Homestead

Florida has a homestead clause in the property tax laws, which reduces the taxable value of a home by $25,000. The deadline for filing the paperwork is March 1st of the tax year, so with that approaching quickly I dropped by the county services building to file my paperwork.

I should have filed earlier since waiting so late could mean long lines... but fortunately it wasn't too bad at all. It only took ten or fifteen minutes, and half of that was just waiting for the couple in front of me. They kept mispelling the name of the street they lived on, or perhaps they lived just over the county line and had to go to a different county services location.

My officemate said the $25,000 exemption hasn't changed in at least 20 years, so obviously the deduction used to be far more valuable. Still, the property tax savings works out to about $500; not bad for such little work!