Florida Property Tax
Do disabled veterans pay property taxes in Florida?
Not on the home they live in, if Veterans Affairs certifies their service-connected disability as total and permanent.Florida exempts the home of an honorably discharged veteran whom the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) certifies as totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability. The veteran must be a permanent Florida resident on January 1. Florida veterans discharged under honorable conditions and disabled 10 percent or more can get a smaller break. You apply to the property appraiser in the county where the home is.
This page shows who qualifies, what each break covers, what changes on active duty, and what it means when you buy a home in Florida.
Start Here
Who gets the full exemption
Florida's full exemption has four parts. You need all of them.
- Your discharge. You were honorably discharged.
- Your VA letter. Your disability is service-connected, and VA has given you a letter certifying that you are totally and permanently disabled.
- Your residence. You are a permanent Florida resident on January 1 of the tax year.
- Your home. It is your homestead: you own it, it is your permanent home, and your deed is recorded in the county.
Florida's test is the letter. The law asks for a letter from VA certifying that you are totally and permanently disabled. It does not name a percentage. You can download VA's Benefit Summary Letter, which VA says is sometimes called an award letter. Ask the property appraiser what proof it accepts.
Waiting on VA? You can apply before your letter comes. Once the property appraiser has it, Florida grants the exemption from the day you applied and refunds the extra tax you paid, within Florida's four-year limit on refunds.
Sources: Florida Statutes, Section 196.081 (subsections 1, 2 and 5), Section 196.031 and Section 197.182, The Florida Legislature. Property Tax Benefits for Active Duty Military and Veterans and Form DR-501, Florida Department of Revenue. VA benefit letters, VA. All retrieved 30 October 2026.
Other Ratings
Smaller breaks, each with its own test
Florida has three more breaks for disabled veterans.
- $5,000 off your property's value. For a Florida resident discharged under honorable conditions and disabled 10 percent or more, "by misfortune or during wartime service" in the words of Florida's form. Service in the Reserve or the Florida National Guard counts. The Florida Department of Revenue says it is not limited to your home.
- A discount at 65 or older. If your disability is combat-related, you were honorably discharged, and you are 65 or older, the tax on your homestead is cut by the same percentage as your permanent, service-connected disability rating from VA. File Form DR-501DV by March 1 with your VA rating letter, proof that the disability is combat-related, your discharge papers and proof of your age.
- A full exemption on the homestead of a veteran who uses a wheelchair. For an honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected total disability. VA certifies that you get or got VA help for specially adapted housing because of your disability, and that you need a wheelchair to get around.
Sources: Florida Statutes, Sections 196.24, 196.012 (subsection 19), 196.082 and 196.091, The Florida Legislature. Property Tax Benefits for Active Duty Military and Veterans, Form DR-501 and Form DR-501DV, Florida Department of Revenue. All retrieved 30 October 2026.
On Active Duty
Keeping a Florida homestead while you serve
Florida has four rules for a service member with a Florida homestead.
- Orders keep your residence. Valid military orders that transfer you are enough to keep your Florida permanent residence, for you and your spouse.
- Renting it out. Florida's rule that renting out a homestead ends it does not apply to members of the Armed Forces. The Florida Department of Revenue says a service member may rent out the home without giving up the homestead exemption.
- Filing from away. If your service keeps you from filing in person, your next of kin or anyone you authorize in writing can file for you.
- Deployed last year. If you have a homestead exemption and were deployed last calendar year outside the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii, on an operation the Florida Legislature has named, you can get an extra exemption for the share of that year you were deployed. Apply by March 1.
Sources: Florida Statutes, Sections 196.015 (subsection 2), 196.061, 196.071 and 196.173, The Florida Legislature. Property Tax Benefits for Active Duty Military and Veterans, Florida Department of Revenue. All retrieved 30 October 2026.
When It Starts
Already own, or buying
Florida looks at who owns the home and lives in it on January 1. What that means depends on whether you already own the home.
You already own your home
And live in itFor each year you qualify on January 1
You own the home, it is your permanent home, and you are a permanent Florida resident on that day.
Form DR-501, by March 1
File it with the property appraiser in the county where the home is, with your proof from VA.
25 days after your tax notice
File within 25 days after the property appraiser mails your notice of proposed property taxes. The property appraiser can grant it if you show a good reason you could not file on time. If not, you can petition the value adjustment board by that same 25th day, for a $15 fee.
A renewal each year
The property appraiser mails you a renewal form each year, unless your county has dropped that step.
You are buying a home
In FloridaAsk for a tentative check
With Form DR-501V, a property appraiser can choose to tell you that you look eligible. It is not binding: you still apply after you buy.
A refund for the rest of that year
This covers a home bought between January 1 and November 1. By January 1 of that year, you were honorably discharged and VA had certified you totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability. Or you already had the full exemption on another home that year. Florida refunds the taxes paid on the new home for the part of the year after you bought it, once you get the exemption the next year.
Form DR-501, by March 1
On January 1, the home is your permanent home and you are a permanent Florida resident. Your deed must be recorded.
Valued as it stands on January 1
Florida law puts no value on a house, or part of one, that is not substantially complete on January 1, meaning it cannot yet be used as intended. The land is still valued.
If you stop using the home as your homestead, tell the property appraiser. Florida's form warns that if you got a homestead exemption you were not entitled to in the past 10 years, and it was not the property appraiser's mistake, you owe those taxes, a 50 percent penalty and 15 percent interest a year.
If the property appraiser denies your application, you can file a petition with the county's value adjustment board.
Sources: Florida Statutes, Sections 196.011 (subsections 1, 7, 9 and 10), 196.031, 196.081 (subsection 1), 196.092, 192.042 and 194.011, The Florida Legislature. Form DR-501, Form DR-501V, Property Tax Benefits for Active Duty Military and Veterans and Property Tax Information for Homestead Exemption, Florida Department of Revenue. All retrieved 30 October 2026.
Surviving Spouses
What a surviving spouse keeps
Florida's full exemption can carry over to a surviving spouse. It ends if the spouse remarries.
The spouse of a veteran who had the full exemption. It carries over if, when the veteran died, you held title to the home and it is your permanent home. It lasts until you remarry or sell or give up the home.
The spouse of a service member who died on active duty from service-connected causes. Your homestead is exempt, with a letter from VA or the federal government certifying the death on active duty. It lasts while you own the home, live in it as your permanent home, and do not remarry.
Moving to a new home. A spouse with either exemption who sells can move an exemption to a new permanent home, up to the amount granted on the most recent tax roll, while they do not remarry.
The smaller breaks. The unremarried surviving spouse of a veteran with the $5,000 exemption can claim it too. The discount at 65 or older carries over to a spouse who held title and lives in the home, until remarrying or selling, and can move to a new home the same way. The wheelchair exemption carries over if you and the veteran owned the home together as a married couple, which Florida calls an estate by the entirety, and you keep living there, until you remarry or sell.
Sources: Florida Statutes, Sections 196.081 (subsections 3 and 4), 196.24, 196.082 (subsection 3) and 196.091 (subsection 3), The Florida Legislature. Form DR-501DV, Florida Department of Revenue. All retrieved 30 October 2026.
Before You Buy
What to ask before you make an offer
Ask these before you sign, so the exemption is part of the plan.
- Does my VA letter say I am totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability?
- Will I be a permanent Florida resident, living in the home, on January 1?
- Will I close between January 1 and November 1, and how is this year's tax split at closing?
- If the home is being built, will it be complete by January 1?
- Does the tax bill carry charges that are not based on the home's value, like a Community Development District (CDD) fee, and will I still owe them?
- If my property taxes are paid through my mortgage, how will my payment change once I am approved?
This page is not legal or tax advice. The county property appraiser decides your application. Ask the property appraiser where the home is about your own case.
Sources: Florida Statutes, Sections 196.081, 192.042 and 197.3632 (subsection 1), The Florida Legislature. Property Tax Information for Homestead Exemption, Florida Department of Revenue. All retrieved 30 October 2026.
A page can explain the exemption.An agent who works where you are buying can help you plan the purchase around it.
Andrew Pepper is a Mission Ready Operator who specializes in new construction home purchases for military relocation buyers in Lakewood Ranch.
Last reviewed November 2026 · Maintained by My Military HQ
Common Questions
Questions veterans ask about Florida property tax
Do disabled veterans pay property taxes in Florida?
Not on their Florida home, if they qualify. Florida exempts the homestead of an honorably discharged veteran whom the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) certifies in a letter as totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability. The veteran must be a permanent Florida resident on January 1. Florida veterans discharged under honorable conditions and disabled 10 percent or more can get a smaller break. Apply to the property appraiser in the county where the home is.
Do 100 percent disabled veterans pay property taxes in Florida?
Florida's law for the full exemption names no percentage. It asks for a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) certifying that the veteran is totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability. The veteran also needs an honorable discharge, permanent Florida residence on January 1, and a Florida homestead. Ask the county property appraiser whether your VA letter shows you are totally and permanently disabled.
What property tax breaks do other disabled veterans get in Florida?
Florida has smaller breaks, each with its own test. A Florida resident discharged under honorable conditions and disabled 10 percent or more can get $5,000 off the value of their property, not only their home. An honorably discharged veteran 65 or older with a combat-related disability gets a discount on the tax on their Florida homestead equal to their permanent, service-connected disability percentage. An honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected total disability who needs a wheelchair and got help from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for specially adapted housing can get the full exemption on their Florida homestead.
When does the Florida disabled veteran exemption start if I buy a home?
On January 1 after you own the home and live in it as your permanent home, if you file Form DR-501 by March 1. For the year you buy, Florida refunds the taxes paid on the home for the part of the year after you bought it, if you bought it between January 1 and November 1, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) had certified you totally and permanently disabled from a service-connected disability by January 1 of that year, and you get the exemption the next year.
Can I keep my Florida homestead exemption if I rent out my home on military orders?
Yes, while you serve. Florida's rule that renting out a homestead ends it does not apply to members of the Armed Forces. Valid military orders that transfer you are enough to keep your Florida permanent residence, for you and your spouse.
Does a surviving spouse keep the Florida disabled veteran exemption?
Yes, in Florida, if the spouse held title to the home when the veteran died and lives in it as their permanent home. It lasts until the spouse remarries or sells or gives up the home. A spouse who sells can move an exemption to a new permanent home, up to the amount granted on the most recent tax roll, while they do not remarry.
How do I apply for the Florida disabled veteran property tax exemption?
File Florida's Form DR-501 with the property appraiser in the county where the home is, by March 1, with your proof from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The discount for veterans 65 or older with a combat-related disability uses Form DR-501DV. You can apply before your VA letter comes, and the exemption then counts from the day you applied.
Sources
Where every fact came from
Everything on this page comes from Florida law, the Florida Department of Revenue, or VA. Where they do not say something, we left it out.
- Who qualifies, the smaller breaks, active duty, applying, the refund for the year you buy, and surviving spouses. Florida Statutes, Chapter 196 (Sections 196.011, 196.012, 196.015, 196.031, 196.061, 196.071, 196.081, 196.082, 196.091, 196.092, 196.173 and 196.24), The Florida Legislature, the 2026 Florida Statutes. Each section links on its own above. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
- A home still being built, the tax notice, refunds, district charges and who sets the rate. Florida Statutes, Sections 192.042, 194.011, 197.182, 197.3632 and 200.065, The Florida Legislature. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
- The breaks for veterans and service members, in the state's own words. Property Tax Benefits for Active Duty Military and Veterans (PT-109), Florida Department of Revenue. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
- What a homestead is, and January 1. Property Tax Information for Homestead Exemption (PT-113), Florida Department of Revenue. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
- The applications. Form DR-501, Original Application for Homestead and Related Tax Exemptions, Form DR-501DV (the discount at 65 or older) and Form DR-501V (the tentative check), Florida Department of Revenue. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
- Find your county property appraiser. Find a County Official, Florida Department of Revenue. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
- Your VA letter. Download VA benefit letters, VA. Retrieved 30 October 2026.
What we left out on purpose. We give no tax rates or dollar savings, because each local government that taxes a home sets its own rate each year. We do not list the general homestead amounts, part of which Florida adjusts for inflation. We do not cover the Save Our Homes limit on yearly value increases or moving it to a new home, the exemptions for anyone who is blind, widowed or disabled, the local exemptions for people 65 or older, or the exemptions for first responders and their spouses. We do not cover a home owned with someone who does not live in it, so ask the property appraiser.
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