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Originally Posted by westernrider75
Is Save Our Homes something different than the Homestead Exemption? I’ve never heard of it and wondering if I’m missing out on some savings? I do currently get the homestead exemption.
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If you have the homestead exemption then you aren't missing out on anything.
The Homestead exemption is a deduction from the assessed value before calculating property taxes. The deduction is $25,000 for school taxes and $50,000 for all other taxes.
The Save Our Homes (SOH) benefit says the taxable value of a home that has a homestead exemption cannot increase more than 3% in any one year. This kicks in automatically if you have a homestead exemption. While the market value of the home can increase greatly, the taxable value can only increase by 3%.
If the market value of a home increased from $200,000 to $220,000, the SOH benefit would limit the taxable value to $206,000. The additional $14,000 would be remembered as the amount of benefit you are receiving from the SOH program. Depending on what the market value of the home does next year, the $14,000 might increase or decrease but the taxable value of the home will never increase more than 3%.
Note that from 2023 to 2024 the market value of some homes decreased. Those without a SOH benefit saw their taxable value decrease as well. However, because my home is carrying a SOH benefit, my taxable value increased another 3% towards its true market value.
On your TRIM notice the first table shows your ad-valorem property taxes. Just below that, the second block shows the calculation of assessed value and the third block shows the SOH information. On mine, the second block shows my market value decreased but since my assessed value is less than my market value, the assessed value increased by 3%. Since my assessed value is getting closer to my market value, the third table shows my SOH benefit is less this year.
The OP asked what the Homestead Exemption would do for taxes on a home assessed for $350,000. The Homestead Exemption would reduce the assessed value by $25,000 for calculating school taxes and by $50,000 for calculating all other ad-valorem (property) taxes. The SOH benefit comes into play in determining the $350,000 assessed value. The home may have a market value of $450,000 but with a $100,000 SOH benefit the assessed value would be the $350,000 that the OP asked about.