Florida Property Tax Exemptions for Seniors

The short answer: Every Florida homeowner who lives in the home can claim a homestead exemption of up to about $51,000, and Save Our Homes caps how fast the taxable value can rise. Homeowners 65 and older with limited income may get more, depending on where they live. Widows and widowers, people with disabilities and veterans have their own exemptions. All are filed with your county property appraiser by March 1.

Homestead Exemption

If you own your home and it is your permanent residence on January 1, you can claim:

• $25,000 off the assessed value for all property taxes, including school taxes; and
• a second exemption on assessed value above $50,000 for non-school taxes only, which is adjusted for inflation each year: up to $26,411 in 2026.

File Form DR-501 with your county property appraiser by March 1. (Sources: Florida Department of Revenue PT-113, DOR 2026 adjustment and Florida Statute 196.031.)

Save Our Homes Cap and Portability

After your first year with a homestead exemption, your home's assessed value can rise by no more than 3 percent a year or the change in the consumer price index, whichever is lower. For 2026 the cap is 2.7 percent. (Sources: DOR PT-112 and DOR Save Our Homes.)

If you move within Florida, portability can carry up to $500,000 of that savings to your new homestead. You must set up the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you left the old one, and file Form DR-501T with your application. (Source: Florida Statute 193.155.)

Extra Exemptions for Homeowners 65 and Older

Florida lets each county and city decide whether to offer these. (Source: Florida Statute 196.075.)

• Up to $50,000 more for homeowners 65 and older whose household income is at or below $38,686 for 2026.
• Full exemption for long-term residents: homeowners 65 and older, under the same income limit, whose home was worth less than $250,000 when they first applied and who have lived there for at least 25 years.

Household income is the federal adjusted gross income of everyone living in the home. File Form DR-501SC, a sworn statement of income, each year. (Sources: DOR 2026 income limit and DOR PT-110.)

The amount varies by taxing authority. In Sarasota County, for example, the senior exemption is $5,000 for county taxes, $50,000 for City of Sarasota, Longboat Key and Venice taxes, and $25,000 for North Port taxes. (Source: Sarasota County Property Appraiser.) Ask your property appraiser what applies to your address.

Widows, Widowers, Blindness and Disability

• $5,000 off for every Florida resident who is a widow, widower, blind, or totally and permanently disabled. (Source: Florida Statute 196.202.)
• Total exemption of the homestead for quadriplegics, with no income test; and for people who are paraplegic, hemiplegic or otherwise totally and permanently disabled and must use a wheelchair, or are legally blind, if household income is under $37,712 for 2026. A certificate from two Florida doctors or the VA is needed. (Sources: Florida Statute 196.101 and DOR 2026 income limit.)

Veterans

• $5,000 off for honorably discharged veterans with a disability of at least 10 percent. (Source: Florida Statute 196.24.)
• Total homestead exemption for veterans with a service-connected total and permanent disability. (Source: Florida Statute 196.081.)
• A discount equal to the disability percentage for veterans 65 and older with a combat-related disability. (Source: Florida Statute 196.082.)

(See also DOR PT-109.)

Deferring Property Taxes

Homeowners with a homestead exemption can ask the county tax collector to defer part of their property taxes. For people 65 and older, taxes above 3 percent of household income can be deferred, and the whole bill can be deferred if household income is under $38,686 in 2026. The deferred taxes stay as a lien on the home. (Sources: Florida Statute 197.252 and 197.2423.)

Deadlines

Apply by March 1. If you miss it, you may file by the 25th day after the notice of proposed property taxes (TRIM notice) is mailed; the property appraiser can grant the exemption for extenuating circumstances, and otherwise you can petition the value adjustment board. Counties may renew the exemption automatically after the first year instead of requiring a new application. (Source: Florida Statute 196.011.)

On the November 3, 2026 Ballot: Amendment 3

Amendment 3, proposed by the Legislature, would raise the homestead exemption from non-school taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, cut the cap on non-homestead assessment increases from 10 to 5 percent, and limit what local governments can spend property taxes on. It needs 60 percent of the vote. (Source: Florida Division of Elections.) Read our Amendment 3 explainer.

For other ways to stretch a fixed income, see financial planning for Florida seniors, Medicare Savings Programs and low-income senior housing.

Questions About Senior Property Tax Exemptions

Disclaimer: This guide is general information, not tax advice. Your county property appraiser decides exemptions.