Homestead and Property Tax Exemptions in St. Lucie County

A St. Lucie County owner qualifies when, on January 1, the owner holds legal or beneficial title and in good faith makes the property a permanent residence, as section 196.031, Florida Statutes, sets out.

For St. Lucie County homeowners, section 196.031 grants an exemption from all taxation, except assessments for special benefits, up to an assessed valuation of $25,000 on the residence and contiguous land. A second exemption of up to $25,000 applies to the assessed valuation greater than $50,000, for all levies other than school district levies, and the statute adjusts that second $25,000 each January 1 for inflation when the Consumer Price Index rises. Before the exemption may be granted, the statute requires the deed or instrument to be recorded in the official records of the county in which the property is located.

The statute adds limits that apply to every St. Lucie County homestead. An exemption of more than $25,000 is not allowed to any one person or on any one dwelling house, except that one may be allowed on each cooperative apartment or mobile home occupied by a tenant-stockholder or member and on each condominium parcel occupied by its owner. The exemption applies only to property classified as owner-occupied residential. A person receiving a residency-based tax exemption or credit in another state is not entitled to a Florida homestead exemption.

The Property Appraiser of St. Lucie County lists the homestead exemption first on its Learn About Exemptions page, which says exemptions reduce the assessed value of a property and so reduce the tax owed, and sends exemption questions to 772-462-1021. The county property appraiser guide covers the rest of that office's work.

Exemption applications go to the Property Appraiser of St. Lucie County, and section 196.011, Florida Statutes requires them to be filed on or before March 1 of each year for property owned on January 1.

Under the same statute, failing to apply by March 1 waives the exemption for that year, except in the cases the statute lists. The application form for a homestead and several related exemptions must include a space for the social security numbers of the applicant and any spouse; if an otherwise timely application leaves them out, the property appraiser contacts the applicant, who may refile a complete application by April 1.

The Property Appraiser's exemptions page offers a File Online link, an Exemption Application Status check and a ShareFile tool for sending documents securely. For in person visits, the Property Appraiser's exemptions pages list two offices, one on Virginia Avenue in Fort Pierce (number 2300) and the Saint Lucie West Office in Port Saint Lucie (250 NW Country Club Drive), each reached at 772-462-1000. The South County Annex guide describes the Saint Lucie West building.

Ownership details matter at filing. Section 196.031 lets title be held by the entireties, jointly or in common, and lets the exemption be apportioned among the owners who reside there as their respective interests appear; if only one owner of an estate held by the entireties or jointly with the right of survivorship resides there, that owner is allowed an exemption of up to the assessed valuation of $25,000. For land next to a home, the St. Lucie County forms page carries a Contiguous Vacant Parcel Homestead Request, and the statute defines the exempt property as the residence and contiguous real property.

The St. Lucie County Property Appraiser lists its exemption types on its Learn About Exemptions page; the table pairs each with the Florida statute behind it.

The senior exemption depends on local adoption and income. Section 196.075 lets a board of county commissioners or a city governing body adopt an ordinance granting up to $50,000 to an owner who has reached 65 and whose household income does not exceed $20,000, with that income limit adjusted each January 1 for cost of living; a second option covers the assessed value of a home with a just value less than $250,000 whose owner has reached 65, meets the same income limitation and has kept it as a permanent residence for at least 25 years. The statute also says such an ordinance applies only to taxes levied by the unit of government granting it. The St. Lucie County Property Appraiser's forms page carries form DR-501SC, the Adjusted Gross Income of Household Return, along with form DR-501A, a Statement of Gross Income.

Section 196.202 defines a totally and permanently disabled person as one currently certified as such by a physician licensed in Florida, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor, or the Social Security Administration, and lets an applicant apply before receiving the federal documentation; upon receipt, the exemption is granted as of the date of the original application. The St. Lucie County forms page lists the physician's certification (DR-416) and an optometrist's certification (DR-416B) for that purpose.

A St. Lucie County homestead of a veteran with a certified service-connected total and permanent disability is exempt from taxation under section 196.081.

That section covers real estate owned and used as a homestead by a veteran honorably discharged with that disability, certified in a letter from the U.S. Government or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, if the veteran is a permanent resident of Florida on January 1 of the tax year. Smaller disabilities still count. Section 196.24 exempts $5,000 of property for an honorably discharged ex-servicemember disabled 10 percent or more during wartime service or by misfortune, and passes the exemption to an unremarried surviving spouse. Section 196.082 gives veterans 65 or older with a combat-related disability a discount on homestead tax equal to their percentage of permanent service-connected disability, and the St. Lucie County Property Appraiser's forms page lists form DR-501DV for that discount.

For active duty members, section 196.173 adds an exemption for homestead owners deployed on active duty outside the continental United States, Alaska or Hawaii in support of designated operations during the preceding calendar year. The application is due to the property appraiser on or before March 1 of the year after the deployment, with proof of the deployment and its dates; the St. Lucie County form is DR-501M. Section 196.102 grants a full homestead exemption to a first responder totally and permanently disabled by an injury in the line of duty, with applications due by March 1. The county veterans services guide covers the St. Lucie County Veteran Services office.

Once a St. Lucie County home carries the homestead exemption, section 193.155, Florida Statutes limits how much its assessed value can change each year.

Under that section, the change from each annual January 1 reassessment may not exceed the lower of two figures: three percent of the prior year's assessed value, or the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the preceding calendar year. The statute also lowers the assessed value to the just value when it would exceed it, and sets St. Lucie County homesteads, like all others, at just value as of January 1 of the year following a change of ownership, which it defines to include any sale, foreclosure or transfer of title, with listed exceptions.

Portability carries part of the benefit to a new home. The Property Appraiser's exemptions page describes portability as the ability to transfer some or all of the homestead assessment cap benefit on a previous homestead to a newly established homestead. Under section 193.155, an owner who had a homestead exemption in any of the 3 immediately preceding years can have the new homestead assessed at less than just value; when the new homestead's just value is at least that of the prior one, the reduction is the lesser of $500,000 or the prior homestead's difference between just and assessed value, and when it is lower, the statute sets the new assessed value in proportion to the prior homestead's assessed and just values, still with a $500,000 limit on the difference. The St. Lucie County forms page lists form DR-501T for homestead portability and form DR-501TS, Designation of Ownership Shares.

A denied exemption can be taken to the St. Lucie County Value Adjustment Board, using the petition forms the Property Appraiser posts on its forms page: DR-486, or DR-486PORT for a portability dispute.

On the Property Appraiser's exemptions page, the St. Lucie County Value Adjustment Board is described as two County Commission members, a School Board member and two taxpayers, existing to decide whether a property is appraised above its just valuation as of January 1. The St. Lucie County value adjustment board appeals guide explains the petition steps, the statutory filing window and the filing fee.

The St. Lucie County forms list also includes a Withdrawal Affidavit, a Request for Transcript of Tax Return (4506T) and a State Benefit Verification form, and the Learn About Exemptions page names a Total Exemption with Gross Household Income Limit among its exemption types.