Two homes in ZIP 33559 can have the same list price, the same "Lutz, FL" on the listing and the same drive to Dale Mabry. Which one costs more to own each year? The mailing address won't tell you. Tampa Bay EDC lists 33559 as "Lutz (Hillsborough/Pasco)," which means one ZIP code covers two counties, two sets of tax rates and, often, two different ways of paying for the neighborhood itself.
The usual read is that Pasco is cheaper. It has the lower county median price and the lower tax rate. In the newer master-planned parts of Pasco-side Lutz, though, a third line on the tax bill can wipe out the rate advantage and keep doing so into the 2040s.
The rate gap favors Pasco by about a mill and a half
Start with millage, the rate charged per $1,000 of taxable value. The Pasco County Property Appraiser's 2026 tax-area table, certified October 6, 2026, puts the "Uninc. Pasco - Fire" area at 16.6966 mills. That total covers county operating, schools, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, mosquito control, a roads levy, bond levies and a 2.2674-mill county fire district levy.
On the Hillsborough side, the Property Appraiser's final 2025 millage table puts the unincorporated district, code U, at 18.2515 mills in total. That covers county, school, Port Tampa Bay, HART, the Children's Board and water management levies.
That puts unincorporated Hillsborough about 1.55 mills higher. The two figures come from different tax years, but the 2026 county and school pieces on the Hillsborough side barely moved, for a reason buyers rarely hear about.
Hillsborough's tax cut skipped unincorporated Lutz
Hillsborough's adopted FY2026-27 budget summary sets the countywide general rate at 5.3608 mills and the unincorporated services rate at 4.7163. Those two numbers are the third year of a "millage swap." When the budget was proposed in July, Florida Politics reported that it would lower the countywide rate by 0.1 mill and raise the unincorporated rate by the same 0.1 mill. County Management and Budget Director Kevin Brickey explained the effect to the outlet:
"That millage swap is a tax cut in the three cities, and a net zero in the unincorporated area."
Hillsborough-side Lutz is unincorporated, so add the 2026 county pieces: 5.3608 general, 0.0604 for environmental lands debt, 4.7163 unincorporated and 0.5583 library. They total 10.6958 mills, exactly the 2025 county figure. The school board's adopted total slipped slightly, from 6.3400 to 6.3340 mills, per the Hillsborough County Public Schools final hearing package.
Pasco went the other way on two of its levies. Its final millage summary cut county operating from 7.4042 to 7.2488 mills, the rolled-back rate, and raised the Fire Rescue MSTU from 2.1225 to 2.2674 mills. That fire rate sits 9.99% above rollback. Pasco schools came down to 6.184 mills from 6.274, the Hernando Sun reported.
The gap held for 2026. On the rate alone, Pasco-side Lutz still costs less.
Where the CDD changes the math
A Community Development District is a special district that pays for a community's infrastructure and upkeep. Its charges appear on the property tax bill as non-ad valorem assessments. They are flat dollar amounts per lot, so they don't scale with the home's value. In Pasco-side Lutz they often include a debt-service line that repays the bonds that built the community.
The Pasco Economic Development Council describes Long Lake Ranch as a master-planned community in Lutz. Its CDD lies entirely within Pasco County. Its proposed FY2027 budget sets operations and maintenance at $1,968.17 per 45-foot single-family lot in every phase. Debt service is added on top:
- Phases 1 and 2: $682.29 debt, $2,650.46 total
- Phase 3: $850.34 debt, $2,818.51 total
- Phase 4: $850.04 debt, $2,818.21 total
For a Hillsborough benchmark, take the Heritage Harbor CDD, which was created in 1997 by Hillsborough County Ordinance 97-9. Its adopted FY2026-27 budget charges each of its 670 platted lots $1,353.10 for operations and maintenance plus $529.53 for a capital reserve fund, for a total of $1,882.64. The schedule has no debt-service line, and the charge appears on the November 2026 Hillsborough County tax bill.
A home outside any CDD has no assessment line, so its tax bill comes down to the millage.
One taxable value, four annual bills
The table below applies each side's millage to the same $350,000 taxable value and adds the CDD figures above. This is plain arithmetic, not a parcel estimate. The Hillsborough rate is the final 2025 total, the Pasco rate is the 2026 fire-district total, and real taxable values vary with exemptions and assessment history.
| Scenario | Millage | Ad valorem at $350,000 taxable | CDD assessment | Annual total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unincorporated Hillsborough, no CDD | 18.2515 | $6,388 | $0 | $6,388 |
| Unincorporated Hillsborough, Heritage Harbor CDD | 18.2515 | $6,388 | $1,882.64 | $8,271 |
| Pasco-side Lutz, Long Lake Ranch Phases 1–2 | 16.6966 | $5,844 | $2,650.46 | $8,494 |
| Pasco-side Lutz, Long Lake Ranch Phase 3 | 16.6966 | $5,844 | $2,818.51 | $8,663 |
At this value, the lower Pasco rate saves about $544 a year. The Long Lake Ranch debt-service line alone, at $682 to $850, is larger than those savings. In this example, the Pasco-side home in a newer CDD community carries the bigger annual bill, even though its tax rate is lower.
The crossover depends on taxable value. The rate advantage grows as value rises, while the CDD charge stays the same. At a higher taxable value, the millage savings can outgrow the debt payment. At a lower one, the CDD weighs more. That's why every listing in 33559 needs its own math.
The debt line has an end date, and it changes resale
The Long Lake Ranch district lists its Series 2014, 2015 and 2016 bonds as maturing May 1, 2044, May 1, 2045, and May 1, 2046. The debt-service portion of the assessment is tied to those bonds. The operations and maintenance portion pays for the district's upkeep.
Someone buying in Long Lake Ranch in 2026 is looking at nearly two decades of that debt line. Someone buying the same house in 2040 would see only a few years of it left. A CDD's debt payment usually gets smaller relative to the home's value with each year closer to payoff. Two otherwise similar Lutz homes can be priced differently partly because of where each one sits on that schedule.
What the county market numbers do and don't settle
County-wide figures show why the Pasco side looks like the better value at first. In September 2026, Hillsborough's single-family median sale price was $419,450, down 1.3% year over year, on 1,114 closed sales, according to the Pinellas REALTOR Organization's Hillsborough report. Pasco's September 2026 median was $370,000, flat year over year, on 751 sales, per the companion Pasco report.
Pasco is also the slower market right now. Its median time to contract in September 2026 was 48 days and its months' supply was 4.3, up 13.2% from a year earlier. Hillsborough's were 40 days and 4.0 months.
These are countywide numbers, not Lutz numbers. They show the price gap a buyer sees. The tax bill shows what happens after closing. A buyer can win $50,000 on price and give back part of it every year through the assessment line. For a Pasco-side seller, a slower market with more supply means buyers have time to compare those bills side by side.
Checking a specific Lutz parcel
The county line in Lutz doesn't follow ZIP codes neatly. The reliable check is the parcel record, not the mailing address.
- Look up the address with the Pasco County Property Appraiser or the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser to confirm the county and the tax area or district code.
- Read the most recent tax bill for non-ad valorem assessments, which is where CDD charges show up.
- If there's a CDD, open the district's adopted budget and find the assessment row that matches the lot size and phase.
- Split that charge into operations and debt service, and note the year the bonds mature.
- Re-run the comparison at the taxable value you expect for your own ownership, then confirm that figure with the property appraiser.
This post is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm your own parcel's figures with the county property appraiser and a qualified tax professional before making a decision.
FAQ
Is ZIP 33559 in Pasco or Hillsborough? Both. Tampa Bay EDC lists it as Lutz (Hillsborough/Pasco), so the ZIP alone doesn't tell you the county or the tax rate.
Did Hillsborough cut property tax rates for 2026? For residents of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City, the adopted FY2026-27 countywide rate is 0.1 mill lower. For unincorporated areas such as Hillsborough-side Lutz, the unincorporated rate rose by the same amount, which the county budget director called "net zero."
Do all Pasco-side Lutz homes carry CDD debt? Not necessarily. CDDs are community by community. Long Lake Ranch's proposed FY2027 schedule includes debt service. Each address should be checked on its own tax bill and district budget.
Does a CDD charge go up with my home's value? The CDD schedules cited here are flat amounts per lot, set by lot type and phase. Ad valorem taxes are the part that changes with taxable value.
When a Lutz buyer is comparing two homes, we put each one's full annual cost in writing before the offer: millage, CDD operations, CDD debt and the bond payoff year. Sellers on the Pasco side get the same numbers, so their pricing accounts for the bill buyers will compare. If you own in Lutz and want to see how your home's tax and assessment profile stacks up against nearby competition, Austin Marks Group will run the numbers with you. Get your free home valuation.
