What a Clearwater house pays
Property tax, water, trash and energy from public rates. Look up your address to make it yours, and see how to pay less.
Sent only to free public map services to find who serves it. Not stored unless you save your house.
Starts at $308,500 of value before exemptions. Typical use.
- Property tax$5,119
1.927% of $308,500, less $25,000 homestead exemption and less $26,411 additional homestead exemption
- Electricity$2,191
1104 kWh a month $2,191
- Water and sewer$2,358
7,000 gallons a month on City of Clearwater: water $80, sewer $99, city of clearwater stormwater charge (in the minimum utility bill, 5/8-inch meter in city limits) $17 a month
- Trash$511
Curbside garbage and recycling (one rate), $43 a month
- Home insurance$4,063
Typical premium $4,063
A typical Clearwater house pays about $14,200 a year: $5,120 property tax and charges, $2,360 water and sewer, $510 trash, $2,190 electricity, $4,060 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.
Rates checked Oct 22, 2026. Insurance: what you enter, or a typical premium until you do. Sources are listed at the bottom.
Ways to pay less
Nothing here applies to every house automatically. These are worth checking:
Veterans with a service-connected disability: exemptions$5,000 off, or no property tax on the homestead
Honorably discharged veterans with a service-connected disability of 10% or more can get $5,000 off; veterans with a service-connected total and permanent disability are exempt on their homestead.
How: Apply to the Pinellas County Property Appraiser with a letter from the U.S. Government or Veterans Affairs.
Money dates
- Nov 1in 9 daysProperty tax notices are mailed by November 1; Florida law allows discounts for early payment from November through February.
- Mar 1Deadline to apply for the homestead exemption for that year with the Pinellas County Property Appraiser.
- Apr 1Taxes not paid by March 31 become delinquent on April 1, when interest and penalties are added.
Who serves this house
- Water
- City of Clearwater
- City of Clearwater domestic water, under 1-inch meters, from October 1, 2026: a $31.95 base service charge with an allowance up to 3,000 gallons, plus $12.95 per 1,000 gallons from 3,001 to 9,000 gallons
- Property tax
- 1.93% of value
- 2026 tax year (fiscal year 2026-27), City of Clearwater, Pinellas County
- Garbage
- City of Clearwater Solid Waste/Recycling
- Solid waste $38.66 and recycling $3.92 a month from October 1, 2026
- Sewer
- City of Clearwater
- Wastewater $44.01 a month base charge from October 1, 2026
- Electricity
- Duke Energy Florida
- Residential Service (RS-1): $14.43 customer charge a month
Other FL cities
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How these numbers are made
- Florida tax bills are public, but we calculate yours from public rates and the value you enter.
- Property tax: City of Clearwater 5.8850 mills (tentative for 2026-27; final adopted rate not found; the 2025 table lists 5.8850), Pinellas County 4.4989 general fund, 0.0713 health department, 0.8050 emergency medical services and 0.0171 Pinellas Planning Council; Pinellas County Schools 6.2730; PSTA 0.7168; Juvenile Welfare Board 0.8168; Southwest Florida Water Management District 0.1831. These are the taxing bodies in Clearwater's 2025 millage code CW. Some Clearwater parcels carry the Clearwater Downtown Development Board (extra 0.97 mill) or Clearwater Fire district millage; the page uses code CW.
- Homestead takes $25,000 off all taxes and up to $26,411 more off non-school taxes. The starting value is the average assessed value of a Clearwater single-family parcel, $7,421,273,980 over 24,056 parcels, about $308,500; the appraiser publishes totals, not a median. No flat yearly charges were found on the tax bill; water, sewer, trash and stormwater are on the City utility bill.
- Water, wastewater, trash and stormwater: Clearwater rates effective October 1, 2026 for a meter under 1 inch (the per-1,000-gallon charges come from Ordinance 9841-25; the wastewater base is the City's later amended schedule). The City adds a 10% utility tax of $3.20 on the minimum bill (not modeled). Gas is not modeled: Clearwater Gas System serves part of the city.
- Electricity: Duke Energy Florida RS-1 as for other Pinellas cities, with Clearwater's 10% public service tax folded in. Typical use is EIA's 2024 Florida residential average. Insurance: Florida OIR's Pinellas County average premium with wind.
- Modelling: Clearwater water 9,001+ gallon rate (16.32) and sewer per-1,000 over-allowance rate (14.67) read from the Oct-2026 column of ordinance 10148 tables (OCR-garbled); 2026 public service tax on electricity is listed at 10% by FL Revenue; Duke Energy Florida is the electric utility assumed for Clearwater.
- Nothing here is legal, tax or insurance advice.
- City of Clearwater: current utility, solid waste and recycling rates
- City of Clearwater Ordinance 9841-25: water and wastewater rates
- City of Clearwater: trash and recycling
- Tentative 2026-27 millage
- Pinellas Tax Collector 2025 millage
- Pinellas PA recap
- Pinellas County Resolution 26-78: final countywide millages FY 2026-27
- Pinellas County Resolution 26-80: final EMS and Planning Council millages FY 2026-27
- Pinellas County: BCC adopts FY27 budget (Sept. 24, 2026)
- Pinellas County Schools: 2026-27 second public hearing book
- PSTA: FY 2027 tax rate and budget (archived)
- Juvenile Welfare Board: FY27 final millage resolutions
- SWFWMD: FY2027 budget and millage
- Pinellas County Property Appraiser: homestead exemption
- Pinellas County Property Appraiser: personal exemptions
- Pinellas County Tax Collector: property taxes, discounts and deadlines
- Duke Energy Florida: Rate Schedule RS-1
- Duke Energy Florida: Rate Schedule BA-1, billing adjustments
- EIA: 2024 average monthly residential bill by state (Table 5A)
- Florida OIR: July 2026 Insurer Stability Unit report
- Florida Department of Revenue: local public service tax rates
How Clearwater compares
A typical Clearwater house against the 53 Florida cities we cover, using the same default numbers as the total above.
| Per year | Clearwater | Median | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate | 1.93% | 1.78% | higher than 36 of the other 52 Florida cities we cover |
| Water | $963 | $515 | higher than 49 of the other 52 Florida cities we cover |
| Sewer and utility-bill fees | $1,395 | $901 | higher than 48 of the other 51 Florida cities we cover |
| Trash | $511 | $364 | higher than 44 of the other 51 Florida cities we cover |
| Electricity and gas | $2,191 | $1,953 | higher than 43 of the other 52 Florida cities we cover |
| Home insurance | $4,063 | $3,733 | higher than 28 of the other 51 Florida cities we cover |
| Total | $14,242 | $12,935 | higher than 33 of the other 52 Florida cities we cover |
Cities bill differently (some put trash on the tax bill, some cover more services), so a higher number isn't necessarily worse. The property tax rate is compared instead of dollars because house values differ.
Questions to ask your candidates
Each one starts from a number above. Any candidate can answer them.
1. Water
The fact: Water here costs about $963 a year at typical use, higher than 49 of the other 52 Florida cities we cover.
Ask: "Water here costs about $963 a year at typical use, higher than 49 of the other 52 Florida cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"
2. Sewer and utility-bill fees
The fact: Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here come to about $1,395 a year, higher than 48 of the other 51 Florida cities we cover. Some cities bill sewer on the property tax bill instead, which is not counted here.
Ask: "Sewer and flat utility-bill charges here cost about $1,395 a year, higher than 48 of the other 51 Florida cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything?"
3. Trash
The fact: Trash pickup here costs about $511 a year for the standard cart, higher than 44 of the other 51 Florida cities we cover. Where trash is billed through the tax bill or a separate hauler, it is not counted here.
Ask: "Trash pickup here costs about $511 a year for the standard cart, higher than 44 of the other 51 Florida cities we cover. What drives that cost, and would you change anything about the service or the price?"
4. Electricity and gas
The fact: Electricity and gas for a typical house here cost about $2,191 a year, higher than 43 of the other 52 Florida cities we cover. Rates are set mostly by the utility and the state.
Ask: "Electricity and gas here cost about $2,191 a year for a typical house, higher than 43 of the other 52 Florida cities we cover. Which parts of that can the city influence, and what would you do about them?"
Common questions about Clearwater house costs
What is the property tax rate in Clearwater?
About 1.93% of the value before exemptions a year (2026 tax year (fiscal year 2026-27), City of Clearwater, Pinellas County), plus flat charges on the same bill.
How much is property tax on a $500,000 house in Clearwater?
About $8,809 a year on $500,000 of the value before exemptions with the homestead exemption.
How much is the water bill in Clearwater?
About $197 a month for water and sewer at typical use (7,000 gallons a month) on City of Clearwater.
How much does trash pickup cost in Clearwater?
$43 a month for a house.
How much does a house in Clearwater cost to run each year?
A typical Clearwater house pays about $14,200 a year: $5,120 property tax and charges, $2,360 water and sewer, $510 trash, $2,190 electricity, $4,060 home insurance. Estimated from public rates, not anyone's actual bill.