If you're looking at a Weston listing this fall, the property-tax figure on it is probably last year's bill. Weston's new fiscal year started October 1, 2026, and the assessments that apply this year differ from last year's in ways that depend on the named community a home sits in. For most of Indian Trace Basin I, one line went down because a drainage loan was paid off. The fire assessment and the city's millage both went up. Two homes at the same price, a few streets apart, can end up with different totals.
The cause is a part of the tax bill that most buyers never study, and the median price doesn't capture it.
The part of the bill that has nothing to do with price
Weston collects special assessments for waste, fire, and district operating costs as non-ad-valorem charges on the annual property-tax bill. Unlike property tax, these charges don't scale with the home's value. They depend on what the property is and where it sits.
Most of the city falls within one of two dependent special districts, Indian Trace or Bonaventure. The City says outright that Bonaventure is not a Community Development District. Indian Trace sets its Basin I charges by named community and per acre, so Riviera, Royal Palm, Palm Island, the Village Homes of San Remo, and dozens of other communities each have their own rate.
That's why one median can't describe the market here. Miami Realtors' August 2026 Broward report puts Weston's single-family median at $836,000, down 6% year over year, with a median of 63 days to contract and four months of supply. That's higher than the $675,000 median in Pembroke Pines, $690,000 in Miramar, and $800,000 in Davie for the same month. The difference in yearly carrying cost doesn't show up in any of those figures, and inside Weston it changes from one community to the next.
A loan from the Arvida era just made its final payment
Basin I is the original Arvida-developed part of Weston. Its roads, lakes, canals, catch basins, and pumps were financed with bonds that were later refunded in 1997 and 2005. In 2021, the City Commission refinanced those bonds into the Basin I loan, cutting the interest rate from 5% to 1.99% without changing when it matured.
That loan made its final payment in fiscal year 2027. According to Weston's adopted budget, Indian Trace debt assessments fell by $2,372,800, or 44.99%. District operating assessments rose 4.36%, or $893,600. Across the whole district, the debt drop is larger than the operating increase, so nearly every Basin I community saw its per-acre rate fall.
The size of the drop varies. Riviera's rate fell 12.18%, Royal Palm's 11.88%, and Palm Island's 10.81%. Village Homes of San Remo fell 2.64% and San Michelle II 1.74%. The Palms at Weston went the other way, rising 0.51%. The budget doesn't break each community's rate into operating and debt pieces, so it doesn't explain why the drops differ. It only shows that they do.
The per-acre rates rank communities almost backward
The rates the City posts look like this: Riviera at $3,202.49 per acre, the Village Homes of San Remo at $17,025.54, and San Michelle II at $37,208.25. If you read those as costs per home, San Michelle II looks about ten times more expensive than Riviera.
It isn't, because those communities fit very different numbers of homes onto an acre. The adopted budget lists each community's unit count and net acreage next to its rate. Multiply the rate by the net acres, divide by the units, and you get an approximate charge per home.
| Community | Type | FY2026 rate per net acre | FY2027 rate per net acre | Change | Estimated FY2027 per home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riviera | Single-family, 28 units on 17.29 acres | $3,646.45 | $3,202.49 | -12.18% | about $1,978 |
| Royal Palm | Single-family, 25 units on 13.01 acres | $4,167.57 | $3,672.33 | -11.88% | about $1,911 |
| Palm Island | Single-family, 138 units on 58.67 acres | $4,490.65 | $4,005.37 | -10.81% | about $1,703 |
| San Michelle II | Single-family, 343 units on 8.61 acres | $37,866.21 | $37,208.25 | -1.74% | about $934 |
| Village Homes of San Remo | Townhouse, 176 units on 7.05 acres | $17,487.95 | $17,025.54 | -2.64% | about $682 |
| The Palms at Weston | Multi-family, 382 units on 7.41 acres | $25,926.59 | $26,059.65 | +0.51% | about $506 |
The estimates in the last column are our arithmetic based on the City's own columns. They aren't billed amounts. Weston doesn't publish the exact way it measures acreage for each parcel, so an individual bill can differ from the average for its community. The pattern still holds. The communities with the highest per-acre rates tend to have the lowest charge per home, because the cost is spread across many more units.
The size of the drop works the same way. Using the same math, Riviera's charge per home fell by roughly $274 from FY2026 to FY2027, Royal Palm's by roughly $258, and Palm Island's by roughly $206. The Village Homes of San Remo dropped by about $19 per unit, and The Palms at Weston rose by about $3. The loan payoff saved the most for single-family homes on bigger lots, which were paying the most to begin with.
What went up at the same time
The district line is just one part of the bill. Several other lines rose this fiscal year.
- Fire assessment, single-family: up from $770.06 to $839.19, an 8.98% increase. Multi-family rose from $790.28 to $861.31.
- Solid waste assessment: $426.91 per unit, up 1.11% under the Republic Services contract.
- City millage: 3.5046 mills, up from the 3.3464 the Commission held for eight years in a row. That works out to about $15.82 more per $100,000 of taxable value.
- Bonaventure: operating assessments up 6.87% for FY2027, after a 9.15% increase the year before.
- Indian Trace water and sewer: the operations and maintenance charge stays at $21.20 a month for the common 5/8- to 3/4-inch meter. The City says monthly bills will still rise to reflect the City of Sunrise's 5% annual increase.
Put a Riviera home next to a home in Bonaventure. The Riviera owner's district line dropped by roughly $274, which more than covers the $69.13 fire increase and the waste increase of under $5. The Bonaventure owner had no loan payoff. Their district operating charge went up for the second year in a row, and they face the same fire and millage increases. Last year's bills from the two homes tell you very little about this year's.
Why the City raised the millage now
Weston's budget message ties the millage increase directly to the statewide ballot.
"The recommended millage rate of 3.5046 for Fiscal Year 2027 ensures the City can continue operating effectively no matter how the November election unfolds."
That election question is Amendment 3 on the November 3, 2026 General Election ballot. It needs 60% approval to pass. On August 4, 2026, a judge ruled the original ballot title and summary defective. The Attorney General submitted revised language on August 13 and declined further appeals. As the City describes it, the amendment would raise the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 starting January 1, 2027 and to $250,000 starting January 1, 2028. It would also cut the cap on non-homestead assessment increases from 10% to 5%. People who establish Florida residency after January 1, 2027 would have to keep it for five years before getting the larger exemption.
One detail in that summary matters for Weston buyers. The added exemptions don't apply to assessments for special benefits. The fire, waste, and district lines described above stay on the bill whatever the vote. If the amendment passes, those lines become a bigger share of a homesteaded owner's total. The City has also said publicly that if it loses property-tax revenue, its options include higher fees. How much the amendment would change any particular bill depends on the owner's situation, and a tax professional can answer that.
The layer no public document prices
The district charge isn't the last layer. The City says most homes in Weston are in private developments run by homeowners' associations, which maintain the infrastructure, private roads, and landscaping in their communities. Some of those associations are stacked. The City's 2026 HOA register, dated September 30, 2026, lists a Weston 55 Plus Master Association along with separate condo and homeowners' associations, and a Vacation Village master association along with separate owner associations.
The register names each association and its contact but lists no dues. For any specific home, the dues, any pending special assessments, and the association's current budget come from the estoppel and the association's own records. Request them before you make your offer.
Quick answers for Weston buyers
Where do I find a community's district rate? The City posts the current Indian Trace schedule on its Indian Trace finance and tax page, effective October 1, 2026. Bonaventure has a matching page that lists $574.43 per single-family unit for rights-of-way and $965.48 per acre for drainage.
Is the Indian Trace drop permanent? The debt portion fell because the Basin I loan matured. The operating portion rose 4.36% this year and is set again in each annual budget.
Does Basin II follow the per-acre method? No. Basin II charges per unit. For FY2027, Isles at Weston homes range from $1,541.41 to $1,894.29, and Windmill Reserve is $765.08.
Where can I read the full budget? Weston's FY2027 adopted budget includes the unit and acreage table for every Indian Trace community, so you can run the same math on any listing.
The tax line on a Weston listing comes from your specific community's numbers and this year's budget, and The Tello Team can pull both for any home you're considering. If you already own in Weston, start with your free, instant home valuation and we'll show you how your community's FY2027 assessments compare with the ones nearby.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
