When property owners receive their assessment notices, they will likely see that their property values have increased, quite significantly in many cases. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that their property taxes are going up. “It’s very important that people come in and file homestead exemption this year versus next year. They won’t get nearly the tax benefit if they wait and sign up next year,” says county tax assessor Monty Vickers. Those with homestead exemption could actually see their property taxes decrease in spite of the higher assessment.