How much is the homestead exemption worth?
 

Realistically, how much is the $50,000 homestead exemption actually worth? Say you're in a $350,000 property. What would (approximately, of course) the annual property tax on homesteaded vs non-homesteaded property?

In the new sections that are in Wildwood, it would be around $650 currently, based upon these rates:
4.89 Sumter
2.828 Schools State
2.27 Schools Local
2.8287 Wildwood
0.1909 Water
0.0272 Fire

But there are other advantages to homestead exemptions as you it also there are limits that will show as deferred amounts and you can carry your values over to a new property.

No cost to apply so unless you do not have a FL drivers license what is holding you back on saving some money?

The homestead exemptions lowers the assessed valuation by $50K. The tax rate in Sumter county is around $3/1000. So the exemption should save about $150/year regardless of the value of your home.

I am sure others with more knowledge than me can refine this estimate.


edit...somebody with more knowledge than me already gave you a better answer.

My home had a taxable value of $361,000 last year. I am in the non-incorporated portion of Sumter County (area with the lowest taxes)

The Homestead Exemption reduced my taxes by $382.

EDIT: I didn't read the question correctly....

My home with exemption: $3,287
If I recalculate without the exemption: $3,669

Not enough. Come on DeSantis! Let’s kill property taxes.

This is probably the mechanism DeSantis will use.
He will only eliminate property taxes on residents (i.e. with the homestead exemption).
Non residents will still pay

JUST MY OPINION.

I'm good with that. Stinks for my friends who have second non-homesteaded homes here. But it makes sense to remove to burden on FL residents and let the non-residents bare the burden.

How do you figure? Do homestead residents not use the services that property taxes support? If anything, you should only have to pay pro-rata taxes for the months you are actually in FL (plus months property is rented out).

Should people who don't use the toll road pay tolls if they are from out of state so that FL residents get a break? LOL, ridiculous argument.

I'm sure all the businesses in Florida will appreciate having the tax burden fall upon their shoulders.

Well lets get this straight right from the get go. All property taxes are theft. They are extortion. Holding a person's private property ransom with the threat of losing the property they have worked hard for for many many years.

The only fair taxes are sale taxes. I can decide if I want to avoid paying tax by not buying an item, by making my own, by refurbishing a used item, etc. If I am OK with paying taxes and want to pay, I buy.

And here in The Villages the problem is 10X worse. We get raped by the county AND The Villages for fire. Pay twice and won't ever use one. I pay for a school system I'll never use as my boys go to the charter school.

Roads can be paid for by gas taxes and tolls. Most other things sales tax. The fairest way is to allow the individual tax payer to determine if they want to pay. If they don't want to pay, they don't consume or drive in the example above.

Property tax, I have little to no choice as I have to live somewhere and rent prices have property tax built into them. We all need shelter, property tax is extortion.

I'm surprised how many fools are willing to simply hand over their wealth the all knowing and all powerful Oz.

And Sales Taxes will go up.

I’m not homestead Erin Florida, But I think this is the best way to do it.

It might make me change my residency, and spend more time on FLA, spending move on sales tax.

Thank you for explaining why I can just ignore your opinions. Paragraphs 1, 3, 4, and 5 are simply incorrect or exaggerations at best. Of course, we all are free to have whatever opinions we like, but that doesn't make them correct.

Agree.

Mostly agree.

Short sighted. You only don't need insurance until you do.

You and everyone else in the US that doesn't have school aged children, so weak argument.

Don't real estate taxes also support charter schools? They certainly do UpNorth.

Agree.

Agree.

There is another option?

-----------------

So we mostly agree on all your points above, but you ignored my assertion:

Homestead Exemption Houses Also get Property Tax Appraisal Increase Relief
 

[B]Homestead Exemption Properties also get Save Our Homes limits on Property Appraisal Increases.[/B]
"In Florida, homes that qualify for the "Save Our Homes" limit on annual property appraisal raises are those that have a homestead exemption. This exemption is granted to the owner who uses the property as their primary residence and has filed for it. The Save Our Homes limit caps the annual increase in the assessed value of homesteaded property to 3% or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. "
In my case the savings are substantial. According to Sumter County Property Appraiser, my appraised value is about 58 % of their Market Value estimate. I get the Homestead rebate also.

This is a big benefit since you get good protection each year

Yes, the Save Our Homes assessment limitation is also very valuable and saves a lot of money for some people. However, that was not what the OP asked about.

I wish there was another option..... Can you imagine how much less our burden would be without waste and abuse and fraud. Perhaps that is were AI would be helpful. Do away with elected officials and let logical AI run the show.

My apologies. But I think I did answer that with my "pay to play" mindset. You use a service, you pay for it. You don't use a service, you don't pay. Let's look at law enforcement (current tax system) for example. We can all reasonably believe that the vast majority who currently use law enforcement aren't paying for it (aren't paying taxes).

Would not us as residents pay the majority of tax in any form if we lived here full time? We'd buy more gas, pay more tolls and buy more goods than a tourist or snowbird......technically. That was an attempt to answer your assertion. I think that may have answered it.

Even the simple 500K tax exemption would be something. Of course I come from MN where my burden for the same value home was 21% of what I'm paying here. I can't believe what some people tolerate when they say this is cheap here compared to where they came from. And lets look at that MN property. There is no scenario that I can think of where law enforcement or fire will arrive in time to be useful or effective. So what am I paying for?

If You Have Homestead Exemption you get Save our Homes Appraisal reduction
 

Bill. with all due respect. The OP asked what is the value of getting the Homestead exemption. There are two parts of the value of applying for and getting approval for the Homestead Exemption.
1.Getting the Homestead exemption itself gets to save you up to 50,000$ (for 2 owners) in taxable value and also makes you eligible for the Save Our Homes limits on Home Appraisal increases.
2. In my case save our homes reduces my taxable value by more than 400k$..a much bigger savings. Since the tax budget is a zero sum exercise, the tax rate would change somewhat if there was no SOH program, so the actual savings would not be quite as large as 42% but would be more than the effect of the Homestead Exemption reduction of reducing taxable value by 50,000$.

This explanation is the correct financial explanation.
The average assessment increase is 7% per year without the exemption.
The difference in assessed value roughly 4-5% per year reduction in assessed value with the exemption, which multiplied by the tax rate is the significant savings.

So, yes, the homestead exemption is very valuable, especially when inflation is higher than 3%, and the longer you own the home, the more money you save as the differential adds over time.

Please reread the original post - the OP’s question was very specific and is not answered by SOH information.

Two other reasons why you should homestead your property:

Protection during Probate:
Homestead property is protected from creditor claims during the probate process, ensuring that your family's home is safeguarded.

Inheritance Protection:
Florida's homestead laws offer protections for surviving spouses and lineal descendants, ensuring the proper distribution of the home after your death.

With it your taxes have a cap rate on increasing each year without it they can increase a lot more.

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.

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.

And as my brother-in-law explained to me thirty years ago, police protection and investigation should be for those who sign a contract for it at the beginning of each year and pay something like an insurance policy. If, say, you’re in an accident, and you don’t have a contract with the police, they won’t help unless you sign an on-the-spot contract for immediate care at a much higher rate. If you get robbed or mugged, Have a good day!

Likewise with the Fire Department and Ambulance service. You sign a contract every year, essentially buying Fire and ambulance insurance. If you need it, you are cared for without extra cost. If you don’t have the contract and your house is on fire or you have a heart attack, you won’t be helped unless you sign a contract for immediate aid, at the actual cost of the service, more or less. So your house burns and you also get a bill for $100,000 for their attempt to put out the fire.

I educated my three kids at parochial schools for twelve years each while also paying the public school taxes paid by homeowners. I still pay. But I want citizens to be educated, and I’m willing to do my part by supporting the schools. I want us all to be safe, so I happily do my part to support the fire and police departments. I pay all my taxes, and I don’t complain very much. My taxes aren’t all that high, and I get my money’s worth.

I lived in the UK for a year forty years ago. There, people pay a lot of money in property taxes and other taxes. They also pay TWENTY PERCENT VAT (Value Added Tax) on things like cars and toasters and clothing. They pay this whether the items are made locally or (more likely) in other countries. In a number of parts of the EU, the VAT is 25%. So, if you want to buy an American car in the UK, add 20% to the cost you pay. Wait, that sounds familiar somehow.

Thank you for that explanation.

Start with a $350,000 house:
Annual assessed increase 7% (ours) without SOH exclusion
Annual assessed increase 3% with SOH exclusion.
$50,000 deduction on assessed value with SOH
1.1% property tax rate (median estimate)

Calculation is (Start Value *1.07^(YearNbr) - StartValue * 1.03^(YearNbr)-exclusion) * propertytaxrate

Savings differential yearly with and without SOH exclusion:
Year Savings
1 $700
2 $873
3 $1,059
4 $1,263
5 $1,487
6 $1,730
7 $1,997
8 $2,288
9 $2,605
10 $2,949

I like how Georgia does it: If over the age of 60, school tax is removed.

I am the O.P. (Originating Poster for RailRoadNewJerseyGuy who doesn't like acronyms). I appreciate all the responses. My original post did not inquire about Save Our Homes because I was unaware of it. I appreciate the responses.

We have homes in two states, and trying to figure out how to maximize savings. Both states have zero state income tax. Tennessee has very cheap auto registration (under $75 regardless of age of vehicle). Auto insurance used to be cheap, has gone up like everywhere else in America. Tennessee has NO homestead exemptions. Tennessee's sales tax is around 9.25%.

Not sure if we should be citizens of one state or the other, or try to figure out if there is a way to split citizenship: where one spouse lives in one state 6 months and a few days, and the other spouse does the same in another state. We can stand to be apart for a week or two annually to make it work. Being citizens in separate states may preclude us from filing Federally as joint.

Maybe should be another thread?

Thank you.

Yes, there is value in the SOH benefit. That still is not what the OP asked.

Does the table show actual savings with your home or simply calculated from your 7%/3%/10%? My actual values are different (though the averages might work out the same) I only have data going back five years to when my home values began to reflect my purchase of the home (before that the values were calculated against the previous owner).

I content this statement is exactly the oppose of the truth. Sales tax is a regressive tax that shifts the burden to the poor (less well off) since they spend even penny to get by, where as the rich have more income than they require to live and can save/invest/travel (spending their money outside FL), etc.

You might want to check the budgets and see if fire/EMTs aren't different depending on you fire district. And;

I'm not doing the research, but as I recall, The Villages charter school does receive some funding/rent from the county/state.

TOLL Roads that is a completely different scam.

Instead of property tax, how about a "head tax"? Anyone 18 years or older would pay a set rate levied by the state or county. Tax would be paid yearly up until the age of 70. What would be fairer than everyone paying the same amount? And don't say "what if they can't afford it due to less income" ....because if a head tax replaces property taxes, then rental expenses should drop (theoretically). Both homeowners and renters would benefit.

As of this year, fire protection has been moved out of the property tax lines and turned into a fee. The fee is different inside and outside the Villages. Ambulance service is still funded through property taxes.

The Villages Charter school is a public school and gets State and Local education funding just the same as every other school in Sumter County. However, the county does not own the charter school buildings or property so they pay to lease the buildings. At the same time, since the county doesn't own charter schools the county doesn't pay for maintenance of the charter schools.

As much as I hate paying tolls, the reality is that tolling is the FAIREST form of taxation. You want to use the road? You pay the tax. If you want to avoid the tollway, you save the $ but it takes longer (and typically uses more gasoline). I do think tolls should be waived if traffic is not moving at 45mph or more, but that is just a fantasy of mine.

Thank You !!!

As I'm sure you've figured out by now I hate paying at all. But with that said, I like Toll Roads as I can choose. A number of places I go have a toll option and a non-toll option. Allows me to decide what I'm willing to pay that day for that trip. That's how all taxes should work.

The premise that taxation is theft is based on the fact we do not have a choice about paying taxes and there are significant consequences to us not holding up our "end of the bargain" in a contract to which we did not agree to be a part of. On top of that laws have made it all but impossible to survive without participating in this Social Contract. Many places make it illegal to collect rain water (not sure how they can do that). Can't live off the land outside of the social contract as you have property taxes. Can't live off public land as you need permits and hunting and fishing licenses. Can't build ON YOUR OWN LAND (if you did own it) without permits and permission. Basically being born locks you into a social contract you did not agree to. Yet you cannot legally get into a contract until you are 18. Interesting dynamic.

OP's Post #30 Clarifies Question About Where to Claim Residence
 

Bill and EDJ (OP),
The real question was wider than Homestead Exclusion only, but was not stated. See Response #30 by EDJ where he admitted he did not know about SOH benefits and he was trying to decide where to establish residency.

My responses and other responders were aimed at answering the wider question about where to declare residency.

Once you apply for and get approval for the Homestead Exclusion, you automatically get the SOH benefits. As you later point this out, the Sumter County Property Appraisers Office shows how this worked for you in the past. The SOH benefit is not fixed but the limit on appraisal increase is fixed at 3% per year. In my case the savings in taxable value for 2025 Property tax is more than 300,000. We have owned the home for 9 years.....and I still get an additional 50K Homestead exclusion.

I have not gone back and calculated the savings for each year. It is sizable and more than the effect of the Homestead Exclusion.

The task now for EDJ is to compare what each state may offer the home owner to declare residency in that state. Here are a few considerations based on a quick look at Tennessee Tax situation a while back.
1.Tenn. and Fla both have no state income tax.
2. Tenn. offers no Homestead Exclusion to reduce taxable value but taxes residences at 25% of the assessed value. I believe this is the same for both Resident and non Resident Owners. Qualifying as Florida residents seems better at first glance once you decide to have two homes.
3. I did not look any further.

Good Luck!

This is accurate from a very relevant standpoint...that is, that tourism is the highest grossing industry in Florida.

If all of those tourists weren't also sharing in the cost of the 734 miles of toll roads in this state it would be a disproportionate tax on residents - many of whom probably rarely use them. FYI, there were 143 million tourists in FL in 2024.