Florida Senate - 2016                                     SB 804
       
       
        
       By Senator Brandes
       
       
       
       
       
       22-00489A-16                                           2016804__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to homestead property tax exemptions;
    3         amending s. 196.081, F.S.; exempting the unremarried
    4         surviving spouses of certain deceased veterans from
    5         payment of ad valorem taxes for certain homesteads in
    6         this state, irrespective of the state in which the
    7         veteran’s homestead was located at the time of death,
    8         if certain conditions are met; providing an effective
    9         date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Present subsections (5) and (6) of section
   14  196.081, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (6) and
   15  (7), respectively, and a new subsection (5) is added to that
   16  section, to read:
   17         196.081 Exemption for certain totally and permanently and
   18  totally disabled veterans and for surviving spouses of veterans;
   19  exemption for surviving spouses of first responders who die in
   20  the line of duty.—
   21         (5)(a) The unremarried surviving spouse of a veteran who
   22  was totally and permanently disabled upon death is entitled to
   23  the same homestead exemption that would otherwise be granted to
   24  a surviving spouse of a veteran as described in subsections (1)
   25  (4) if the veteran, at the time of his or her death, owned
   26  homestead property in another state in the United States and had
   27  received a partial or full homestead exemption on that property
   28  on January 1 of the year the veteran died. To qualify for the
   29  tax exemption, the unremarried surviving spouse, subsequent to
   30  the death of the veteran, must purchase and hold the legal or
   31  beneficial title to homestead property in this state and
   32  permanently reside thereon as specified in s. 196.031.
   33         (b) The surviving spouse must provide to the property
   34  appraiser in the county in which the property is located
   35  documentation that verifies the partial or full homestead
   36  exemption that applied to the veteran’s property in the other
   37  state.
   38         (c) The surviving spouse must provide documentation as set
   39  forth in subsection (2) or paragraph (4)(a), as appropriate, to
   40  the property appraiser in the county in which the property is
   41  located.
   42         (d) The tax exemption provided by this subsection:
   43         1. Is effective beginning with the 2016-2017 fiscal year.
   44         2. Applies until the surviving spouse remarries.
   45         3. May be transferred to a new residence, in an amount not
   46  to exceed the amount granted from the most recent ad valorem tax
   47  roll, as long as it is used as the surviving spouse’s primary
   48  residence and he or she does not remarry.
   49         4. Does not provide a basis for relief from an assessment
   50  of taxes not paid or create a right to a refund of taxes paid
   51  before January 1, 2017.
   52         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.