$5,000 Disability/Blind Exemption

The disability/blind exemption reduces the assessed value of your property by $5,000. This provides a tax savings of approximately $35 annually. Applicants must submit an application along with a statement of disability/blindness from one licensed, Florida physician on the state required Form DR-416 or a letter from Social Security stating you are disabled.
“A legally 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.
You may apply in person or by mail. Application must be submitted by March 1 of the year you wish the exemption to begin.

Click here for form DR-416
Click here for form DR-416B
Click here for the application
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Total and Permanent Disability Exemption

(Non Service-connected)
Paraplegics, Hemiplegics, legally blind persons or totally and permanently disabled persons who rely on a wheelchair for mobility, meeting certain income requirements, are eligible for total exemption.

1. Any real estate used and owned as a Homestead, less any portion thereof used for commercial purposes by any quadriplegic shall be exempt from taxation.
2. Any real estate used and owned as a Homestead, less any portion thereof used for commercial purposes, by a paraplegic, hemiplegic or other totally and permanently disabled person, as defined in Section 196.012(10), Florida Statutes, who must use a wheelchair for mobility or who is legally blind, shall be exempt from taxation.*

*Persons entitled to the exemption under number two (2) above, must be a permanent resident of the state of Florida as of January 1st of the year of application. Also, the prior year gross income of all persons residing in or upon the homestead shall not exceed the amount of income, set forth in section 196.101(4), Florida Statutes, adjusted annually by the percentage change of the average cost of living index issued by the United States Department of Labor. Gross income shall include United States Department of Veterans Affairs benefits and any social security benefits paid to the person. A notarized, statement of gross income must accompany the application. Refer to form DR-501A.
Please note: If filing for the first time for either exemption, the applicant must provide certifications from (2) professionally unrelated, licensed Florida physicians OR (1) letter from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and (1) certification from a professionally unrelated, licensed Florida physician. Refer to form DR-416.
You may apply in person or by mail. Application must be submitted by March 1 of the year you wish the exemption to begin.

Click here for the application
Click here for the DR-501A Statement of Gross Income
Click here for the DR-416 Physician’s Certification of Total and Permanent Disability
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Disabled First Responders

Constitutional Amendment 3 was approved by the voters in the November 8, 2016 general election. This amendment created changes to section 6, article VII, and article XII, of the Florida Constitution to allow the Legislature to provide ad valorem tax relief on homestead property for a first responder who is totally and permanently disabled because of an injury sustained in the line of duty.
A Florida first responder who was totally and permanently disabled in the line of duty can qualify to have his/her homesteaded residence exempted from all ad valorem taxes.

To qualify for the Total & Permanent Disabled First Responder Exemption, the applicant must:

1. Have applied for and been approved for Homestead exemption

2. Provide totally and permanently disabled proof

  • Documentation from the Social Security Administration stating that the applicant is totally and permanently disabled AND one (1) completed Physician’s Certificate of Disability
  • An applicant that cannot obtain the medical status determination because of ineligibility for social security or medicare benefits must provide documentation to that effect from the Social Security Administration and two (2) completed completed Physician’s Certificates of Disability from two different Florida licensed physicians that are not related or in the same medical practice

 

3. Provide In the Line of Duty Proof
An ‘Employer Certificate’ that must contain (at a minimum):

  • The title of the person signing the certificate;
  • The name and address of the employing entity;
  • A description of the incident that caused the injury or injuries;
  • The date and location of the incident; and
  • A statement that the first responder’s injury or injuries were: (I) Directly and proximately caused by service in the line of duty. (II) Without willful negligence on the part of the first responder. (III) The sole cause of the first responder’s total and permanent disability.
  • It must be supplanted with documentation of the incident or event that caused the injury, such as an accident or incident report.

 

For injuries caused by cardiac events: the certificate must include a statement from the first responder’s treating cardiologist for cardiac events that, within a reasonable degree of medical certainty (I) was not caused by a preexisting cardiac vascular disease and (II) the non-routine stressful or strenuous activity directly and proximately caused the cardiac event that gave rise to the total and permanent disability.

Click here for the application
Click here for the Physician Certificate of Disability Form
Click here for the Employee Certificate