Just got the paperwork in the mail yesterday and sent it off. Pretty sure I got the basics, refresh me to make sure.

If you own a home, and you live in it(i.e. not a rental property), you can claim the HE and get the $25K tax break each year. Its nice and the best part is, very little paperwork.

Quoted: If you own a home, and you live in it(i.e. not a rental property), you can claim the HE and get the $25K tax break each year. Its nice and the best part is, very little paperwork.

Thats what i took home after reading the paperwork...but it just seemed to easy.....hence my post...thanks

Wow 25K. I might miss the point here but 250K at 6%. Is like more then $18,000 compound. So from this I would guess I would not pay interest on a house??

Something is wrong here, and I do not know what it is...

They take the assessed value (the Tax Assessors valuation) of the house and chop 25K off it and assess your tax on the balance.

Quoted: They take the assessed value (the Tax Assessors valuation) of the house and chop 25K off it and assess your tax on the balance.

Ohhhh so the difference i see is in the actual property tax, for some reason i was thinking income tax...woops..

so we'll see the difference in the escrow collected from each check?

Quoted: Quoted: They take the assessed value (the Tax Assessors valuation) of the house and chop 25K off it and assess your tax on the balance. so we'll see the difference in the escrow collected from each check?

Probably not until the taxes and insurance are paid and the lienholder sees the proposal for the next year's taxes.

and when you get old enough, you can get another seniors exemption, and if someone lives with you who is a dependant and disabled, you can get another cut as well.

Pretty much if you have bought a house in the past 2 years, your taxes are so high that 25K off is pretty much nothing.

You pretty much pay $1,000 for every $40,000 your house is appraise for so as an example if your house is appraise for $240K you are going to pay $6000 after you do HE then is $240K - 25K = $215K and you taxes are going to be like $5400.

For new buyers you guys definitely want the new homestead exemption that we have to vote for in January, that will bring taxes for a $240K house to around $3000.

Our tax system is very screwed up. I was pushing hard for the sales tax to replace the property tax. We should be taxed based upon our impact to the state. Why should a upper middle class family with two kids pay more than a lower class family with 8 kids? It is called socialism. The sales tax would still hit the wealthier more than the poor, but it would collect from the tourists and those working under the table that are using our roads and infrastructure. I also believe in the fair tax also. But it should not be a federal tax. It should be collected by the states and x% should be forwarded the the Feds and they should use it to provide for the general defense, the only job they were supposed to do.

Getting the $25K homestead exemption is only part of the benefit of having your residence designated as homestead property.  The other benefits are - in no particular order:

(i) Your home will qualify for the "save our homes" tax cap on re-assessment.  Basically, this means that the local property tax assessor is limited to raising the taxable value of your home by not more than 3% a year.  Although this is not a big deal in the current real estate market, it will save you significant money once (if?) property values begin to climb again [remember...all markets are cyclical].  Also, if the Florida constitution is amended in January, you'll have to choose between the save our homes cap and  the "super exemption."  Given that you're a new home buyer, you might well do better w/ the super exemption.  Note - there is no cap on re-assessment with the super exemption.  Thus, I think the local assessor can raise your assessed value annually to account for appreciation.

(ii) Once your home is designated homestead, there is only a very limited class of creditors who can foreclose on it...without writing a law review article, those creditors are (a) your mortgagor; (b) the local government [for delinquent taxes]; (c) certain mechanic lien holders; (d) your ex-spouse in a marital dissolution proceeding; and (e) Uncle Sam (give unto Cesar!).   There might be a few more creditors who are given preference, but I can't remember all of them.  The listed ones are the biggies.  This is HUGE.  Even if you don't have creditors today, you might well end up getting sued at a late date (like for a car accident or some other negligent act).  Judgment creditors are geneally not entited to foreclose on homestead.  

(iii) This one kind of falls under no. (ii) above, but it deserves to be singled out.  If you file for bankruptcy, your homestead is (generally) exempt from sale.  Obviously, your mortgagor & the other creditors listed in (ii) above can reach the equity in bankruptcy.  Also, under the new bankruptcy law, you must reside in your homestead for a certain period of time prior to filing for relief in order to benefit from the homestead protection.  I think the waiting period is 2 years or thereabouts.  

One final note - when I bought my home, I went in person to file the exemption.  I brought a duplicate copy of the application with me and had the clerk initial & date it.  I also got a copy of her business card.  It was one of the smartest things I've ever done as the clerk never processed the application and I didn't know about it until I got my tax bill (i.e., after the filing deadline).  Because I had the initialed copy of the application, I was able to demonstrate that I timely submitted my application and was eventually given the exemption.  

Good luck & file that application!

Quoted: Getting the $25K homestead exemption is only part of the benefit of having your residence designated as homestead property.  The other benefits are - in no particular order: (i) Your home will qualify for the "save our homes" tax cap on re-assessment.  Basically, this means that the local property tax assessor is limited to raising the taxable value of your home by not more than 3% a year. Although this is not a big deal in the current real estate market, it will save you significant money once (if?) property values begin to climb again [remember...all markets are cyclical].  Also, if the Florida constitution is amended in January, you'll have to choose between the save our homes cap and  the "super exemption."  Given that you're a new home buyer, you might well do better w/ the super exemption.  Note - there is no cap on re-assessment with the super exemption.  Thus, I think the local assessor can raise your assessed value annually to account for appreciation. (ii) Once your home is designated homestead, there is only a very limited class of creditors who can foreclose on it...without writing a law review article, those creditors are (a) your mortgagor; (b) the local government [for delinquent taxes]; (c) certain mechanic lien holders; (d) your ex-spouse in a marital dissolution proceeding; and (e) Uncle Sam (give unto Cesar!).   There might be a few more creditors who are given preference, but I can't remember all of them.  The listed ones are the biggies.  This is HUGE.  Even if you don't have creditors today, you might well end up getting sued at a late date (like for a car accident or some other negligent act).  Judgment creditors are geneally not entited to foreclose on homestead.   (iii) This one kind of falls under no. (ii) above, but it deserves to be singled out.  If you file for bankruptcy, your homestead is (generally) exempt from sale.  Obviously, your mortgagor & the other creditors listed in (ii) above can reach the equity in bankruptcy.  Also, under the new bankruptcy law, you must reside in your homestead for a certain period of time prior to filing for relief in order to benefit from the homestead protection.  I think the waiting period is 2 years or thereabouts.   One final note - when I bought my home, I went in person to file the exemption.  I brought a duplicate copy of the application with me and had the clerk initial & date it.  I also got a copy of her business card.  It was one of the smartest things I've ever done as the clerk never processed the application and I didn't know about it until I got my tax bill (i.e., after the filing deadline).  Because I had the initialed copy of the application, I was able to demonstrate that I timely submitted my application and was eventually given the exemption.   Good luck & file that application!

That part is a huge deal. I bought my home years ago and that cap has saved me big time.... My assessed value is 20%-25% of the assessed value of the home on each side of me. They are the same homes. Same sq footaage, same floor plan everything. Only difference is I upgraded my AC, new electrical service etc.... Right now mine would sell for more than the other 2, but I pay less than 1/3 of the taxes that the other 2 have to pay. Why, because I bought my home years ago and the homestead locked up the taxable value....