Florida · Property tax exemptions · Updated Oct 2026
Florida property tax exemptions
Homestead, senior, veteran, disability and surviving-spouse breaks in Florida: what each one is worth, who qualifies, how to apply and the deadline, in plain English.
$51,411homestead exemption
Yessenior break
Full exemptiondisabled veterans
March 1homestead deadline
0.76%median tax rate
Exemptions by group
Every break for one group on one page, with step-by-step instructions and the tools set for that group.
Total and Permanent Disability Exemption for Veterans (and wheelchair-bound disabled veterans), Disabled Ex-Servicemember $5,000 Exemption and Combat-Disabled Veteran Discount (65+)
Total and Permanent Disability Exemptions (quadriplegic; wheelchair-bound or legally blind; $5,000 blind/disabled), Exemption for Totally and Permanently Disabled First Responders
Widow's/Widower's Exemption and Surviving Spouse of First Responder Exemption, Total and Permanent Disability Exemption for Veterans (and wheelchair-bound disabled veterans), Disabled Ex-Servicemember $5,000 Exemption and Combat-Disabled Veteran Discount (65+) …
Where to apply in Florida
Your county property appraiser decides all exemptions. You apply with the property appraiser in the county where the home is, often online; the Florida Department of Revenue writes the forms and rules.
Some amounts depend on where you live. In Florida, some of these breaks or their amounts are set or adjusted by your county, city or town, as each exemption below explains. Ask your local assessor for the figure that applies to your home.
Property tax exemptions in Florida
Homestead
Homestead Exemption
Up to $51,411 off your assessed value for 2026. The first $25,000 comes off all taxes, including school taxes. A second exemption of up to $26,411 (indexed to inflation each year) comes off the assessed value between $50,000 and $76,411, for non-school taxes only.
Who qualifies
You own the home (legal or beneficial title) on January 1 and it is your permanent residence, or the permanent residence of someone legally or naturally dependent on you, on January 1. Miami-Dade notes you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and a Florida resident on January 1. You lose it if you rent the home out or it stops being your permanent home.
How to apply
File Form DR-501 (Original Application for Homestead and Related Tax Exemptions) with your county property appraiser; many counties accept it online. Bring your deed or title information, Social Security numbers for you and your spouse, Florida driver license or ID, Florida vehicle registration, voter registration (if a citizen), and if needed a declaration of domicile and proof you gave up residency elsewhere.
March 1 of the tax year (s. 196.011(1)(a), F.S.). If you miss it, you may still file a late application within 25 days after the property appraiser mails the TRIM notice (usually August) and show extenuating circumstances (s. 196.011(9), F.S.).
Renewal
File once. The exemption renews automatically in counties that waive the annual application (s. 196.011(10), F.S.); you must tell the property appraiser if you move, rent the home or sell it.
Law
Art. VII, s. 6, Fla. Const.; s. 196.031, F.S.; s. 196.011, F.S.
Additional Homestead Exemption for Persons 65 and Older (low-income senior)
Up to $50,000 more off the assessed value, but only for the county or city taxes of a county or city that has adopted it by ordinance. A second local option fully exempts the home if its just value was under $250,000 when you first qualified and you have lived there at least 25 years. These do not reduce school taxes. Example: Miami-Dade County gives the $50,000 senior exemption on county taxes and has also adopted the long-term-resident exemption for county taxes. Most Miami-Dade cities also give $50,000 off city taxes, but Aventura and Golden Beach give $25,000 and Florida City, Indian Creek and Miami Shores give none (Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, Senior Exemptions Benefit Table 2026).
Who qualifies
You already have the homestead exemption, are 65 or older on January 1, and your household's income is at or below the limit. Your county or city must have adopted the exemption.
Income limit
$38,686 household adjusted gross income for 2026 (indexed each year by the Department of Revenue).
How to apply
File Form DR-501 with the box for this exemption plus Form DR-501SC (Household Income sworn statement) with the property appraiser. Bring the prior year's federal income tax returns and W-2s for everyone in the household.
March 1 (first-time sworn statement of household income, s. 196.075(4)(d), F.S.).
Renewal
After the first year, you must tell the property appraiser by May 1 if your household income goes over the limit (s. 196.075(5), F.S.). Some counties still ask for a yearly income statement.
Total and Permanent Disability Exemption for Veterans (and wheelchair-bound disabled veterans)
Your homestead is fully exempt from property tax (100% of the value).
Who qualifies
Honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected total and permanent disability certified by a letter from the U.S. government or the VA, who is a permanent Florida resident on January 1. A similar full exemption covers veterans with a service-connected disability who must use a wheelchair (s. 196.091). An unremarried surviving spouse can keep the exemption, and an unremarried surviving spouse of a veteran who died on active duty can also qualify.
How to apply
File Form DR-501 with the property appraiser and attach the VA or U.S. government letter certifying total and permanent service-connected disability. You can apply before the letter arrives; the exemption then runs from the date of the original application.
Disabled Ex-Servicemember $5,000 Exemption and Combat-Disabled Veteran Discount (65+)
$5,000 off the assessed value if you are a veteran with a disability of 10% or more. Separately, if you are 65 or older with a combat-related permanent disability, your homestead tax is discounted by your VA disability percentage (for example, 40% disabled = 40% discount).
Who qualifies
$5,000: honorably discharged Florida resident veteran disabled 10% or more from service during wartime or by misfortune; can carry over to an unremarried surviving spouse. Discount: veteran 65 or older, honorably discharged, with a combat-related permanent service-connected disability; carries over to an unremarried surviving spouse who lives in the home.
How to apply
File Form DR-501 with the property appraiser and bring your VA disability rating letter and discharge papers (DD-214). For the discount, proof the disability is combat-related.
Total and Permanent Disability Exemptions (quadriplegic; wheelchair-bound or legally blind; $5,000 blind/disabled)
Full exemption of your homestead if you are quadriplegic (no income limit), or if you are paraplegic, hemiplegic or otherwise totally and permanently disabled and must use a wheelchair, or are legally blind, and your household income is under the limit. Anyone totally and permanently disabled or blind also gets $5,000 off the assessed value.
Who qualifies
Florida resident who owns and lives in the homestead and is totally and permanently disabled. Full exemption (except quadriplegics) requires gross household income, including Social Security and VA benefits of everyone living there, at or below the limit.
Income limit
$37,712 gross household income for 2026 (full exemption for wheelchair users and the legally blind; no limit for quadriplegics and none for the $5,000 exemption).
How to apply
File Form DR-501 with the property appraiser. First-time filers bring a certificate of total and permanent disability (Form DR-416) from two Florida-licensed doctors or the VA; for blindness, one may be a Florida optometrist (Form DR-416B). Bring proof of household income for the full exemption.
Exemption for Totally and Permanently Disabled First Responders
Your homestead is fully exempt from property tax (100% of the value).
Who qualifies
A first responder (law enforcement or correctional officer, firefighter, EMT or paramedic) who is totally and permanently disabled because of an injury sustained in the line of duty in Florida (or in an operation elsewhere authorized by Florida or a Florida local government), who owns and lives in the homestead and is a permanent Florida resident on January 1. No income limit. The statute also lets an unremarried surviving spouse keep the exemption.
How to apply
Apply with your county property appraiser using Form DR-501. Bring the employer's certificate that the disability came from a line-of-duty injury, plus either the disability certificate used for the general total and permanent disability exemption or documentation from the Social Security Administration that you are totally and permanently disabled (s. 196.102(4)-(5), F.S.).
Widow's/Widower's Exemption and Surviving Spouse of First Responder Exemption
$5,000 off the assessed value for an unremarried widow or widower. Full exemption of the homestead for the surviving spouse of a first responder (or of a veteran or servicemember) who died in the line of duty.
Who qualifies
$5,000: Florida resident widow or widower who has not remarried, as of January 1 (divorced people do not qualify). Full exemption: surviving spouse of a Florida first responder who died in the line of duty, who keeps title, lives in the home and does not remarry; the first responder and spouse must have been permanent Florida residents on January 1 of the year of death.
How to apply
File Form DR-501 with the property appraiser and bring the death certificate of your spouse (and for first responders, the employer's letter that the death was in the line of duty).
Yes. Under Save Our Homes portability you can move up to $500,000 of your built-up assessment difference to a new Florida homestead if you establish the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you left the old one. File Form DR-501T with your homestead application by March 1 (s. 193.155(8), F.S.).
Is there a cap on value increases?
Yes. After the first year, a homestead's assessed value can rise no more than 3% or the change in CPI, whichever is less; the cap is 2.7% for 2026 (Save Our Homes, Art. VII, s. 4(d), Fla. Const.; s. 193.155, F.S.). The cap resets when the home is sold.
Good to know in Florida
Amendment 3 (CS/HJR 1F) on the November 3, 2026 ballot would raise the non-school homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 if 60% of voters approve; it would not change 2026 bills.
A deployed servicemember can get a partial exemption equal to the share of the prior year spent deployed on a designated operation (s. 196.173, F.S.; Form DR-501M).
You can get an assessment reduction for building a granny flat for a parent or grandparent aged 62 or older (s. 193.703, F.S.; Form DR-501PGP).
Savings estimate for Florida
Roughly what an exemption could save you a year: the value it takes off, times your tax rate.
Eligibility finder for Florida
Answer a few questions to see which property tax breaks may fit you. Nothing you type here is sent anywhere.
Document checklist for Florida
Pick the breaks you plan to apply for. You get a checklist of forms, documents, steps and deadlines to print or keep on your phone.
Questions about property tax exemptions in Florida
Is there a homestead exemption in Florida?
Yes: the Homestead Exemption. Up to $51,411 off your assessed value for 2026. The first $25,000 comes off all taxes, including school taxes. A second exemption of up to $26,411 (indexed to inflation each year) comes off the assessed value between $50,000 and $76,411, for non-school taxes only. Who qualifies: You own the home (legal or beneficial title) on January 1 and it is your permanent residence, or the permanent residence of someone legally or naturally dependent on you, on January 1. Miami-Dade notes you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and a Florida resident on January 1. You lose it if you rent the home out or it stops being your permanent home.
When is the deadline to apply for the homestead exemption in Florida?
March 1 of the tax year (s. 196.011(1)(a), F.S.). If you miss it, you may still file a late application within 25 days after the property appraiser mails the TRIM notice (usually August) and show extenuating circumstances (s. 196.011(9), F.S.).
Do I have to reapply for the homestead exemption every year in Florida?
File once. The exemption renews automatically in counties that waive the annual application (s. 196.011(10), F.S.); you must tell the property appraiser if you move, rent the home or sell it.
Are there property tax breaks for seniors in Florida?
Additional Homestead Exemption for Persons 65 and Older (low-income senior): Up to $50,000 more off the assessed value, but only for the county or city taxes of a county or city that has adopted it by ordinance. A second local option fully exempts the home if its just value was under $250,000 when you first qualified and you have lived there at least 25 years. These do not reduce school taxes. Example: Miami-Dade County gives the $50,000 senior exemption on county taxes and has also adopted the long-term-resident exemption for county taxes. Most Miami-Dade cities also give $50,000 off city taxes, but Aventura and Golden Beach give $25,000 and Florida City, Indian Creek and Miami Shores give none (Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, Senior Exemptions Benefit Table 2026).
Do disabled veterans get a property tax exemption in Florida?
Total and Permanent Disability Exemption for Veterans (and wheelchair-bound disabled veterans): Your homestead is fully exempt from property tax (100% of the value). Disabled Ex-Servicemember $5,000 Exemption and Combat-Disabled Veteran Discount (65+): $5,000 off the assessed value if you are a veteran with a disability of 10% or more. Separately, if you are 65 or older with a combat-related permanent disability, your homestead tax is discounted by your VA disability percentage (for example, 40% disabled = 40% discount).
Can I move my exemption to a new home in Florida?
Yes. Under Save Our Homes portability you can move up to $500,000 of your built-up assessment difference to a new Florida homestead if you establish the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you left the old one. File Form DR-501T with your homestead application by March 1 (s. 193.155(8), F.S.).
Is there a limit on how fast my home's taxable value can rise in Florida?
Yes. After the first year, a homestead's assessed value can rise no more than 3% or the change in CPI, whichever is less; the cap is 2.7% for 2026 (Save Our Homes, Art. VII, s. 4(d), Fla. Const.; s. 193.155, F.S.). The cap resets when the home is sold.
Where do I apply for property tax exemptions in Florida?
Your county property appraiser decides all exemptions. You apply with the property appraiser in the county where the home is, often online; the Florida Department of Revenue writes the forms and rules.
Think your home’s assessed value is too high? An exemption and an appeal are separate: you can do both.
Median effective tax rate: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2020–2024 5-year estimates, tables B25103 (median real estate taxes paid, owner-occupied homes) and B25077 (median value, owner-occupied homes). The rate is the median tax paid divided by the median home value.