"$5k Property Tax Exemption". What does that mean?

Factual Questions
1

I’m a tax dummy. In FL a veteran with at least 10% disability rating qualifies for the following:

“An ex-servicemember who was honorably discharged, is a resident of Florida, and who is disabled to a degree of 10% or more because of misfortune or while serving during wartime may be entitled to a $5,000 property tax exemption.”

What does this mean? Is this saying that if my house is valued at $100k only $95k of that value is assessed for property taxes?

Or does it mean I don’t have to pay the first $5k in property taxes?

I think it’s the first but I figured I’d ask.

Thanks!

2

That’s a pretty darn generous program. In my state you have to have 100% disability but you get a 100% write off of the tax (not the value of the home).
Also, no where on my VA papers does it say the reason I was disabled or whether it was wartime or not. There may be secret codes I don’t know about, or it may be that FL lawmakers just like to be long winded when writing laws.

Anyway, I’m betting the tax exemption is on the value of the home, since the disability requirement is so low.
You can call the FL veteran’s affairs office for clarification

3

There are no secret codes. There are explicitly defined periods that are “wartime”. If you served in that period of time that’s all that matters. I believe an easy way to determine that is if you were awarded a National Defense Service Medal, which are only awarded during war time.

Either way I was asking about “exemption” and what that means more than the veteran thing.

4

Yes.

5

Ah, ok. So the value of that benefit decreases as the value of your house increases?

6

It always stays the same, regardless of the value of your house. You always get the same discount, which is your tax rate times $5,000.

7

It’s slightly more complicated than that (or less, depending on which other US military adventures got campaign badges - Kosovo?)

[QUOTE=§1.01, Fla. Stat.]
(14) The term “veteran” means a person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under honorable conditions only or who later received an upgraded discharge under honorable conditions, notwithstanding any action by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on individuals discharged or released with other than honorable discharges. To receive benefits as a wartime veteran, a veteran must have served in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized or during one of the following periods of wartime service:
(a) Spanish-American War: April 21, 1898, to July 4, 1902, and including the Philippine Insurrection and the Boxer Rebellion.
(b) Mexican Border Period: May 9, 1916, to April 5, 1917, in the case of a veteran who during such period served in Mexico, on the borders of, or in the waters adjacent to Mexico.
(c) World War I: April 6, 1917, to November 11, 1918; extended to April 1, 1920, for those veterans who served in Russia; also extended through July 1, 1921, for those veterans who served after November 11, 1918, and before July 2, 1921, provided such veterans had at least 1 day of service between April 5, 1917, and November 12, 1918.
(d) World War II: December 7, 1941, to December 31, 1946.
(e) Korean War: June 27, 1950, to January 31, 1955.
(f) Vietnam War: February 28, 1961, to May 7, 1975.
(g) Persian Gulf War: August 2, 1990, to January 2, 1992.
(h) Operation Enduring Freedom: October 7, 2001, and ending on the date thereafter prescribed by presidential proclamation or by law.
(i) Operation Iraqi Freedom: March 19, 2003, and ending on the date thereafter prescribed by presidential proclamation or by law.
[/QUOTE]