Homeowners filing an application for Homestead Exemption for the first time are required to do so in person and furnish satisfactory proof of ownership and occupancy prior to and as of January 1st. Proof of ownership consists of recorded Deed or Agreement for Deed which must have been properly executed and filed with the Clerk of the Court prior to January 1st of the year in which you make your claim for the exemption.

When and Where Do I File

New applications for Homestead and other exemptions must be made in person. Applications can be made year round in the Palatka Office. From January 1st through March 1st, you can also apply in our satellite office.

Provisions can be made to serve totally incapacitated persons in their homes.

Persons who do not move or change residency and who received an exemption the year before, are mailed a homestead exemption renewal by the Property Appraiser each January automatically renewing their homestead exemption for the current year.

Satellite Offices

The Property Appraiser's Office has joined the Clerk of Courts and Tax Collector in manning satellite offices in Crescent City and Interlachen. The office hours in all the offices are 8:30am to 4:00pm.

Crescent City Office
115 N. Summit Street
(386) 698-4284

Interlachen Office
Hitchcock's Plaza, SR #20
(386) 684-3383

Florida Residency

You must be a permanent legal resident of Florida and be able to prove it in order to file for exemptions. The most common proofs used to meet this requirement are:

1. Florida Driver's License (both spouses), a Florida Identification Card is available to non-drivers at the Florida Highway Patrol Station in East Palatka. Note: Dept. of Revenue regulations do not allow Homestead Exemption to persons holding Florida Driver's Licenses marked Valid in Florida only. License or ID card must show homestead address.
2. Florida Motor Vehicle License Tags registered at homestead address.
3. Either Putnam County Voter Registration Card for homestead address or a Declaration of Domicile filed with the Clerk of Circuit Court. F. S. 196.015 provides additional relevant factors to be considered in unusual circumstances.
4. Applicants for Homestead are also required to provide their Social Security numbers.

"Save Our Homes" Law

The Homestead Valuation Limitation Initiative, also known as Amendment #10 or Save Our Homes, became law in 1992. It creates an annual assessment cap on properties which receive homestead exemption of 3% or the actual C.P.I. (consumer price index) whichever is less. Once property is sold, or is otherwise no longer eligible to continue to receive homestead exemption, the cap is removed and the property is assessed at full market value.

Homestead exemption is a legal status given to homeowners through which they may protect all or a portion of their property assessment from ad valorem taxes. Every Florida resident who has legal or equitable title to real estate and maintains it as his or her permanent residence shall be entitled to this exemption.

There is no residency or waiting period in order to get your Homestead Exemption, other than the requirement that you be a legal Florida resident on January 1st of the year in which you apply.

The $25,000 exemption applies to all ad valorem tax levies, and means that if your home is appraised at less than $25,000 that you will not be billed for ad valorem taxes. Homestead Exemption does not apply to Special Assessments.

Portability is the ability to shift tax benefits directly caused by the "Save Our Homes" law from one homesteaded residence to another. Properties that have utilized this benefit and ported their "Save Our Home" benefit from one homesteaded residence to another will show up as PHX in the exemption list. There is also a Portability Information box on your Parcel Detail Listing which shows how much Save Our Home benefit is available to Port.

In 2000, the Putnam County Board of County Commissioners enacted ordinance #2000-24 which implemented a constitutional amendment approved by Florida voters in 1998 intended to provide tax relief for low income senior citizens. The new Ordinance provided for an additional tax exemption (which is applied to County general millage only) for certain eligible senior citizen home owners. In October 2003, they voted to increase this exemption from $20,000 to $25,000.

In order to be eligible for this new exemption, you must meet the following requirements:

1. You must meet the requirements for the regular $25,000 Homestead Exemption.
2. At least one owner living in your home must have reached the age of 65 before January 1, of the application year.
3. The total annual adjusted household income of all persons living in your home last year must not have exceeded the current adjusted income limitation. Please check with our office to find out the current adjusted household income limitation.

In order to receive this new exemption, eligible homeowners must file in person between January 1 and March 1 with the Property Appraiser's Office. Applications are available in our main office in Palatka. Applications can also be made in our satellite offices in Crescent City and Interlachen between January 1 and March 1.

THIS SENIOR EXEMPTION WILL NOT BE AUTOMATICALLY RENEWED. A NEW APPLICATION WILL NEED TO BE MADE EACH YEAR. However, once the first Senior Exemption application is applied for in person, future applications may be filed by mail.

In addition, before your application will be considered to be complete, Florida Law specifies certain financial records that must be provided by the applicants for all persons living in your home in order to prove household income levels. Some applicants will be required to submit Federal Income Tax Return Form 1040 and Wage Earnings Statement (W-2 Form). Other applicants (those who do not file income tax returns) must file a Social Security Statement Form (SSA 1099) and complete a Statement of Income. Since some of these records may not be available prior to your initial filing deadline of March 1, applicants will have until June 1, to furnish any previously unavailable financial records that are needed to complete your application.

All persons who are qualified to receive the regular Homestead Exemption will automatically receive the new additional Homestead Exemption as long as their home is assessed on the tax rolls for more than $50,000. The new exemption is applied on home valuations between $50,000 and $75,000. So, in order to receive the full benefit, your home needs to be assessed for $75,000 or higher.

$500 - Every Florida resident who is blind qualifies for this exemption. If claiming the exemption based on blindness, a certificate from the Division of Blind Services of the Department of Education or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the Federal Social Security Administration 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.

$500 - Every Florida resident who is totally and permanently disabled qualifies for this exemption. If filing for the first time, please present at least one of the following as proof of your disability: A certificate from a licensed Florida physician, or a certificate from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or documentation from the Social Security Administration.

$5,000 - Any ex-service member who is a permanent resident of Florida and is disabled at least 10% in war or by service-connected misfortune is entitled to a $5000 exemption. If filing for the first time, please present a certificate from the United States Government. Under certain circumstances the benefit of this exemption can carry over to the veteran's spouse in the event of the veteran's death. Consult your appraiser for details.

Any veteran age 65 and older may qualify for a homestead property tax discount if the veteran has an honorable discharge from military service, is partially disabled with a permanent service connected disability that is combat-related, and was a Florida resident at the time of entering military service. The discount is equal to the percentage of the veteran's permanent service connected disability as determined by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

$500 - Any widow who is a permanent Florida resident may claim this exemption. If the widow remarries, she is no longer eligible. If the husband and wife were divorced before his death, the woman is not considered a widow. You may be asked to produce a death certificate when filing for the first time.

$500 - Any widower who is a permanent Florida resident may claim this exemption. If the widower remarries he is no longer eligible. If the husband and wife were divorced before her death, the man is not considered a widower. You may be asked to produce a death certificate when filing for the first time.

Complete Tax Exemption is available for honorably discharged veterans with 100% service-connected total and permanent disabilities, on their homes, also for quadriplegics and certain other total and permanently disabled persons meeting an income requirement.

Under Florida Law, certain religious, literary, scientific, and charitable properties defined as nonprofit in F.S. 196.196 are exempt from taxation. Also certain educational institutions and most government property is exempted.