Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 272
By
Senator Bernard
24-00426C-26 2026272__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to a homestead exemption for persons
3 65 and older; amending s. 196.075, F.S.; expanding the
4 homestead exemption for persons 65 years and older to
5 include a total exemption of homestead property from
6 ad valorem taxation, other than for school district
7 levies, for certain persons whose household income
8 does not exceed a certain amount; amending s. 196.082,
9 F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the
10 act; authorizing the Department of Revenue to adopt
11 emergency rules; specifying the timeframe in which
12 such rules are effective and may be renewed; providing
13 applicability; providing a contingent effective date.
14
15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17 Section 1. Section 196.075, Florida Statutes, is amended to
18 read:
19 196.075
Additional
Homestead exemption for persons 65 and
20 older.—
21 (1) As used in this section, the term:
22 (a) “Household” means a person or group of persons living
23 together in a room or group of rooms as a housing unit, but the
24 term does not include persons boarding in or renting a portion
25 of the dwelling.
26 (b) “Household income” means the adjusted gross income, as
27 defined in s. 62 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, of
28 all members of a household.
29 (2)
In accordance with s. 6(d), Art. VII of the State
30
Constitution, the board of county commissioners of any county or
31
the governing authority of any municipality may adopt an
32
ordinance to allow either or both of the following additional
33
homestead exemptions:
34
(a) Up to $50,000 for a person who has the legal or
35
equitable title to real estate and maintains thereon the
36
permanent residence of the owner, who has attained age 65, and
37
whose household income does not exceed $20,000.
38
(b)
Any
The amount of the assessed value of the property
39
for a
person who has the legal or equitable title to real estate
40
with a just value less than $250,000
, as determined in the first
41
tax year that the owner applies and is eligible for the
42
exemption,
and
who has
maintained thereon the permanent
43 residence of the owner for at least
5
25
years, who has attained
44 age 65, and whose household income does not exceed
$
350,000
the
45
income limitation prescribed in paragraph (a)
, as calculated in
46 subsection (3)
, is entitled to
a
homestead
exemption equal to
47
the assessed value of the property
, which shall apply to all ad
48
valorem tax levies other than school district levies
.
49 (3) The
$350,000
$20,000
income limitation shall be
50 adjusted annually, on January 1, by the percentage change in the
51 average cost-of-living index in the period January 1 through
52 December 31 of the immediate prior year compared with the same
53 period for the year prior to that. The index is the average of
54 the monthly consumer-price-index figures for the stated 12-month
55 period, relative to the United States as a whole, issued by the
56 United States Department of Labor.
57 (4)
An ordinance granting an additional homestead exemption
58
as authorized by this section must meet the following
59
requirements:
60
(a) It must be adopted under the procedures for adoption of
61
a nonemergency ordinance specified in chapter 125 by a board of
62
county commissioners or chapter 166 by a municipal governing
63
authority, except that the exemption authorized by paragraph
64
(2)(b) must be authorized by a super majority (a majority plus
65
one) vote of the members of the governing body of the county or
66
municipality granting such exemption.
67
(b) It must specify that the exemption applies only to
68
taxes levied by the unit of government granting the exemption.
69
Unless otherwise specified by the county or municipality, this
70
exemption will apply to all tax levies of the county or
71
municipality granting the exemption, including dependent special
72
districts and municipal service taxing units.
73
(c) It must specify the amount of the exemption, which may
74
not exceed the applicable amount specified in subsection (2). If
75
the county or municipality specifies a different exemption
76
amount for dependent special districts or municipal service
77
taxing units, the exemption amount must be uniform in all
78
dependent special districts or municipal service taxing units
79
within the county or municipality.
80
(d) It must require that a taxpayer claiming the exemption
81
for the first time submit to the property appraiser, not later
82
than March 1, a sworn statement of household income on a form
83
prescribed by the Department of Revenue.
84
(5)
The department
shall
must
require by rule that the
85 filing of the statement be supported by copies of any federal
86 income tax returns for the prior year, any wage and earnings
87 statements (W-2 forms), any request for an extension of time to
88 file returns, and any other documents it finds necessary, for
89 each member of the household, to be submitted for inspection by
90 the property appraiser. The taxpayer’s sworn statement
must
91
shall
attest to the accuracy of the documents and grant
92 permission to allow review of the documents if requested by the
93 property appraiser. Once the documents have been inspected by
94 the property appraiser, they
must
shall
be returned to the
95 taxpayer or otherwise destroyed. Annually, the property
96 appraiser shall notify each taxpayer of the adjusted income
97 limitation set forth in subsection (3). The taxpayer must notify
98 the property appraiser by May 1 if his or her household income
99 exceeds the most recent adjusted income limitation. The property
100 appraiser may conduct random audits of the taxpayers’ sworn
101 statements to ensure the accuracy of the household income
102 reported. If selected for audit, a taxpayer
must
shall
execute
103 Internal Revenue Service Form 8821 or 4506, which authorizes the
104 Internal Revenue Service to release tax information to the
105 property appraiser’s office. All reviews conducted in accordance
106 with this section
must
shall
be completed on or before June 1.
107 The property appraiser may not grant the exemption if the
108 required documentation requested is not provided.
109
(6) The board of county commissioners or municipal
110
governing authority must deliver a copy of any ordinance adopted
111
under this section to the property appraiser no later than
112
December 1 of the year prior to the year the exemption will take
113
effect. If the ordinance is repealed, the board of county
114
commissioners or municipal governing authority shall notify the
115
property appraiser no later than December 1 of the year prior to
116
the year the exemption expires.
117
(7) Those persons entitled to the homestead exemption in s.
118
196.031 may apply for and receive an additional homestead
119
exemption as provided in this section. Receipt of the additional
120
homestead exemption provided for in this section shall be
121
subject to the provisions of ss. 196.131 and 196.161, if
122
applicable.
123
(5)
(8)
If title is held jointly with right of survivorship,
124 the person residing on the property and otherwise qualifying may
125 receive the entire amount of the additional homestead exemption.
126
(6)
(9)
(a) If the property appraiser determines that for any
127 year within the immediately previous 10 years a person who was
128 not entitled to the additional homestead exemption under this
129 section was granted such an exemption, the property appraiser
130
must
shall
serve upon the owner a notice of intent to record in
131 the public records of the county a notice of tax lien against
132 any property owned by that person in the county, and that
133 property must be identified in the notice of tax lien. Any
134 property that is owned by the taxpayer and
is
situated in this
135 state is subject to the taxes exempted by the improper homestead
136 exemption, plus a penalty of 50 percent of the unpaid taxes for
137 each year and interest at a rate of 15 percent per annum. Before
138 any such lien may be filed, the owner must be given 30 days
139 within which to pay the taxes, penalties, and interest. Such a
140 lien is subject to the procedures and provisions set forth in s.
141 196.161(3).
142 (b) If the additional homestead exemption under this
143 section is improperly granted as a result of a clerical mistake
144 or omission by the property appraiser, the person who improperly
145 received the exemption may not be assessed a penalty and
146 interest. Back taxes shall apply only as follows:
147 1. If the person who received the additional homestead
148 exemption under this section as a result of a clerical mistake
149 or omission voluntarily discloses to the property appraiser that
150 he or she was not entitled to the homestead exemption before the
151 property appraiser notifies the owner of the mistake or
152 omission, no back taxes shall be due.
153 2. If the person who received the additional homestead
154 exemption under this section as a result of a clerical mistake
155 or omission does not voluntarily disclose to the property
156 appraiser that he or she was not entitled to the homestead
157 exemption before the property appraiser notifies the owner of
158 the mistake or omission, back taxes shall be due for any year or
159 years that the owner was not entitled to the limitation within
160 the 5 years before the property appraiser notified the owner of
161 the mistake or omission.
162 3. The property appraiser shall serve upon an owner that
163 owes back taxes under subparagraph 2. a notice of intent to
164 record in the public records of the county a notice of tax lien
165 against any property owned by that person in the county, and
166 such property must be identified in the notice of tax lien. The
167 property appraiser must include with such notice information
168 explaining why the owner is not entitled to the limitation, the
169 years for which unpaid taxes are due, and the manner in which
170 unpaid taxes have been calculated. Before any such lien may be
171 filed, the owner must be given 30 days within which to pay the
172 taxes, penalties, and interest. Such a lien is subject to the
173 procedures and provisions set forth in s. 196.161(3).
174 Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 196.082, Florida
175 Statutes, is amended to read:
176 196.082 Discounts for disabled veterans; surviving spouse
177 carryover.—
178 (1) Each veteran who is age 65 or older
,
and
is partially
179 or totally permanently disabled
, and does not qualify for the
180
exemption under s. 196.075
shall receive a discount from the
181 amount of the ad valorem tax otherwise owed on homestead
182 property that the veteran owns and resides in if:
183 (a) The disability was combat-related; and
184 (b) The veteran was honorably discharged upon separation
185 from military service.
186 Section 3.
(1)
The Department of Revenue is authorized,
187
and all conditions are deemed met, to adopt emergency rules
188
pursuant to s. 120.54(4), Florida Statutes, to administer this
189
act.
190
(2)
Notwithstanding any other law, emergency rules adopted
191
pursuant to this section are effective for 6 months after
192
adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of procedures to
193
adopt permanent rules
addressing the subject of the emergency
194
rules
.
195 Section 4.
The amendments made by this act to s
s
. 196.0
75
196
and 196.082
, Florida Statutes
,
first apply to the 202
7
tax roll.
197 Section 5. This act shall take effect on the effective date
198 of the amendment to the State Constitution proposed by SJR 270
199 or a similar joint resolution having substantially the same
200 specific intent and purpose, if such amendment to the State
201 Constitution is approved at the next general election or at an
202 earlier special election specifically authorized by law for that
203 purpose.