Pinellas County Tax Assessor´s Office is responsible for appraising residential and commercial properties. The formula for computing annual real property taxes is as follows:

Market Value
X .85
Assessed Value
X Municipal Mill Rate
Annual Real Property Taxes

The annual real property taxes for a $500,000 residential or commercial property in Clearwater would be computed as follows:

$500,000
X       .85
$425,000
  .023237
$    9,876

The Florida constitution provides for special real property tax treatment for Florida residents´ principal residence. Homesteading significantly limits increases in real property taxes, by limiting annual increases in Assessed Value to the lesser of 3% or the U.S. Consumer Price Index. It also provides for a personal exemption of $25,000, to be deduced from the Assessed Value. There are also other lesser personal exemptions.