To file a Broward property tax appeal, submit Form DR-486, the Petition to the Value Adjustment Board, within 25 days of the date your TRIM notice was mailed, pay the $15 filing fee, and prepare to exchange evidence with the property appraiser at least 15 days before your hearing before a special magistrate. Miss the 25-day window and you have no administrative remedy until the next tax year. Before you file, though, there is a faster option worth trying.
Try an Informal Conference First
Florida law lets you request a face-to-face meeting with the Broward County Property Appraiser’s office before filing anything formal. You present the facts you believe support a lower value, and the appraiser’s representative explains how they arrived at theirs.1Florida House of Representatives. Florida Code 194 – Administrative and Judicial Review of Property Taxes The informal conference is not a prerequisite for the VAB, so you lose nothing by trying, and it resolves a surprising number of disputes without a hearing.
If the appraiser agrees the value is too high, the adjustment happens without paperwork. If not, everything you prepared carries over. Bring comparable sales data and photos, make your case, and see whether the appraiser moves.
What You Can Challenge
Most appeals rest on one of three arguments: the assessed value exceeds what the property would sell for, your assessment is out of line with comparable properties, or the appraiser denied a tax benefit you qualified for.
Just Value Disputes
Florida defines “just value” as the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller in an arm’s-length transaction. The appraiser must weigh factors including present cash value, highest and best use, condition, and income.2Florida Legislature. Florida Code 193.011 – Factors to Consider in Deriving Just Valuation If the appraiser’s number exceeds what the market would have supported on January 1 of the tax year, you have grounds.
Uniformity Challenges
Even when your assessed value tracks market value, you may still have a case if comparable properties nearby carry a lower assessment-to-market ratio. The Florida Constitution requires uniform taxation within each class. You build this argument by pulling assessment data for similar properties on the same street or in the same subdivision and showing a pattern.
Denied Exemptions and Classifications
If the appraiser denied your homestead exemption, veterans’ exemption, or senior exemption, you can appeal that denial to the VAB.3Florida Dept. of Revenue. Property Tax – Taxpayers – Property Value Disagree The same goes for denied agricultural classifications; landowners receive written notice of denial by July 1 with information about the right to appeal.4Florida Legislature. Florida Code 193.461 – Agricultural Lands Classification and Assessment The petition form has a specific checkbox for each type of denial.
Check the Save Our Homes Cap on Homesteaded Property
If your home has a homestead exemption, Florida’s Save Our Homes provision caps the annual increase in assessed value at 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower.5Florida Senate. Florida Code 193.155 – Homestead Assessments Over time, this creates a gap between assessed value and market value that can represent tens of thousands of dollars in shielded value.6Florida Dept. of Revenue. Save Our Homes Assessment Limitation and Portability Transfer
Your TRIM notice shows just value and assessed value as two different numbers. Even if the just value looks reasonable, the assessed value used to calculate your tax should not have increased by more than the cap allows. An assessed value jump above 3% year-over-year on a homesteaded property is grounds for a petition on its own.
Build Your Evidence
The appraiser’s assessment carries a legal presumption of correctness, which means the burden of proof falls on you.7Florida Legislature. Florida Code 194.301 – Challenge of Assessment Complaints about high taxes don’t overcome that presumption. Documented evidence does.
Comparable Sales for Homes
The strongest residential evidence is a set of comparable sales that closed before January 1 of the tax year. Look for properties similar to yours in size, age, condition, and location that sold for less than your assessed value. The Broward County Property Appraiser’s website lets you search recent sales by neighborhood. Three to five strong comparables tell a clearer story than a dozen weak ones. For each, note sale price, sale date, square footage, lot size, and any differences from your property that affect value.
Photographs of deferred maintenance, storm damage, foundation issues, or other value-reducing conditions add weight. If your 25-year-old roof stands next to a comparable that sold with a new roof, the photo makes that distinction tangible for the magistrate.
Income Approach for Commercial Property
Commercial owners typically use the income capitalization approach: divide net operating income by an appropriate cap rate to arrive at market value. Credible evidence requires actual rent rolls, vacancy data, and a detailed breakdown of operating expenses. Two to four years of expense history helps identify anomalies and supports a stabilized income figure. Capitalization rates should come from recent Broward sales, not national averages.
Professional Appraisals
Hiring a licensed appraiser is not required but strengthens the case, particularly for high-value or complex properties. Any appraisal submitted as evidence must comply with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. An appraisal that falls short of USPAP can be challenged and given less weight. Confirm the valuation date matches January 1 of the tax year, because an appraisal dated six months later reflects a different market.
File the Petition with the Broward VAB
The formal appeal begins with Form DR-486, the Petition to the Value Adjustment Board.8Florida Department of Revenue. DR-486 – Petition to the Value Adjustment Board The form asks you to select the type of challenge and enter your parcel identification number. In Broward County, that’s a 12-digit number shown on your TRIM notice and tax bill, sometimes displayed with spaces or dashes.9Broward County Official Records. Tips for Searching the Tracking Log A wrong parcel ID can delay or derail your petition.
The 25-Day Deadline
You must file within 25 days of the date the TRIM notice was mailed.10Florida House of Representatives. Florida Code 194.011 – Assessment Notice and Objections to Assessments The deadline is rigid. In Broward County, the 2025 filing window ran from August 18 through September 17; expect similar timing in 2026.11Broward County. Value Adjustment Board Petition Filing Once the window closes, no administrative remedy is available until the following year.
Filing Fee
Each petition carries a non-refundable $15 filing fee, payable by cash, check, or money order at the VAB office.12Broward County Value Adjustment Board. Value Adjustment Board Frequently Asked Questions Credit cards are accepted with a convenience fee. Petitions challenging a timely-filed homestead exemption denial typically have the fee waived.
How to Submit
Broward County accepts petitions online through its VAB portal. After submitting, you receive a transaction number and password to track status.11Broward County. Value Adjustment Board Petition Filing One limit: petitions for exemptions, portability, and multiple or contiguous parcels cannot be filed online and must be delivered in person at the VAB office at 115 S. Andrews Avenue, Room 120, Fort Lauderdale.
If you file by mail, use certified mail with return receipt. The postmark date controls whether you met the deadline. Keep a copy of everything.
The 15-Day Evidence Exchange
Once your hearing is scheduled, both sides must share evidence at least 15 days before the hearing date. You provide the appraiser with a list of your evidence, copies of all documents, and a summary of any witness testimony. The appraiser does the same for you, including the property record card.13Florida Legislature. Florida Code 194.011 – Assessment Notice and Objections to Assessments Both sides face the same 15-day deadline. If the appraiser fails to comply, the hearing gets rescheduled.
Use this period to study the appraiser’s comparables and identify where their methodology is vulnerable. That is where your hearing arguments should focus.
At the Hearing
A special magistrate presides. Florida law requires magistrates hearing value disputes to be state-certified appraisers with at least five years of experience; magistrates hearing exemption or classification issues must be Florida Bar members with at least five years of ad valorem tax experience.14Florida Legislature. Florida Code 194.035 – Special Magistrates Magistrates cannot be county employees or elected officials.
You present your evidence first: comparable sales, appraisal, photos, income data. The appraiser’s office then presents its justification. The magistrate may ask questions of both sides. Remember the presumption of correctness: the appraiser’s value stands unless you show it doesn’t comply with the statutory valuation factors or accepted appraisal practices.7Florida Legislature. Florida Code 194.301 – Challenge of Assessment You don’t need to show bad faith. You need to show the number is wrong, with data.
The magistrate then makes a written recommendation to the full Value Adjustment Board, including proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The board can adopt the recommendation without a further hearing. A successful appeal flows through to the tax collector, and your final bill reflects the reduction.
If You Lose: Circuit Court
A VAB decision is not the end. Any taxpayer who disagrees can appeal to the circuit court.15Florida Senate. Florida Code 194.036 – Appeals Circuit court is a significant step up in cost and complexity. You’ll likely need an attorney, the case moves through the court system rather than an administrative hearing, and the standard of review differs since the court examines the record and may take additional evidence. For most homeowners, the cost outweighs the potential tax savings unless the value at stake is substantial. For commercial owners with six- or seven-figure assessments, circuit court is a routine next step.
After a Win: Escrow Refunds and Federal Taxes
If you pay taxes through a mortgage escrow account, a successful appeal doesn’t automatically put money in your pocket. The reduced bill lowers what your servicer owes the county, which creates a surplus in the escrow account. Under federal rules, your servicer must run an annual escrow analysis and notify you of a surplus within 30 days of completing it. If the surplus is $50 or more, the servicer must refund it within 30 days. Smaller surpluses may be credited against next year’s payments.16eCFR. 12 CFR 1024.17 – Escrow Accounts
Timing depends on when your servicer’s annual analysis lands relative to the VAB decision. If the analysis already ran before the assessment change was recorded, you may wait for the next cycle. You can call and request an early re-analysis after the new tax bill is issued. Not every servicer will accommodate that, but many do. Either way, your monthly payment should decrease going forward.
A refund can also affect your federal return. If you itemized and deducted property taxes in a prior year and later receive a refund or credit for that year, the IRS tax benefit rule may require you to report part or all of the refund as income.17Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 – Taxable and Nontaxable Income You include the recovered amount to the extent the original deduction reduced your tax. If the refund applies to the same year you paid the taxes, you simply reduce that year’s deduction by the refund amount.
If you did not itemize in the year you paid the taxes, or if your itemized deductions would not have exceeded the standard deduction even with the property tax deduction, the refund is not taxable income. Publication 525 includes a worksheet for the calculation. The federal SALT deduction is currently capped at $40,400 for the 2026 tax year, or $20,200 for married filing separately, so if your total state and local taxes already exceeded the cap, the refund may not affect your federal liability at all, since the excess was not deductible in the first place.