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Are You Applying for an Exemption?

Homestead and Other Exemptions

You must apply for exemptions with your county property appraiser. The property appraiser may require documentation.

Individual and Family Exemptions

• Homestead, Up To $50,000

  Every person who owns and resides on real property in Florida on January 1 and makes the property his or her permanent residence is eligible to receive a homestead exemption up to $50,000. The first $25,000 applies to all property taxes, including school district taxes. The additional exemption up to $25,000, applies to the assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000 and only to non-school taxes.

  The application for homestead exemption (Form DR-501) and other property tax forms are posted on our form page and on most property appraiser's websites. Click here for county property appraiser contact and website information. Some county sites have quick and easy online applications. If filing for the first time, be prepared to answer these questions:

  • Whose name or names were recorded on the title on January 1?
  • What is the street address of the property?
  • Were you living in the dwelling on January 1?
  • Do you claim homestead in another county or state?

  If one spouse holds the title, the other spouse may file for the exemption with the consent of the titleholder. Your property appraiser may ask for any of the following items to prove your residency:

  Previous residency outside Florida and date ended
  Florida driver license or identification card number
  Evidence of giving up driver license from other state
  Florida vehicle tag number
  Florida voter registration number (if US citizen)
  Declaration of domicile, residency date
  Current employer
  Address listed on your last IRS return
  School location of dependent children
  Bank statement and checking account mailing address
  Proof of payment of utilities at homestead address
  

  If you are moving from a previous Florida homestead to a new homestead in Florida, you may be able to transfer, or “port,” all or part of your homestead assessment difference. Read more on portability.

  See a summary of requirements and documentation for homestead related exemptions.

  See section 196.031, Florida Statutes. For local information, contact your county property appraiser.

• Widows and Widowers, $500

  Any widow or widower who is a Florida resident may claim a $500 exemption. If you remarry, you are no longer eligible for the exemption. If you were divorced before the death of your ex-spouse, you do not qualify as a widow or widower.

  See section 196.202, Florida Statutes. For local information, contact your county property appraiser.

• Disability, $500

  A Florida resident who is totally and permanently disabled may qualify for a $500 exemption.

  See section 196.202, Florida Statutes. For local information, contact your county property appraiser.

• Blind Persons, $500

  A Florida resident who is blind may qualify for a $500 exemption.

  See section 196.202, Florida Statutes. For local information, contact your county property appraiser.

• Total and Permanent Disability

  Real estate used and owned as a homestead by a quadriplegic, less any portion used for commercial purposes, is exempt from all ad valorem taxation.

  Real estate used and owned as a homestead by a paraplegic, hemiplegic, or other totally and permanently disabled person, who must use a wheelchair for mobility or who is legally blind, is exempt from taxation if the gross household income is below the current gross income limit. Gross income is the income, including veterans' and social security benefits, of all persons residing in the homestead.

  If filing for the first time, a certificate of total and permanent disability (Form DR-416) from two (2) licensed doctors of this state or from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs is required. For the legally blind, one of the two may be a certificate from a Florida-licensed optometrist (Form DR-416B).

  See section 196.101, Florida Statutes. For local information, contact your county property appraiser.

• Local Option Homestead for Persons 65 and Older

  Some city or county governments have enacted a local ordinance allowing an added homestead exemption up to $50,000. See the list of counties and municipalities that offer this additional homestead exemption.

  To qualify you must:

  • Be 65 or older,
  • Submit a statement of income (Form DR-501SC) and meet the income limit, and
  • Have legal or equitable title to a home you make your permanent residence.

  The household income limit is adjusted each year on January 1, according to changes in the consumer price index (CPI). It compares the prior year cost-of-living with the year before. See the current income limit for this exemption and more information on the CPI.

Added Exemptions for Veterans

• Disability for an Ex-Service Member, Up to $5,000

  An ex-service member disabled at least 10% in war or by service-connected events may be entitled to a $5,000 exemption on any property he or she owns.

  See section 196.24, Florida Statutes. For local information, contact your county property appraiser.

• Service-Connected, Total and Permanent Disability or Confined to a Wheelchair

  An honorably discharged veteran who is totally and permanently disabled or requires a wheelchair for mobility resulting from their military service may qualify for total exemption of their homestead. Under some circumstances, the benefit of this exemption can carry over to the surviving spouse.

  See sections 196.081 and 196.091, Florida Statutes. For local information, contact your county property appraiser.

• Discount for Veterans 65 and Older with a Combat-Related Disability

  A veteran who is disabled, 65 or older, and owns homestead property may qualify for a property tax discount based on percent of disability. To be eligible, you must have an honorable discharge from military service, be partially disabled with a permanent service-connected disability, at least part of which is combat-related, and must have been a Florida resident at the time of entering military service. Read more.

• Deployed Military Exemption

  A member or former member of any branch of the United States military or military reserves, the United States Coast Guard or its reserves, or the Florida National Guard may receive an exemption on this year’s tax bill if he or she:

  • receives a homestead exemption,
  • was deployed during the last calendar year outside the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii in support of a designated operation (each year the Florida legislature designates operations for this exemption), and
  • submits an application, Form DR-501M, to the property appraiser.

  The percent of the taxable value that is exempt for the current year is determined by the percent of time during the last year when the service member was deployed on a designated operation.

• Filing and Keeping Your Homestead Exemption

  When a person serving in the Armed Forces owns a property and uses it as a homestead, the service member may rent the homestead without abandoning the claim to the homestead exemption. See section 196.061, Florida Statutes.

  Service members who can't file a homestead exemption claim in person because of a service obligation may file the claim through next of kin or through any other person who has been authorized in writing to file on behalf of the service member. See section 196.071, Florida Statutes.

 

Other Property Tax Exemptions