Orlando, Florida
Orange County commercial property tax appeals
Appeals start with the Orange County Property Appraiser (OCPA) and go to the Orange County Value Adjustment Board. Here is how commercial evidence is built, filed and heard in Orange County.
- Assessor
- Orange County Property Appraiser (OCPA)
- First-level board
- Orange County Value Adjustment Board
- Filing deadline
- Value petition due by the 25th day following the mailing of the TRIM notice (Fla. Stat. §194.011(3)(d)); exemption and classification denials within 30 days of the denial letter
- Commercial assessment level
- 100% of just value; 10% annual limit on assessed value growth for non-homestead property applies to non-school levies (Fla. Stat. §193.1555)
- Value standard
- Just value (Fla. Const. art. VII, §4; Fla. Stat. §193.011)
- Valuation date
- January 1 of the tax year (Fla. Stat. §192.042)
- Assessment cycle
- Annual reappraisal at just value as of January 1
- Notices mailed
- TRIM notices mailed in August; the 2026 petition deadline was Friday, September 18, 2026
How Orange County assesses commercial property
Orange County's commercial roll carries a deep hospitality base: hotels and resort property along International Drive and Lake Buena Vista sit alongside downtown Orlando office, the Lake Nona medical district and the industrial parks around Orlando International Airport. The Orange County Property Appraiser values each parcel at just value as of January 1 and mails the TRIM notice in August. For 2026 the petition deadline was Friday, September 18, 2026, the 25th day after mailing under Fla. Stat. §194.011(3)(d).
The Orange County Comptroller serves as clerk of the Value Adjustment Board. Petitions go through the Comptroller's Axia portal, by mail to P.O. Box 38, or by hand or courier to 109 E. Church Street, 4th Floor, Suite 450; email and fax filings are refused. The 2026 value petition fee is $50, non-refundable, and the Comptroller takes cards online without a convenience charge. A late petition requires a written good cause explanation that the board's designee reviews, and the fee still applies.
Orange runs a structured evidence calendar. Evidence must reach the Property Appraiser's Office at least 15 calendar days before the hearing, and the Axia upload closes at the same point. Virtual hearings are offered, and rebuttal evidence for a virtual hearing must reach the VAB clerk by email one full business day ahead. Everything filed becomes public record, which matters for hotel operators who would rather not publish departmental P&Ls.
Major commercial submarkets
- Downtown Orlando
- International Drive and Lake Buena Vista
- Lake Nona
- Orlando International Airport and Southeast Orlando industrial
- Maitland and Winter Park
- Northwest Orlando and Apopka
Uniformity authority
Fla. Const. art. VII, §§2 and 4; Fla. Stat. §194.301(2)(a)
Appeal statute
Fla. Stat. §194.011 (VAB petition); §194.171 (circuit court)
After the board
Original action in the Circuit Court of the 9th Judicial Circuit (Orange), tried de novo, within the 60-day limit of Fla. Stat. §194.171
Official forms ATALI ELECTRIC fills for Orange County
| Form | Filed with | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| DR-486, Petition to the Value Adjustment Board, Request for Hearing | Orange County Comptroller as VAB clerk: Axia online, P.O. Box 38, Orlando, FL 32802-0038, or 109 E. Church St., 4th Floor, Suite 450 | Value petition for the parcel; email and fax petitions are not accepted |
| DR-481REM, Value Adjustment Board remote hearing notice | Issued by the VAB clerk | Notice for a hearing held by audio-visual or telephone means; it sets the date for the 15-day exchange |
| DR-485WI, Value Adjustment Board Withdrawal of Petition | Orange County VAB clerk | Withdraws a petition after OCPA agrees to a revised value |
Filing system: Orange County Comptroller Axia petition portal (vab.occompt.com)
Hearings and evidence
Special magistrate hearings in person or virtual; testimony is under oath, petitioners should plan for several hours on hearing day, and the board adopts magistrate recommendations before decisions issue
- 01Evidence must reach the Property Appraiser's Office at least 15 calendar days before the hearing; if day 15 falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it is due the previous business day.
- 02Axia does not accept evidence uploads less than 15 days before the hearing, and the Comptroller asks petitioners who upload through Axia to tell OCPA they did so.
- 03For a virtual hearing, rebuttal evidence must reach the VAB clerk by email at least one full business day before the hearing, copied to OCPA's residential or commercial address.
- 04Evidence submitted to the VAB becomes public record, unlike operating records given to OCPA directly, which §195.027(3) keeps confidential.
Income evidence
For the hotels along International Drive and Lake Buena Vista, petitions turn on separating real property from everything else in the income stream. Florida taxes furniture, fixtures and equipment through the tangible personal property return (DR-405), and the real property just value should exclude business enterprise value tied to brand, management and franchise. A credible income approach for an International Drive or Lake Buena Vista hotel starts from departmental revenue, deducts management and franchise fees, an FF&E reserve and a return on and of the FF&E, then capitalizes what remains at a rate supported by hotel trades. For office and industrial, Orange magistrates see the familiar direct capitalization of stabilized NOI. Because uploaded evidence is public, consider summarizing departmental P&Ls in exhibits rather than filing raw operator reports.
Practitioner notes
- Hotel owners should decide early which operating data goes into the public VAB record; confidentiality under §195.027(3) protects records given to OCPA, not exhibits filed with the clerk.
- Lake Nona medical office and life science buildings often carry tenant-specific build-outs; argue market rent for the shell rather than the cost of specialized improvements.
- Industrial near Orlando International Airport includes newer distribution product; compare clear height, truck court and land-to-building ratio against arms-length sales rather than replacement cost alone.
- The 2026 value petition fee is $50 with no card convenience charge; the $15 fee applies only to statutory late-filed categories such as portability and agricultural classification.
Orange County appeal questions
Last verified October 2026 against the assessor, board and statute.
Who is the clerk of the Orange County VAB?
The Orange County Comptroller. Petitions are filed through the Comptroller's Axia portal, by mail to P.O. Box 38, Orlando, FL 32802-0038, or in person at 109 E. Church St., 4th Floor, Suite 450.
What is the filing fee for a commercial value petition?
$50, non-refundable, payable by credit card online with no convenience fee. The $15 fee is limited to statutory late-filed categories such as portability and agricultural classification.
Can I attend my hearing virtually?
Orange offers virtual hearings. If your hearing is virtual, rebuttal evidence must reach the VAB clerk by email at least one full business day before the hearing.
Is my evidence confidential?
Records you give OCPA directly are confidential under §195.027(3). Evidence submitted to the VAB becomes public record, so summarize sensitive operating data where you can.
Nearby jurisdictions
Build your Orange County evidence packet in minutes.
The Orange County Value Adjustment Board forms, deadlines and exhibit formats are preconfigured. Upload a notice to start.