Selling a home in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area

Selling a home in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area

The Tampa Bay metro covers Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties, and each has its own property appraiser and tax rates. Here is what a seller here should check, with every figure linked to its source.

Facts checked September 30, 2026. Sources linked below each figure.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and rates below are for the tax years named, and your county office has the final word on your property.

Start with your property appraiser record and TRIM notice

Your county property appraiser sets the value your taxes are based on and keeps your exemptions. In the Tampa Bay metro that is the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser, the Pinellas County Property Appraiser, the Pasco County Property Appraiser or the Hernando County Property Appraiser. Look up your parcel and check the owner names, homestead status, square footage and any open permits before you list.

Property is valued as of January 1 each year, and TRIM (Truth in Millage) notices of proposed taxes go out in August (HCPA important dates). The TRIM notice is not a bill. It shows market value, assessed value, exemptions and proposed taxes. In Hillsborough, owners have 25 days from the TRIM mailing to petition the Value Adjustment Board if they disagree with the value. Buyers and their lenders will look at this record too, so it pays to fix errors early.

How property taxes are split at closing

Florida tax bills generally go out in November, with discounts of 4% in November down to 1% in February, and unpaid taxes become delinquent on April 1 (Florida Department of Revenue). If you sell before the bill for the year arrives, the closing agent usually has to estimate that year's taxes and split them between you and the buyer as your contract directs. Ask how the estimate was made and whether it uses the discounted amount.

The tax bill for the year you sell is still based on your assessment and exemptions. The buyer only gets your level of assessed value through the year of purchase (Pinellas County Property Appraiser).

Your homestead cap resets for the buyer

With a homestead, your assessed value can rise no more than 3% or the change in CPI each year, whichever is less. After a sale the home loses that benefit and is assessed at just value on the following January 1 (Florida Department of Revenue, PT-112). The HCPA puts it plainly: when the property is sold the homestead exemption is removed and the assessed value goes to market value for the new year (HCPA).

That is why Florida law requires a property tax disclosure summary telling buyers not to rely on the seller's current taxes (Florida Statutes 689.261). A new state law also changes how listing websites show taxes: from February 1, 2027, sites that display estimated taxes must use a standard method based on list price, and sites that do not may no longer show the seller's current taxes (Pinellas County Property Appraiser).

If you are buying another Florida home, you may be able to move, or "port," up to $500,000 of your Save Our Homes benefit (Florida Statutes 193.155). You must set up the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you left the old one and apply by March 1 (Pinellas County Property Appraiser).

Flood and insurance questions buyers will ask

Buyers and their insurers will ask about flood risk early, so it helps to have answers ready.

• Flood zone. Look up your address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (FEMA). FEMA notes there is no "no-risk zone." Pasco's property appraiser links to the county flood map viewer and notes new FEMA maps are in progress (Pasco County Property Appraiser).
• Flood disclosure. You must give the buyer a written flood disclosure at or before contract signing, covering flood damage you know of, flood insurance claims and federal flood assistance during your ownership (Florida Statutes 689.302).
• Citizens policies. A buyer insured by Citizens Property Insurance must carry flood insurance in phases, reaching all other personal residential policies from January 1, 2027, with exceptions such as condo unit owner forms (Florida Statutes 627.351).
• Wind mitigation. A wind mitigation inspection on the state form can support premium discounts, and the form was updated effective April 1, 2026 (Florida Office of Insurance Regulation). Having a current report ready can help a buyer get insurance quotes.

What shapes prices in Tampa Bay

Growth has been uneven across the four counties. From the April 2020 base to July 2025, Census estimates show Pasco up about 20% (561,909 to 674,516), Hernando up about 14% and Hillsborough up about 8%, while Pinellas slipped about 1% (Census Bureau). In the year to July 2025, Pasco gained about 18,000 people from other U.S. counties while Hillsborough and Pinellas had more people move out to other counties than move in.

For a single home, flood zone, insurance cost, roof age, distance to the water and the tax reset your buyer faces all matter alongside size and condition. A licensed local agent can pull comparable sales for your street, and you can request a free market report or a cash offer to compare. Run your numbers in the net proceeds calculator.