PTO Bulletin 16-01Property Tax Oversight Bulletin: PTO 16-01
To: Property Appraisers, Tax Collectors, Clerks of the Court, Boards of
County Commissioners, Taxing Authorities, and Interested Parties
From: Property Tax Oversight Program
Date: March 28, 2016
Bulletin: PTO 16-01
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
PROPERTY TAX INFORMATIONAL BULLETIN
Ad Valorem Tax Exemption for Deployed Servicemembers
The 2016 legislature enacted Chapter 2016-26, Laws of Florida, (HB 7023) effective
March 8, 2016. Section 1 updates the designated operations for which deployed servicemembers
may qualify for the homestead exemption in section 196.173, Florida Statutes. Also, it provides
that the exemption is available to servicemembers who were deployed during the preceding
calendar year on active duty outside the continental United States, Alaska, or Hawaii in support of
a subordinate operation to a designated main operation.
Section 2 of the law extends the usual March 1 exemption application deadline for qualifying
deployments during the 2014 and 2015 calendar years to June 1, 2016. For the 2016 exemption
calculation, the servicemember may include the days he or she was deployed during 2014 and
2015. For a qualifying applicant who fails to meet the June 1, 2016, deadline, the property appraiser
may grant the exemption under certain conditions. If the property appraiser denies the exemption,
the law provides an opportunity for review by a value adjustment board (VAB). The VAB filing
fee is waived. The law provides refund eligibility for 2015 taxes under certain requirements.
Section 3 of the law applies this exemption to ad valorem tax rolls for the 2016 tax year and
thereafter.
The full text of the changes is below and is also available at http://laws.flrules.org/2016/26.
Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 196.173, Florida Statutes, is amended, present subsections
(3) through (7) of that section are renumbered as subsections (4) through (8), respectively, and a
new subsection (3) is added to that section, to read (words stricken are deletions; words underlined
are additions):
196.173 Exemption for deployed servicemembers.—
(2) The exemption is available to servicemembers who were deployed during the
preceding calendar year on active duty outside the continental United States, Alaska, or
Hawaii in support of any of the following military operations:
(a) Operation Joint Task Force Bravo, which began in 1995.
(b) Operation Joint Guardian, which began on June 12, 1999.
(c)(a) Operation Noble Eagle, which began on September 15, 2001.;
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March 28, 2016
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(d)(b) Operation Enduring Freedom, which began on October 7, 2001.;
(c) Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began on March 19, 2003, and ended on August
31, 2010;
(e) Operations in the Balkans, which began in 2004.
(f) Operation Nomad Shadow, which began in 2007.
(g) Operation U.S. Airstrikes Al Qaeda in Somalia, which began in January 2007.
(h) Operation Copper Dune, which began in 2009.
(i) Operation Georgia Deployment Program, which began in August 2009.
(j)(d) Operation New Dawn, which began on September 1, 2010, and ended on
December 15, 2011.; or
(k)(e) Operation Odyssey Dawn, which began on March 19, 2011, and ended on
October 31, 2011.
(l) Operation Spartan Shield, which began in June 2011.
(m) Operation Observant Compass, which began in October 2011.
(n) Operation Inherent Resolve, which began on August 8, 2014.
(o) Operation Atlantic Resolve, which began in April 2014.
(p) Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, which began on January 1, 2015.
(q) Operation Resolute Support, which began in January 2015.
The Department of Revenue shall notify all property appraisers and tax collectors in this
state of the designated military operations.
(3) The exemption is also available to servicemembers who were deployed during the
preceding calendar year on active duty outside the continental United States, Alaska, or
Hawaii in support of a subordinate operation to a main operation designated in subsection
(2).
Section 2. (1) Notwithstanding s. 196.173, Florida Statutes:
(a) The deadline for an applicant to file an application with the property appraiser for
an additional ad valorem tax exemption under s. 196.173, Florida Statutes, for the 2016 tax
year is June 1, 2016.
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March 28, 2016
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(b) For purposes of calculating the 2016 exemption for the military operations added
by this act, a servicemember may include as days he or she was on a qualifying deployment
in the preceding calendar year the number of days he or she was on qualifying deployments
during the 2014 and 2015 calendar years.
(2) If an application is not timely filed under subsection (1), a property appraiser may
grant the exemption if:
(a) The applicant files an application for the exemption on or before the 25th day after
the mailing by the property appraiser during the 2016 calendar year of the notice required
under s. 194.011(1), Florida Statutes;
(b) The applicant is qualified for the exemption; and
(c) The applicant produces sufficient evidence, as determined by the property
appraiser, which demonstrates that the applicant was unable to apply for the exemption in
a timely manner or otherwise demonstrates extenuating circumstances that warrant
granting the exemption.
(3) If the property appraiser denies an application under subsection (2), the applicant
may file, pursuant to s. 194.011(3), Florida Statutes, a petition with the value adjustment
board which requests that the exemption be granted. Such petition must be filed on or before
the 25th day after the mailing by the property appraiser during the 2016 calendar year of
the notice required under s. 194.011(1), Florida Statutes. Notwithstanding s. 194.013, Florida
Statutes, the eligible servicemember is not required to pay a filing fee for such petition. Upon
review of the petition, the value adjustment board may grant the exemption if the applicant
is qualified for the exemption and demonstrates extenuating circumstances, as determined
by the board, which warrant granting the exemption.
(4) A servicemember may receive a refund of taxes paid for the 2015 tax year if he or
she was on qualifying deployments during the 2014 and 2015 calendar years for more than
365 days. The amount of the refund is equal to the taxes paid on the servicemember’s
homestead in 2015 multiplied by the number of days in excess of 365 that the servicemember
was on qualifying deployments during the 2014 and 2015 calendar years, divided by 365.
Section 3. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this act, this act applies to ad
valorem tax rolls for the 2016 tax year and thereafter.
Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.
Approved by the Governor March 8, 2016
Filed in the office of the Secretary of State March 8, 2016
The Department of Revenue has provided this bulletin for your general information. If you have
questions about its contents, please send them to DORPTO@dor.state.fl.us.