Property taxes do not increase for raised floor in Sumter County. If the homeowner removes the sliders then the property taxes increase. As long as the sliders stay in place you can raise the floor, add a mini-split A/C, add vented A/C or zoned A/C or do just about anything to the lanai and the property taxes will not increase. For Sumter County as long as the sliders stay in place, the square footage does not change.
We removed lanai concrete floor, added vapor/moisture barrier (plastic sheeting), installed new concrete level floor (with tile on top to match rest of house), added zoned A/C, A/C outlets, cable outlets, horizontal slider windows with solid glass wall on bottom, standard style rear door, extended lanai from 10x30 to 14x30, new ceiling with recessed lighting and two new fans and all was done per code. Zoned A/C for lanai could only be added if vapor barrier was in place under concrete. The original lanai floor (10' wide) dropped 2 inches from house to edge, which was the main reason we wanted to level the floor. We did not raise the lanai floor to the level of the living room floor. We did not want to lose the 3"-4" in height. The lanai ceiling is only 8', so a few inches made a big difference. And, we didn't mind the step-down. When they kicked out the lanai 4 feet we had them install the new pillars evenly spaced. If you check your lanai, my guess is the spacing between pillars will not be equal. Making the spacing between the pillars equal made the new windows look more consistent. We left sliders in place and the square footage (or property tax purposes) did not change. When we sold the house we advertised it with basic square footage, but reported 420 sq ft lanai with zoned A/C and its own thermostat. I think enclosed lanai with big screen TV on wall and its own thermostat A/C was the big selling point.
If you want to verify or know for your particular county, call property appraiser of permitting department for your county.
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