How do Florida property taxes compare to New Jersey and New York?
Dramatically lower, with a catch worth understanding. New Jersey carries the highest property tax burden in the nation and Florida sits far below it, plus Florida has no state income tax at all. The catch: when you buy in Florida, the property's assessed value resets to reflect your purchase, so the low tax bill the seller enjoyed is not automatically the bill you will pay.
The headline comparison
New Jersey homeowners routinely pay effective property tax rates above two percent of home value, the highest in the country, and New York's downstate counties are not far behind. Florida's effective rates typically run well under half of that in Collier County, and the state constitution forbids a personal income tax entirely. For a household relocating with income and a seven-figure home, the combined swing often reaches tens of thousands of dollars a year.
The tax you escape is real. The tax you inherit resets on the day you close.
The reset every buyer should expect
Florida caps how fast a homesteaded property's assessed value can grow (three percent a year or inflation, whichever is lower, under Save Our Homes). Long-time owners therefore carry assessed values far below market value. When you buy, that protection does not transfer: the assessed value resets toward what you paid. Practical translation: never estimate your future taxes from the seller's current bill. Estimate from the purchase price and the local millage rate, which we run for every client before they offer.
What softens the reset
- The homestead exemption takes roughly $50,000 off the assessed value of your primary residence (about $51,000 for 2026, adjusted annually).
- The Save Our Homes cap then limits growth every year after your first, which compounds powerfully over a decade.
- Second homes get a different deal: non-homestead property has a 10 percent assessment cap and no exemption, so snowbirds pay more than residents on identical homes.
By the numbers
- New Jersey: highest effective property tax rates in the nation, commonly 2%+
- Florida: no state income tax, constitutionally
- Homestead exemption 2026: about $51,000 off assessed value
- Assessed value resets at purchase; never budget from the seller's bill
Sources: Florida homestead and Save Our Homes overview
This article is general information for Naples, Florida buyers, not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Laws, rates, and markets change. Please verify current details with the appropriate professional, and talk to us before relying on anything here in a transaction.
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