Deadline for Florida Homestead Exemption and Tax Portability - February 29th

Just a reminder, only two days remain for Florida homeowners to apply for a homestead exemption and for 2007 homebuyers to apply for the new property tax portability provision passed in the Constitutional amendment voted into law on January 29th.

To receive these benefits, residents must take action prior to March 1, 2008. Please pass this information on to your neighbors, friends and family.

Increased Homestead Exemption

Floridians who live in their homes as permanent residents are “homesteaded,” which grants them certain tax benefits. However, homestead status is not automatic. New homeowners must declare themselves to be homesteaders by March 1 of each year to their local property tax appraiser.

A major benefit of declaring a homestead is the homestead exemption, which deducts $25,000 from a home’s assessed value for tax purposes. Take a home’s assessed value, subtract $25,000, and apply the local millage rate to calculate the property taxes due.

New this year, however, is an increased homestead exemption of an additional $25,000which will be applied to homes worth at least $75,000. There is no separate application for this additional exemption and new homeowners who apply for the traditional homestead exemption before March 1 will automatically receive the savings. The same is true for long term homeowners. They will receive the additional homestead exemption "automatically" if their home already has homestead status.

Save Our Homes Portability

Taxpayers who sold a homestead in 2007 and purchased a new home before Jan. 1, 2008 are also eligible to apply some, or all, of their Save Our Homes tax benefits to the new home. The Save Our Homes benefit is the difference between the old homestead’s assessed value and market value resulting from Florida’s annual (3% maximum) limit on property tax increases in assessed value. In order to receive this benefit, you must apply by March 1, 2008 to your property appraiser for your new homestead exemption and for the transfer of the “Save Our Homes” benefit to your new homestead for 2008. Application forms for portability are available from the local property appraiser's office or from the Florida Department of Revenue website at http://dor.myflorida.com/dor

Tangible Personal Property Tax

Tangible personal property taxes apply only to certain taxpayers in Florida – typically businesses and certain owners of mobile homes. The tax does not apply to homestead property owners. In order to receive the $25,000 exemption for tangible personal property, taxpayers subject to the tax must file a tangible personal property return with their property appraiser's office by April 1, 2008.

Non-Homestead Property

The 10% limit on annual assessment increases for non-homestead property does not apply until 2009.

If you have any questions about what action you must take in order to receive these new benefits, please contact your local property appraiser. For information on how to contact Florida’s property appraisers, go to http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/appraisers.html.

   Gulf Coast Associates, Realtors & Metro Mortgage Company
Contact Us at 888-617-3674

• Rate this Post!

  Select Your Rating:

  • 5 Stars (Excellent!)
  • 4 Stars
  • 3 Stars
  • 2 Stars
  • 1 Stars (Poor)

• Share this Post

  Share With A Friend:

  Your Name Your Email

  Friend's Name Friend's Email

  Optional Message

  Send

• Print
• Social Bookmarking

  Add to Bookmarks: