Florida Property Tax Warning: Don’t Forget Homestead Exemption Filing

Let’s start with this:

If, in 2006, you used a Florida mortgage to purchase a house or condo or mobile home (if you own the land underneath it) and you use it as your primary residence, you need to file an application for a homestead exemption no later than March 1.

The homestead exemption reduces the taxable value of the home by $25,000, and it limits the amount your assessment can increase to three percent, or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is less, each year following the year you received homestead exemptions.

There is an additional exemption of up to $25,000 for persons 65 years old or older if the “household income” of everyone living in the home does not exceed the yearly amount determined by the Florida Department of Revenue. Other exemptions are available to Florida mortgage loan borrowers that are widows or widowers and people with certain medical disabilities.

Applications for exemptions have to be filed in person, either at the Property Appraiser’s office at 3285 Tamiami Trail East, 4715 Golden Gate Parkway, or 2335 Orange Blossom Drive. Contact the Collier County Property Appraiser’s office for more filing locations or information at 774-8141.

Bring the following with you when you make the application:

1) a recorded deed or tax bill in your name
2) Florida driver’s license
3) Florida auto tag registration
4) Collier County voter registration card, if you are a registered voter
5) Social Security number for yourself and your spouse
6) a declaration of domicile, filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court, if you have recorded one.

All the documentation must show that you were a legal resident of Florida on or before Jan. 1, 2007. There is no Florida requirement that you be in the state for any certain time period.

Speak with a Florida real estate expert if you have any further questions. Savings are at stake!