PTO Bulletin 16-08Property Tax Oversight Bulletin: PTO 16-08
To: Property Appraisers, Tax Collectors, Clerks of the Court, Boards of
County Commissioners, Taxing Authorities, and Interested Parties
From: Property Tax Oversight Program
Date: November 9, 2016
Bulletin: PTO 16-08
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
PROPERTY TAX INFORMATIONAL BULLETIN
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 5
2016 General Election
Homestead Tax Exemption for Certain Senior, Low-income, Long-term
Residents
Voters approved Amendment 5 in the November 8, 2016, general election. This amendment
created changes to section 6, Article VII and Article XII of the Florida Constitution. It revises the
homestead tax exemption that counties or municipalities may grant for property with just value
less than $250,000 that certain senior, low-income, long-term residents own. It specifies that just
value is determined in the first tax year the owner applies and is eligible for the exemption. The
amendment takes effect January 1, 2017, and applies retroactively to exemptions granted before
January 1, 2017.
To implement these new provisions in Amendment 5, the legislature enacted Chapter 2016-121,
Laws of Florida (L.O.F.), which included the following additional items:
Amends section 196.075(2), Florida Statutes, to limit the just value determination, for
purposes of the exemption, to the value as determined in the first tax year that the owner
applies for and is eligible for the exemption
Individuals who were granted the exemption in prior years but became ineligible for the
exemption because the just value of the individual’s homestead rose above $250,000 may
regain the exemption if they are otherwise still qualified
Individuals who received the exemption before the effective date of the bill may apply to
the tax collector for a refund for any prior year in which the property appraiser denied the
exemption solely because the just value of the homestead property was greater than
$250,000
Applies retroactively to the 2013 tax roll for any person who received the exemption
before January 1, 2017
Bulletin PTO 16-08
November 9, 2016
Page 2 of 2
The full text of HJR 275 is available at
http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2016/0275/BillText/er/PDF.
The full text of Chapter 2016-121, L.O.F., is available at http://laws.flrules.org/2016/121.
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.