How to Appeal Your Broward Property Tax Before the 2026 Deadline

If you own in Broward and think your 2026 property assessment is too high, you have a narrow window to challenge it. Your TRIM notice, mailed in August, sets the market and assessed value the county will tax you on, and the deadline to petition the Value Adjustment Board is September 18, 2026, about 25 days after the notice went out. Start with a free informal review at the Property Appraiser's office, then file a formal petition (form DR-486, 15 dollars) if that does not resolve it. Bring recent comparable sales that came in below your assessed value. Keep paying your tax bill while you appeal, because the law requires it to keep the petition alive.

By Darek Homel, Broker-Owner, Landmark Signature Realty LLC | CIPS, CLHMS Guild, CNC, SRS, ABR, SFR Published August 25, 2026 · 7 min read

This guide is for Broward County homeowners who believe their 2026 assessment overstates what their home is worth. It covers the appeal process through the Value Adjustment Board. It is general information, not legal or tax advice, so confirm the specifics with the Broward County Property Appraiser and the dates printed on your own notice. The same process runs in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, each with its own deadline.

The deadline that decides everything
What your TRIM notice actually says
Step 1: the free informal review
Step 2: the formal VAB petition
The evidence that actually wins
Keep paying your bill, or lose the appeal
Is it worth appealing?
Frequently Asked Questions

The deadline that decides everything

Broward mails the TRIM notice, short for Truth in Millage, in August. Florida law gives you 25 days from that mailing to file a petition with the Value Adjustment Board. For 2026 that deadline is September 18. Miss it and your petition is returned as late, with no appeal for this tax year.

The exact date is printed on your own notice, so read it the day it arrives. Do not wait for the November tax bill, by then the window is closed. For the official process and the online petition system, Broward County posts everything on the Value Adjustment Board filing page.

What your TRIM notice actually says

The TRIM notice is not a bill. It is a preview, and it holds three numbers worth checking:

Market value, the county's estimate of what your home would sell for as of January 1, 2026.
Assessed value, the market value reduced by your Save Our Homes cap if you have a homestead exemption.
Exemptions and proposed tax rates, which the taxing authorities set.

You appeal the market value, by arguing the county set it too high. You are not arguing the tax rate. If a home like yours would not have sold for the market value on the notice, that gap is your case.

Step 1: the free informal review

Before you file anything, call or visit the Broward County Property Appraiser. Ask for an informal review of your value. This step is free, carries no risk, and resolves a large share of disputes without a hearing.

Many overstatements come from a factual error the office can simply correct: a wrong square footage, a bathroom that does not exist, a pool that was removed, or condition problems the county never saw. Bring your evidence, make your case, and if they agree they adjust the value on the spot. Do this early, because it does not extend the September 18 deadline.

I have watched Broward sellers carry an inflated assessment for years simply because nobody ever challenged it, and more than once the fix was a single afternoon with three comparable sales that closed below the county's number. The homeowners who win are not the ones who argue hardest, they are the ones who show up with the right comps.

Step 2: the formal VAB petition

If the informal review does not fix it, file a petition with the Value Adjustment Board. You do this yourself, no lawyer required.

Step	What it is	Detail
File the petition	Form DR-486 to the VAB	Online through the Broward Clerk's VAB system, or in person at 115 S. Andrews Ave., Room 120, Fort Lauderdale
Pay the fee	15 dollars per parcel	Capped by Florida Statute 194.013, the only required cost if you self-file
Exchange evidence	Both sides share evidence	You and the Property Appraiser trade evidence before the hearing under the VAB rules
Attend the hearing	Special magistrate hears it	You present your comparable sales, the county defends its value, the magistrate recommends a decision

An unfavorable decision can be taken further, to circuit court, but most homeowners never need to. A clean case with good comparable sales is often resolved well before that.

The evidence that actually wins

The county set your value with a mass model, not a visit to your home. Your job is to show what that model missed, with specifics:

Comparable sales. Recent sales of similar homes near you that closed below your assessed value in the 12 months before January 1, 2026. This is the single strongest piece of evidence. Pull them from the county's own records, or ask an agent for a clean set.
Condition problems. Photos of a failing roof, storm or flood damage, foundation or plumbing issues, or deferred repairs the mass model never accounted for.
Factual errors. Anything wrong in your property record: overstated square footage, a wrong bedroom or bath count, or features you do not have.

Opinion does not move a magistrate. Comparable sales and photographs do.

Keep paying your bill, or lose the appeal

This trips people up, so it matters. Florida law (section 194.014) requires you to pay at least 75 percent of your ad valorem taxes, plus all non-ad valorem assessments, before they become delinquent, or the VAB will deny your petition no matter how strong your case.

So keep paying your tax bill on the normal schedule while the appeal runs. If the VAB lowers your value, the overpayment is refunded with interest. Stopping payment to protest does not help, it ends the appeal.

Is it worth appealing?

Run a quick gut check. If comparable homes near you sold for meaningfully less than your assessed value in 2025, or your record has a clear error, or your home took storm or condition damage the county never saw, the free informal review alone is worth the phone call. The downside is a 15 dollar fee and an afternoon; the upside is a lower assessed value that compounds every year you own the home.

If you are not sure whether your assessment is out of line, the fastest read is a current value estimate on your specific home. Our home value tool gives you that starting point, and if you want a set of comparable sales pulled for a Broward address, a 30-minute call is the quickest way to get them.

Get a real read on your Broward home's value

The appeal window closes September 18, and the case you can make is only as good as the comparable sales behind it. Two five-minute next steps:

For a Broward-specific pull of comparable sales before you file, schedule a 30-minute call and bring your address and your TRIM notice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deadline to appeal property taxes in Broward County?

For 2026 the Broward Value Adjustment Board petition deadline is September 18, which is 25 days after the county mailed the TRIM notice. The exact date is printed on your own notice, so check it. Petitions received after the deadline are returned as late, so file early.

How much does it cost to appeal your property tax in Broward?

The filing fee is capped by Florida law at 15 dollars per parcel under section 194.013. That is the only required cost if you file the petition yourself. You can represent yourself; a lawyer or tax agent is optional, not required.

What is the Value Adjustment Board?

The Value Adjustment Board, or VAB, is the independent body that hears property tax disputes in each Florida county. In Broward you file a petition (form DR-486) with the VAB, and a special magistrate holds a hearing where you and the Property Appraiser each present evidence before a decision is issued.

What is a TRIM notice?

TRIM stands for Truth in Millage. The TRIM notice, mailed in August, shows your property's proposed market and assessed value as of January 1, your exemptions, and the proposed tax rates. It is not a bill. It is your one clear chance to check the value and appeal it before the tax bill arrives in November.

What evidence do I need to win a property tax appeal?

The strongest evidence is recent comparable sales: similar homes near you that sold for less than your assessed value in the 12 months before January 1. Photos of condition problems (a failing roof, flood or storm damage, needed repairs) and documentation of any factual error in your record also help. You are arguing the market value is too high, not that the tax rate is too high.

Do I still have to pay my property tax bill while I appeal?

Yes. Under Florida law (section 194.014) you must pay at least 75 percent of your ad valorem taxes, plus all non-ad valorem assessments, before they become delinquent, or the VAB will deny your petition. Keep paying your bill on time to keep the appeal alive, then any reduction is refunded.

Can I appeal if I have a homestead exemption and Save Our Homes cap?

Yes. Save Our Homes caps how fast your assessed value can rise, but you can still petition if the market value the appraiser set is too high, or if an exemption you qualify for was denied. A VAB petition covers both value disputes and denied exemptions.