The parcel ledger
Taxes & Fees
One address. Four cost layers. Build the bill before the offer.
Estimate property tax →The full stack
The four things on your bill — and the one that varies most
Owning a home here costs more than the mortgage, and the extra sits in four layers: property tax set by your county and any city you're inside, an infrastructure bond repaying the district's original borrowing, an annual amenity fee written into the deed, and a perpetual CDD maintenance assessment. Three of those four are effectively fixed for a given address — you can look them up and they'll be roughly what the seller pays. The bond is the exception, and it is the one buyers miss. It ranges from zero on an older paid-off home to $28,000 or more on a newer one, it appears on the tax bill rather than the closing statement, and listings don't reliably disclose it. Two identical homes at the same asking price can differ by roughly $160–$225 a month for fifteen years or more purely because of it. Check it before you make an offer — the official lookup covers all three counties, and there's a step-by-step walkthrough further down this page. If the terminology on this page is new to you, the Glossary defines bond, CDD, amenity fee and millage in plain English.
Property tax
County, school, districts and sometimes city millage.
Infrastructure bond
Parcel-specific debt that can eventually be paid off.
Amenity fee
A deed covenant that adjusts with CPI.
CDD maintenance
A perpetual annual district assessment.
Run the address math
See what location does to the same purchase price.
Choose the jurisdiction, then layer in the parcel’s actual bond and CDD figures.
Enable JavaScript to compare six Villages-area tax locations.
Six tax locations
Side-by-Side: Total Millage by County & City (Where It Sits Matters)
Total property-tax millage for a Villages home, by location, for the tax year shown. Sumter and Lake figures are the current (2025) adopted/certified rates; Marion's full per-district table is latest-published 2024 (Marion cut its county rate slightly for 2025, so a 2025 Marion total would run a touch lower). 'Mills' is dollars of tax per $1,000 of taxable value. The bottom line: Sumter (~10 mills) is dramatically cheaper than Lake (~13–16) or Marion (~15.6), driven mostly by Sumter's lower school rate and its lack of the big county service districts (Lake's stormwater/ambulance/hospital; Marion's ~4.8 mills of sheriff + EMS special taxes).
Sumter — unincorporated Villages
2025 tax yearSumter — inside City of Wildwood (Southern Oaks/Fenney)
2025 tax yearLake — unincorporated
2025 tax yearLake — Town of Lady Lake (Villages fire code)
2025 tax yearLake — City of Fruitland Park (Villages fire code)
2025 tax yearMarion — unincorporated Villages (all Villages-Marion is unincorporated)
2024 tax yearInside the rate
The Component Breakdown (What Makes Up Each Rate)
Each county's total is built from the same kinds of levies, but the amounts differ. Sumter: county 4.89 + school 4.91 + SWFWMD water 0.18 + Villages fire district 0.05 = ~10.03 mills unincorporated. Lake: county general 5.03 + county debt 0.04 + ambulance MSTU 0.46 + school 6.09 + Lake County Water Authority 0.29 + SJRWMD 0.18 + North Lake Hospital District 0.39 = ~13.45 unincorporated (note Lake and Marion Villages parcels pay SJRWMD, not SWFWMD). Marion: county BOCC 4.29 + school 6.32 + SJRWMD 0.18 + Law-Enforcement MSTU 3.72 + EMS MSTU 1.11 = ~15.62. The single biggest swing between counties is the school levy (Sumter 4.91 vs Lake 6.09 vs Marion 6.32) and whether the county funds sheriff/EMS through a large special-tax district (Marion does; Sumter doesn't). One caveat: which fire district applies is per-parcel in both Sumter (Villages Fire ~0.05 vs County Fire ~0.86) and Lake — always confirm on the specific parcel's TRIM notice.
| Component | Sumter | Lake | Marion |
|---|---|---|---|
| County commission | 4.89 | 5.03 | 4.29 |
| County debt / MSTUs | — | 0.51 (ambulance+debt) | 4.83 (law + EMS) |
| School board | 4.91 | 6.09 | 6.32 |
| Water mgmt district | 0.18 (SWFWMD) | 0.47 (LCWA+SJRWMD) | 0.18 (SJRWMD) |
| Hospital district | — | 0.39 | — |
| Fire (Villages code) | 0.05 | (in code) | (in EMS) |
| Total (unincorporated) | ~10.03 | ~13.45 | ~15.62 |
The boundary premium
How Being Inside City Limits Changes Your Bill
Most of The Villages is UNINCORPORATED (in county jurisdiction, no city). But some of it sits inside a city, which adds that city's municipal millage on top of the county + school + district levies — though not always as a clean add, because some county service districts stop applying inside a city. Where each county's cities are: SUMTER — the City of Wildwood annexed a large part of the southern expansion (Villages of Southern Oaks, Fenney). Being inside Wildwood adds its full 2.83-mill city rate, taking a home from ~10.03 to ~12.86 mills (about +$990/yr on a $400k home). LAKE — the historic-north Villages sits in the Town of Lady Lake and the City of Fruitland Park. Lady Lake's 3.65-mill and Fruitland Park's 3.91-mill city rates are partly offset because city parcels drop the unincorporated-only stormwater district (and Villages fire codes drop the county fire MSTU), so the net add is ~2.7–2.9 mills — landing around 16.1–16.4 mills total. MARION — there is NO city case: the entire Villages-Marion area is unincorporated (Belleview and Ocala are separate districts that don't touch Villages parcels). Practical rule: a home 'in The Villages' can be in a city or not — check the parcel's tax district on the county property appraiser's site, because in-city vs. unincorporated can swing the bill by $1,000+/year on the same-priced home.
The cost buyers miss
The Infrastructure Bond — What It Is
Most homes in The Villages carry an outstanding 'bond' — a capital assessment used to repay the Community Development District's original infrastructure borrowing (roads, tunnels, water systems, multi-modal paths). The bond is separate from, and in addition to, your mortgage. It is paid as a line item on your annual property tax bill. Older homes (pre-2000s) may have little or no bond remaining; newer homes often have original bonds of $23,000–$28,000 or more. Bond balances on resale homes vary widely: some sellers have paid them off, others have not.
Choose county
Sumter, Lake or Marion.
Choose district
Match the home’s district number.
Open unit schedule
Read the current remaining balance and annual payment.
Look Up Your Outstanding Bond Balance (all three counties)
One official tool covers all three counties. Go to the Villages CDD Finance & Bonds page — districtgov.org/services/administration/finance/ — and use the amortization-schedule lookup. It's a three-step dropdown: (1) pick your COUNTY — Sumter, Lake, or Marion; (2) pick your DISTRICT number; (3) pick your UNIT number. That opens a PDF amortization schedule showing your annual bond payment and, most importantly, the REMAINING BALANCE for every year through payoff. Read the current tax-year row for your outstanding balance. To find your district and unit: they're on your Villages ID card as the 'U/L' number — the first letter is your county (S = Sumter, L = Lake, M = Marion), followed by the unit number, then the lot number. (If you don't have the card handy, the county property appraiser's parcel search also lists the unit.) For an EXACT payoff quote (which adds accrued interest and a $10 county lien-release filing fee) or if a unit isn't in the dropdown, call the District Bond Assessments & Payoff team at 352-751-3900 (Finance main line 352-753-0421). Tip: the same page lets you pay a bond off early at any time. Always confirm a home's remaining bond before you make an offer — a paid-off bond versus a $25,000 balance is a real difference in what you're actually buying, and listings don't always disclose it.
Paying the bond off early — what actually changes, and what doesn't
Once you know the balance, the next question is whether to clear it. This is mechanics, not advice, and the honest answer depends on numbers only you have. What is worth understanding before you decide: the bond is amortised, so the yearly payment is part principal and part interest, and paying it off early cancels the remaining INTEREST — that saving is the real return, and your parcel's own amortisation schedule shows it year by year rather than as an estimate. Against that sits the money's alternative use, and the fact that a paid-off bond does not reliably add its own cost back to the sale price: it makes the home easier to compare against a bonded neighbour, which is not the same as a dollar-for-dollar return. Two things people get wrong in both directions. Clearing the bond does NOT reduce the amenity fee or the CDD maintenance assessment — those are separate obligations that continue regardless, and the maintenance one is perpetual. And an unpaid bond does not block a sale; it simply transfers with the parcel, which is why it belongs in the price conversation rather than in a panic before closing. Payoff figures and the procedure come from the District, not from an agent, and a quote is good only through the date it states.
Household charge
Annual Amenity Fee
Every household pays an annual amenity fee that funds the golf courses, recreation centers, swimming pools, entertainment venues, and other shared amenities. As of early 2026, the prevailing rate is approximately $199–$204/month (~$2,388–$2,448/year) per household. Homes newly contracted under the developer's current (2026) new-home program are locked in at $189/month at signing; that rate then CPI-escalates from that base going forward. Resale buyers inherit the rate applicable to their deed covenant anniversary, which may already be higher. The fee is set by deed covenant and adjusts annually by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on the anniversary of the property's original land sale date, meaning your adjustment date may differ from your neighbors. The fee has increased every year since at least 2020 and has no ceiling cap written into the standard covenant.
Parcel charge
CDD Maintenance Assessment
Separate from the bond, each parcel pays an ongoing CDD maintenance assessment that covers operations and upkeep of district infrastructure (road maintenance, stormwater, common areas). Unlike the bond (which disappears when paid off), the maintenance assessment is perpetual and is re-set each year based on the district's adopted budget. Amounts vary significantly by district and home type: a patio villa in an older district may pay ~$350/year, while Marion County premier districts can exceed $1,000/year. Combined annual CDD assessments (bond payment + maintenance) across all districts range from roughly $1,600 to over $6,000 per year. Amounts for a specific parcel appear on the annual TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice and on the property tax bill.
Assumptions and structure
Understand the machinery before trusting the total.
Florida Homestead Exemption
Florida law grants a $25,000 homestead exemption off the assessed value for all tax purposes, plus an additional $25,000 exemption (total $50,000) that applies to non-school-board millage. To qualify, the home must be your permanent primary residence as of January 1 of the tax year. File with the county property appraiser by March 1. The exemption alone can save $500–$1,000+ per year depending on which county your home sits in.
Florida Has No State Property or Income Tax — It's All Local
Property tax in Florida is entirely local: there is no state property tax and no state income tax. Your bill is the sum of separate levies from the county commission, the county school board, one water-management district, various special districts (fire, EMS, hospital, stormwater), and — only if your home is inside an incorporated city — that city's municipal millage. Each levy is quoted in 'mills' ($1 per $1,000 of taxable value). Because The Villages sits in three different counties, and parts of it are inside city limits while most is unincorporated, the same-priced home can carry very different taxes depending on exactly where it sits. The comparison below shows how much.
*How the $400k Example Is Calculated (and What It Leaves Out)
The 'Tax on ~$350k taxable' column assumes a $400,000 home with the $50,000 homestead exemption applied (taxable ≈ $350,000), times the total millage ÷ 1,000. Example: Sumter unincorporated = 350,000 × 10.03 ÷ 1,000 ≈ $3,511/yr; Marion = 350,000 × 15.62 ÷ 1,000 ≈ $5,468/yr — so an identical home is roughly $1,960/year cheaper in Sumter than Marion. Two honest caveats: (1) the figure slightly understates the real bill because the second $25k of the homestead exemption does NOT apply to the school portion, so a bit more than $350k is actually taxed for schools — real bills run a touch higher. (2) These millage-based taxes do NOT include the CDD non-ad-valorem assessments (bond debt + annual maintenance) that appear as flat dollar line items on every Villages tax bill — those are set per district/unit, are not a millage, and must be budgeted separately (see the bond and CDD-maintenance sections). Always pull the specific parcel's TRIM notice for the exact numbers before making an offer.
How to Keep Tax Numbers Current on a Real Offer
Use the tables above to understand the county and city differences, then switch to parcel-level proof before you write an offer. Property-tax rates reset every fall, exact tax districts depend on the address, and the real bill is shaped by assessed value, exemptions, fire district, city limits, school-tax treatment, and flat non-ad-valorem CDD lines. The source of truth is the current TRIM notice or tax bill for that parcel, plus the county property appraiser's tax-district record. Ask the listing agent for the latest tax bill, then verify it against the county site and the Villages CDD bond/maintenance lookup.
Illustrative 'True Monthly Cost' — ~$400K Home
The following is an illustrative estimate only — actual figures vary by parcel, district, county, and insurance carrier. It is meant as a gut-check template, not a guarantee. Assume a $400,000 purchase price in Sumter County with homestead exemption applied (taxable value ~$350,000 after exemption): (1) Property tax at ~10 mills: ~$3,500/year → ~$292/month. (2) Amenity fee: ~$204/month. (3) Bond payment (assume $20,000 remaining over 15 years at ~5%): ~$160/month. (4) CDD maintenance assessment (mid-range ~$600/year): ~$50/month. (5) Homeowners insurance (inland FL, non-coastal, $400K dwelling — estimate $3,000–$4,500/year based on MoneyGeek inland benchmarks): ~$300/month. Rough total non-mortgage monthly cost: ~$1,006/month. Buyers should request the actual tax bill, bond schedule, and maintenance assessment for any specific property before making an offer. Insurance quotes should be obtained from at least two carriers.
No HOA — But Amenity Covenant Is Binding
The Villages has no traditional homeowners association (HOA) with board elections and community votes on fees. Instead, the amenity fee obligation is written directly into the deed as a covenant that runs with the land. This means a new buyer takes on the existing covenant terms at closing — including the CPI escalation provision — with no HOA vote to change the structure. The developer (and successors) set the prevailing rate for new sales. This is an important structural distinction from typical HOA communities.