|
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 1st
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.
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 1st 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.
- 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.
- 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.
|
