Low-Income Senior's Additional Homestead Exemption

Many Florida senior citizens are now eligible to claim an additional $25,000 Exemption -- which applies only to the County's portion of the taxes and city taxes for residents of cities which also adopted the additional exemption. By local option, the county and cities may adopt an ordinance increasing this exemption "up to $50,000" and/or the Long-term Residency Senior Exemption (see below for the list of cities adopting the increased amount). In order to qualify for the Low-Income Senior Exemption for 2020, an applicant must be 65 or older as of January 1, 2020, receive the Homestead Exemption on the property, AND have a combined household adjusted gross income for 2019 not exceeding $30,721. (note: this number is adjusted annually in January to reflect the percentage change in the average cost-of-living index). In order to qualify for the Long-term Residency Senior Exemption, the applicant must have maintained permanent residence on the property for at least 25 years, meet the age and income requirements listed above and the applicant's property must have a just value less than $250,000 for the initial year of application. The Long-term Senior Residency Exemption exempts the ad valorem city taxes for qualified residents of the cities which adopted the ordinance. Please follow the steps listed below to insure proper filing.

IF YOU FILE A FEDERAL INCOME TAX RETURN:

1. Complete Part (1) of the Sworn Statement of Adjusted Gross Income of Household.
2. Complete the Certification section of the Sworn Statement of Adjusted Gross Income of Household (located at the bottom of page 1).
3. Submit the Sworn Statement of Adjusted Gross Income of Household to our office on or before the MARCH 2, 2020 DEADLINE.
4. Submit copies of your 2019 Income Tax Return Form 1040 for all persons residing in your home (excluding renters/boarders) to our office no later than JUNE 1, 2020.

IF YOU DO NOT FILE A FEDERAL INCOME TAX RETURN:

1. Complete Parts (1) and (3) including the statement of income located on page 2 of the Sworn Statement of Adjusted Gross Income of Household.
2. Complete the Certification section of the Sworn Statement of Adjusted Gross Income of Household (located at the bottom of page 1).
3. Submit the Sworn Statement of Adjusted Gross Income of Household to our office on or before the MARCH 2, 2020 DEADLINE.
4. Submit a copy of your 2019 Social Security Statement (SSA-1099) to our office by JUNE 1, 2020. (Note: the Social Security Administration will mail the SSA-1099 Form to you by February 1.)

The absolute deadline to LATE FILE for any 2020 exemption -- if you missed the March 2, 2020 timely filing deadline -- is September 18, 2020. State law (Sec. 196.011(8), Fla. Stat.) does not allow late filing for exemptions after this date, regardless of any good cause reason for missing the late filing deadline.

A majority of Broward seniors are eligible to receive the maximum possible tax savings under this law. The cities listed below have adopted the Senior Citizen's Additional Homestead Exemption (note: the granting of the additional exemption is a "local option" under Florida law):

1. Coconut Creek
2. Cooper City * L
3. Coral Springs *
4. Dania Beach * L
5. Davie L
6. Deerfield Beach
7. Fort Lauderdale *
8. Hallandale Beach * L
9. Hillsboro Beach *
10. Hollywood L
11. Lauderdale-by-the-Sea * L
12. Lauderdale Lakes
13. Lauderhill
14. Lazy Lake
15. Lighthouse Point *
16. Margate L
17. Miramar * L
18. North Lauderdale
19. Oakland Park * L
20. Parkland
21. Pembroke Park
22. Pembroke Pines * L
23. Plantation L
24. Pompano Beach * L
25. Southwest Ranches *
26. Sunrise * L
27. Tamarac L
28. Weston * L
29. West Park
30. Wilton Manors

* = Municipality enacted the "local option" ordinance increasing the Senior Exemption to $50,000.

L = Municipality enacted the "local option" ordinance for the long-term residency senior exemption in addition to the $25,000 or $50,000 Senior Exemption.

New for Tax Year 2020: The Town of Davie recently passed an ordinance adopting the Long-term Residency Senior Exemption for the town's portion of the property tax bill effective beginning in the 2020 tax year (November 2020 tax bills). The County also passed an ordinance adopting the Long-term Residency Senior Exemption for the County's portion of the property tax bill effective beginning in the 2020 tax year.

New for Tax Year 2021: The City of Fort Lauderdale recently passed an ordinance adopting the Long-term Residency Senior Exemption for the city's portion of the property tax bill effective beginning in the 2021 tax year (November 2021 tax bills).