PTO Bulletin 17-01Property Tax Oversight Bulletin: PTO 17-01
To: Property Appraisers, Tax Collectors, Clerks of the Court, Boards of
County Commissioners, Taxing Authorities, and Interested Parties
From: Property Tax Oversight Program
Date: August 16, 2017
Bulletin: PTO 17-01
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
PROPERTY TAX INFORMATIONAL BULLETIN
Tax Exemptions for First Responders and Surviving Spouses
Amendment 3 was approved by the voters in the November 8, 2016, general election. This
amendment made changes to section 6, Article VII, and created section 35, Article XII, of the
Florida Constitution to allow the legislature to provide ad valorem tax relief on homestead property
for a first responder who is totally and permanently disabled as a result of an injury sustained in
the line of duty.
The 2017 legislature enacted chapter 2017-105, Laws of Florida (HB 455), which will operate
retroactively to January 1, 2017. Section 1 of the law amends section 196.011, Florida Statutes, to
require the applicant and his or her spouse to provide social security numbers to be eligible for the
property tax exemption for first responders who are totally and permanently disabled and their
surviving spouses.
Section 2 creates section 196.102, F.S., which exempts from taxation any real estate that is
owned and used as a homestead by a person who has a total and permanent disability as a result
of an injury or injuries sustained in the line of duty while serving as a first responder in this state
or during an operation in another state or country authorized by this state or a political
subdivision of this state. The first responder must be a permanent resident of this state on
January 1 of the year for which he or she is claiming the exemption.
This law specifies the documents required to apply for this exemption. These documents include
certification from the organization employing the applicant when the injury occurred; a letter of
total and permanent disability from the Social Security Administration; and certification from a
licensed Florida physician.
If the letter of total and permanent disability from the Social Security Administration cannot be
provided, the applicant may provide documentation from the Social Security Administration
stating that the applicant is not eligible to receive a medical status determination from the Social
Security Administration, and provide an additional physician certification from two
professionally unrelated physicians.
This law provides authorization for the exemption to carry over to the benefit of the disabled first
responder’s surviving spouse as long as he or she holds legal or beneficial title to the homestead,
permanently resides there, and does not remarry.
This law allowed for an extended filing period until August 1, 2017, for the 2017 tax year.
Bulletin PTO 17-01
August 16, 2017
Page 2 of 2
This law provides an appeals process through the value adjustment board if a property appraiser
denies an application for the exemption.
The full text of the changes is available at http://laws.flrules.org/2017/105.
The Department of Revenue has provided this bulletin for your general information. Please
distribute to your staff who may be affected by the changes in the law. If you have questions about
its contents, please send them to DORPTO@floridarevenue.com.