Which Homestead Exemptions Can Florida Homeowners Claim in 2026?

Florida’s homestead exemption is worth $51,411 off a qualifying home’s taxable value in 2026, based on the inflation-adjusted figures the state’s Department of Revenue certifies every year.

That’s only the entry point.

Senior homeowners, veterans, widows, widowers, and people with disabilities can each stack a separate exemption on top of it.

Florida sets a hard calendar for claiming any of them.

Note: This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Assessment rules and exemption amounts are subject to change, so confirm the current details with your county property appraiser.

How Much Is Florida’s Homestead Exemption in 2026?

Florida’s homestead exemption splits into two layers for a qualifying home in 2026.

Not one flat number.

The first layer is a flat $25,000, and it applies against every tax you owe, school levies included.

The second layer adds $26,411 this year, adjusted annually for inflation since Florida voters approved that change in 2024.

Combined, that $51,411 write-down is the difference between a homesteaded owner’s taxable value and an identical, non-homesteaded property’s.

The Florida Department of Revenue certifies that inflation-linked increase every year under Section 196.031, Florida Statutes.

Does the Extra Exemption Cover School Taxes?

Florida’s additional exemption never touches your school tax bill.

Only the base $25,000 layer reaches school levies.

The extra $26,411 kicks in only on the slice of your assessed value above $50,000, and only against county, city, and special district taxes.

That part never changes.

Many homesteaded properties clear that $50,000 mark easily, so many Florida homeowners collect the full second layer without ever thinking about the math behind it.

How Does Save Our Homes Cap Your Home’s Assessed Value?

Florida’s Save Our Homes amendment caps how fast your home’s assessed value can rise once your homestead exemption is in place.

The cap sits at 3% a year, or the year’s inflation rate, whichever comes in lower.

Market value can rise however much the neighborhood does.

Your taxable value can’t.

Stay in the same home for years, and the gap between what it’s worth and what you’re taxed on keeps widening.

Can You Take Your Tax Savings to a New Home?

Florida lets you carry part of that Save Our Homes gap to your next homestead through something called portability.

You can port up to $500,000 of the difference between your old home’s market value and its capped assessed value.

That gap doesn’t reset to zero just because you moved.

It just moves with you.

You have three tax years from giving up your old homestead to establish a new one and file for portability with your new county’s property appraiser.

Downsizing homeowners skip this step more often than you’d expect, and they hand their new county money they didn’t have to.

That’s one of several costly mistakes Florida homeowners make with these exemptions.

What Homestead Exemption Do Florida Seniors Get?

Florida homeowners 65 and older can claim an extra exemption worth up to $50,000, but only where their county or city has voted to allow it.

This isn't automatic everywhere.

Each local government has to pass an ordinance before the senior exemption exists there at all.

Household income also has to stay under the limit, set at $38,686 for 2026.

Some counties offer a second version instead.

It's a full exemption for homeowners 65 and older who've lived in the same home for 25 years or more.

The home also has to be worth less than $250,000.

Check with your county property appraiser to see which version, if either, your county has adopted.

What Exemptions Help Widows, Widowers, and Disabled Homeowners?

Florida gives any widow or widower a $5,000 exemption, as long as they were widowed before January 1 of the tax year and haven't remarried.

The same $5,000 exemption goes to any legally blind homeowner, or anyone who is totally and permanently disabled.

Some go further.

A homeowner who is quadriplegic gets a full exemption from property tax, with no income limit attached.

A paraplegic, hemiplegic, or wheelchair-bound homeowner, or one who is legally blind, gets that same full exemption if household income stays under $37,712 for 2026.

A death certificate, a doctor's certification, or a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability rating is what starts each of these applications at your county property appraiser's office.

What Deadlines Gate Every Florida Homestead Exemption?

Florida ties every exemption on this list to the same two dates.

Florida checks who owns and lives in a home as of January 1 of the tax year, before anything else.

Buy your house on January 2, and you wait until next year to file.

March 1 is the filing deadline for every exemption in this article, from the base homestead exemption to a veteran's full exemption.

If you miss it, Florida law treats that as giving up the exemption for that year.

No exceptions.

A property appraiser can only accept a late application in narrow circumstances tied to your Truth in Millage (TRIM) notice, and only for extraordinary reasons.

That same January 1 residency test follows Florida homeowners into other costs too, including what an insurer expects to see on a homeowner's insurance policy at renewal time.

Which Homestead Exemptions Do Florida Veterans Get?

Florida veterans have four separate exemptions to check, and many only ever hear about one.

A veteran disabled at least 10% from wartime service or a service-connected injury gets a flat $5,000 exemption.

A veteran 65 or older with a combat-related, permanent service-connected disability gets a percentage discount instead, matching whatever rating the VA assigned.

A veteran with a total and permanent service-connected disability pays no property tax on their homestead at all.

That exemption carries no income limit.

It carries over to their surviving spouse, too, as long as that spouse doesn't remarry.

That's a lifetime benefit.

A permanently and totally disabled veteran who buys a new Florida home between January 1 and November 1 doesn't have to wait a full year to benefit.

Once the county approves the new exemption, Florida prorates a refund of that year's property tax from the closing date forward.

FAQ

Quick answers to what Florida homeowners ask most about their 2026 homestead exemptions.

What is the basic homestead exemption in Florida for 2026?

Florida's basic homestead exemption removes $51,411 from a qualifying home's taxable value in 2026. The first $25,000 applies to every tax, school levies included, and the rest applies only to non-school taxes.

Is Florida's homestead exemption about to get bigger?

Florida voters decide a separate constitutional amendment on the November 3, 2026 ballot that would raise the exemption starting in 2027 if it passes. It won't change what you can claim on your 2026 tax bill.

Can I claim more than one homestead exemption at once?

Yes. A senior, veteran, widow, widower, or disability exemption can stack on top of Florida's base homestead exemption on the same home, each with a separate application.

What happens if I miss the March 1 deadline?

Florida law treats a late homestead application as giving up the exemption for that tax year. A property appraiser can only accept a late filing in narrow circumstances tied to your TRIM notice.

Do all Florida counties offer the senior exemption?

No. The extra exemption for homeowners 65 and older only exists where a county or city government has passed an ordinance allowing it. Your county property appraiser can confirm whether yours has.