by December 31, 2026.

We are Steven, Elliot, and Wendy Koolik, and property tax is the conversation we have with nearly every buyer before an offer goes in, especially the buyers relocating from New York and the Northeast who are used to a very different system. What catches buyers off guard is not the rate. It is the timing: the tax bill on the listing sheet belongs to the seller, the one you will pay arrives a year after you close, and the decisions that shape it for the next decade, homestead, domicile, and when you establish Florida residency, are made in the first few months. This guide walks through how it actually works on a $2 million to $20 million-plus purchase, with the 2026 rates, the rules, and worked examples.

How a Florida Property Tax Bill Is Built

Every Palm Beach County parcel carries three values, and the Property Appraiser defines each one plainly. Just value is the property’s market value. Assessed value is just value minus any assessment cap, the 3 percent Save Our Homes cap for a homestead or the 10 percent cap for everything else. Taxable value is assessed value minus exemptions, and it is the number the Tax Collector multiplies by the millage rate.

A mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value, and your bill is the sum of every taxing authority whose boundary includes your parcel. Each authority adopts its own rate in public hearings every September. Most bills also carry non-ad valorem assessments, flat charges for services such as fire protection or solid waste, which a homestead exemption does not reduce. Local reporting in September 2026 describes a City of Boca Raton fire assessment increase for homes, so check that section of the current bill on any home you consider.

The 2026 Boca Raton Millage Rates, Line by Line

The table below lists every levy that applies to a parcel inside the City of Boca Raton, with the 2025 final rate and the 2026 rate as published by the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser. The City of Boca Raton adopted its 2026 rates on September 22, 2026, voting 5-0 to keep the operating rate at 3.6476 mills with a 0.0163-mill debt service rate. Palm Beach County adopted its 4.5000-mill rate on September 15, and the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District adopted 1.0331 mills, its rolled-back rate.

Source: Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, Tax Rates and Contact Info (2025 final and 2026 proposed columns), fetched September 28, 2026; adopted city, county, and Beach and Park rates confirmed in Boca Raton Tribune, Boca Daily News, and Town-Crier reporting of September 2026.

A flat rate does not mean a flat bill. The city’s 3.6476-mill operating rate is 4.39 percent above its rolled-back rate of 3.4941, the rate that would have raised last year’s revenue from existing property.

East Boca, West Boca, and the City Line

A Boca Raton mailing address does not mean a home is inside the City of Boca Raton. Much of what buyers call West Boca, including large country club communities such as Boca West, sits in unincorporated Palm Beach County. That changes the tax bill in two ways.

Outside the city, you do not pay the city’s 3.6639 mills. Instead, the county levies its Fire/Rescue MSTU at 3.4581 mills and its Library district at 0.5491 mills, both adopted September 15, 2026. The Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, meanwhile, covers the southeastern corner of the county east of Florida’s Turnpike and south of Clint Moore Road, including all of the city, so many unincorporated Boca addresses still pay its 1.0331 mills and some do not.

Totals computed from the Property Appraiser’s 2026 rates. The unincorporated rows assume the county Fire/Rescue and Library levies apply and no other special district levy; confirm the exact list of taxing authorities on the parcel’s TRIM notice or Property Appraiser record.

The difference between the city and unincorporated rows is about a third of a mill, roughly $343 a year per $1 million of taxable value. Club dues and insurance usually move the carrying cost far more, as our guides to the cost to own a $5 million home and gated communities without mandatory club membership show. But compare listings on the parcel’s actual taxing authorities, not the ZIP code.

The Tax Bill Shock: Why the Seller’s Bill Is Not Yours

The tax shown on a listing is the seller’s tax, reflecting the seller’s exemptions and, after years of ownership, a capped assessed value that may be far below market. The Property Appraiser’s FAQ answers the question buyers ask every year: when a property changes ownership, Florida law requires the appraiser to remove exemptions and reassess the property so the assessed value equals the just or market value, effective January 1 after the purchase.

Timing matters. The year you close, you are taxed on the seller’s January 1 value and status; the reset comes the following January 1, appears on the August TRIM notice, and is billed in November. Close in October 2026, and your first reassessed bill arrives in November 2027. The appraiser’s value is also not automatically your contract price: Florida Statute 193.011 directs it to exclude reasonable costs of purchase and consider net proceeds after costs of sale. The Property Appraiser’s online calculator starts from your purchase price, which is why we treat the price as the conservative planning number.

The Florida Homestead Exemption, Step by Step

The homestead exemption is available to a permanent Florida resident who holds title to the home and makes it his or her permanent residence. It has two parts, and at luxury prices the structure matters more than the size.

Sources: Palm Beach County Property Appraiser homestead exemption page; 2026 additional exemption as certified by the Florida Department of Revenue and published by the Pinellas County Property Appraiser. Annual value computed at 16.9090 total and 10.6220 non-school mills.

Who qualifies

According to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, as of January 1 you must be a permanent resident of Florida, hold title to the property, make it your permanent residence, and have no residency-based tax benefit elsewhere. The appraiser’s list of disqualifying benefits names New York’s STAR and Enhanced STAR credits specifically, along with rollback and abatement programs. If you are keeping a New York home with a STAR benefit, resolve it before you file in Florida.

The March 1 deadline

Applications must be eligible as of January 1 and submitted by March 1 of the year the benefit applies. Florida law treats a missed March 1 deadline as a waiver of the exemption for that year. In practice, that means a buyer who closes in November 2026 and moves in before January 1, 2027 files between January 1 and March 1, 2027, and the exemption and the Save Our Homes cap start with the 2027 tax year. A buyer who closes in February 2027 cannot claim homestead until 2028, because he or she did not own and occupy the home on January 1, 2027.

How to file in Palm Beach County

The Property Appraiser accepts applications through E-File on its website, in person at its five service centers, or by mail. Plan to provide Social Security numbers for each applying owner and spouse, a Florida driver license or ID, and supporting proof such as a Florida vehicle registration, Florida voter registration at the homestead address, a recorded Declaration of Domicile, a federal tax return, or utility bills. Homestead then renews automatically while you qualify; a sale or a change in how title is held requires a new application.

The permanent residency test

Florida Statute 196.015 makes permanent residency a factual determination by the Property Appraiser. The listed factors include a recorded declaration of domicile, place of employment, when non-Florida residency ended, Florida voter registration at the property address, a Florida driver license with other states’ licenses surrendered, Florida vehicle tags, the address on your federal tax return, where your bank accounts are registered, and utility payments at the property. No single factor is conclusive, and knowingly giving false information to claim homestead is a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida Statute 196.131.

Save Our Homes: The Cap That Makes Homestead Valuable

At $3 million and above, the exemption itself is a rounding error. The cap is not. Under Save Our Homes, the assessed value of a homesteaded property can rise each year by no more than 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. The Florida Department of Revenue published the cap at 2.7 percent for 2026, after 2.9 percent for 2025 and the full 3.0 percent in 2022 through 2024, when inflation ran above it.

The cap starts the year after the home first receives the exemption and lasts until it is sold or stops qualifying. Non-homestead property has a 10 percent cap instead, which does not apply to school levies.

The 10 Percent Cap for Second Homes and Investment Property

If you keep your primary residence elsewhere, or buy in Boca Raton as a seasonal home, the property is non-homestead. The first reassessment still resets it to market. After that, the assessed value for non-school levies can rise no more than 10 percent a year; school levies, about 6.29 of the 16.91 mills inside the city in 2026, have no cap.

If you are buying through an LLC or other entity, note that a change of ownership or control not recorded on a deed, such as a change in who owns the LLC, also triggers reassessment. Under Florida Statute 193.1556 the owner must report it promptly; the Property Appraiser warns that failing to do so can bring a lien for back taxes plus 15 percent annual interest and a 50 percent penalty. Investors will find the rest of the math in our investment property guide and 1031 exchange guide.

Worked Examples: $3 Million, $7 Million, and $15 Million

The table below estimates the first reassessed annual property tax on three purchase prices, at 2026 rates, with and without homestead, inside the city and in unincorporated Boca Raton within the Beach and Park District.

Illustrative estimates, not a tax bill. Assumes the appraiser’s just value on the first January 1 after purchase equals the purchase price (the appraiser’s value may be lower); 2026 rates of 16.9090 mills inside the city (10.6220 non-school) and 17.2523 mills unincorporated (10.9653 non-school); homestead exemptions of $25,000 on all levies and $26,411 on non-school levies. Excludes non-ad valorem assessments and the early-payment discount. The first reassessed bill would use 2027 rates, which are not yet set.

In year one, homestead is worth about $703 inside the city on any of these homes. By year five, in the $7 million illustration above, a capped homestead is more than $20,000 a year cheaper than an uncapped second home. For buyers who will make Boca Raton home, the homestead decision is really a Save Our Homes decision, and the earlier the cap starts, the more it compounds.

Paying the bill has its own small lever. Florida Statute 197.162 sets early-payment discounts of 4 percent in November, 3 percent in December, 2 percent in January, 1 percent in February, and none in March. On the $118,363 bill above, paying in November instead of March is worth about $4,735.

Portability: Bringing Your Save Our Homes Benefit With You

If you already own a homesteaded Florida home, you may be sitting on a large gap between its market value and its capped assessed value. Portability lets you transfer that benefit, up to $500,000, to a new Florida homestead.

• Establish the new homestead on or before January 1 of the third year after you abandon the old one, and apply for portability with the homestead application by March 1.
• Moving up: the full difference, up to $500,000, reduces the new home’s assessed value, and the cap continues on it. Moving down: a proportional share transfers.
• All owners of a jointly owned prior homestead must abandon it for the difference to transfer.

At 2026 city rates, a full $500,000 transfer is worth about $8,455 a year on the new home. Owners with a large embedded gap should run the Property Appraiser’s portability calculator before they list; our East Boca seller’s guide and our guide to selling a country club home cover the sale side.

Moving From New York: Establishing Florida Domicile

For households relocating from New York, the property tax question is paired with a bigger one: when does New York stop treating you as a resident? Our New York to Boca Raton relocation guide covers the full picture; here is where it meets property tax.

Florida’s side is the Declaration of Domicile. Florida Statute 222.17 lets anyone who has established a Florida domicile file a sworn statement with the clerk of the circuit court stating that they reside in and maintain a place of abode in that county which they intend to maintain as their permanent home. The Property Appraiser weighs it for homestead, but it is evidence of intent, not a substitute for moving your life: license, voter registration, vehicle tags, tax return address, bank accounts, and utilities should all point to the same Boca Raton address.

New York’s side is domicile plus a day count. According to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, you are a New York resident if your domicile is New York, or if you maintain a permanent place of abode there for substantially all of the year and spend 184 days or more in the state, with any part of a day counting. This is the test people call the 183-day rule. New York is known for examining residency changes by high earners closely, and a Florida homestead filed accurately and on time is part of the record that supports the move. The specifics belong with a New York tax attorney or CPA.

2026 Changes: Amendment 3 on the November 3 Ballot

The biggest property tax question of 2026 is on the ballot. In a special session in June, the Florida Legislature passed CS/HJR 1-F, the “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes” joint resolution, 75 to 26 in the House and 30 to 9 in the Senate on June 2, 2026, and filed it with the Secretary of State on June 16. It appears on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot as Amendment 3. Like every Florida constitutional amendment, it needs at least 60 percent of the vote to pass. If approved, it takes effect January 1, 2027. No one knows the outcome yet, and nothing below should be read as a prediction.

Sources: enrolled CS/HJR 1-F (2026F) and its ballot statement; Florida Senate President’s release of June 2, 2026; Florida Legislature joint resolution citator of September 16, 2026; Pinellas County Property Appraiser Amendment 3 FAQ.

What it would mean for a Boca Raton luxury buyer

For a homesteaded buyer who was a Florida resident by December 31, 2026, the larger exemption would be worth about $1,047 a year in 2027 and about $2,109 a year from 2028 inside the city, at 2026 rates. That is a small share of a luxury bill, because school taxes are untouched and value above $250,000 stays taxable, and the Pinellas County Property Appraiser notes that actual savings cannot be determined until implementing legislation is finalized.

The residency date is the part to plan around. Someone who had not maintained a permanent Florida residence as of December 31, 2026 would start at a $50,000 non-school exemption and reach the larger amount in the fifth year of exemption, a difference of about $1,062 in 2027 and about $2,124 a year from 2028 until the fifth year of exemption, inside the city at 2026 rates. The Pinellas County Property Appraiser reads the text to cover people who establish residency by that date and buy later. For a New York buyer already planning a move, that is a reason to talk with counsel now about when Florida residency begins, not a reason to rush a purchase.

For second-home buyers, the proposed 5 percent non-homestead cap would slow the growth of the non-school portion of the bill after the first reassessment. It would not stop the reset on purchase: the enrolled text keeps the rule that non-homestead property is assessed at just value after a change of ownership or control, including a change in ownership of an entity that owns it.

If you disagree with the value on your August TRIM notice, contact the Property Appraiser first; if that does not resolve it, you can petition the Value Adjustment Board, administered independently by the Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tax rates, exemption amounts, and ballot information are drawn from the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, the Florida Department of Revenue, the Florida Statutes, the Florida Legislature, and the other sources cited above as of September 28, 2026. Worked examples are illustrative estimates, not tax bills. This article is general information and is not tax or legal advice; confirm your situation with a Florida CPA or attorney, a New York tax advisor where relevant, and the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser before relying on any figure.