Other Exemptions

Exemption for Blind Persons

Every Florida resident who is blind qualifies for this exemption. If claiming exemption based on blindness, a certificate from the Division of Blind Services, the Department of Education or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs certifying the applicant to be blind is required.

"Blind person" is defined as an individual having central vision acuity 20/200 or less in the better eye with correcting glasses, or a disqualifying field defect in which the peripheral field has contracted to such an extent that the widest diameter or visual field subtends an angular distance no greater than twenty degrees.

Military Service-Connected Total and Permanent Disability Exemption

Any honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected total and permanent disability is entitled to exemption on real estate used and owned as a homestead, less any portion thereof used for commercial purposes.

Persons entitled to this exemption must have been a permanent resident of this state as of January 1^st of the year of assessment.

Under certain circumstances the benefit of this exemption can carry over to the veteran’s spouse in the event of the veteran’s death. Call our office at (239) 252-8141 for more details.

Total Exemption of Homestead From Taxation

Florida Statutes provide that real estate used and owned as a homestead by a quadriplegic, paraplegic, hemiplegic, or other totally and permanently disabled person, who must use a wheel chair for mobility or is legally blind shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. The applicant must produce a Certificate of this disability from two professional unrelated licensed Florida physicians or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Also the income of all persons residing upon the homestead cannot not exceed an income ceiling determined yearly by the Florida Department of Revenue (call our office for figures) including Social Security benefits. (Quadriplegics are exempted from the income requirement).

Florida Statutes provide that real estate used and owned as a homestead by a veteran, honorably discharged with service connected total and permanent disability, shall be exempt from ad valorem taxation. The applicant must have a letter from the U.S. Government or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs confirming this disability. The veteran must be a permanent resident of Florida prior to January 1^st of the tax year for which the exemption is being claimed.

Other Property Tax Exemptions

To be wholly or partially exempt from ad valorem taxation, property must be used exclusively or predominantly for charitable, religious, educational, governmental, literary or scientific purposes.

1. No application for exemption may be granted for religious, literary, scientific or charitable use of property until the application has been found by the Property Appraiser, or upon appeal by the Value Adjustment Board, to be a non-profit as defined in Florida Statute 196.196.
2. Educational institutions means state, parochial, church and private schools, colleges and universities conducting regular classes and courses of study. To be eligible applicant must also have certification by, accreditation to, or membership in, the State Department of Education of Florida, Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools or the Florida Council of Independent Schools.

    Click here to for the Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Application and Return Application and Return