Florida Senate - 2025                                    SB 1178
       
       
        
       By Senator Rodriguez
       
       
       
       
       
       40-01560A-25                                          20251178__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to a homestead assessment limitation;
    3         creating s. 193.6245, F.S.; defining the terms
    4         “income” and “senior citizen homesteader”; prohibiting
    5         the assessed value of real property used as a
    6         homestead by a person who has attained a certain age
    7         from exceeding a certain amount if certain conditions
    8         are met; requiring such persons to apply for the
    9         homestead assessment limitation in a specified manner;
   10         requiring a property appraiser who makes a certain
   11         determination to serve upon certain persons a notice
   12         of intent to record a tax lien against the property;
   13         requiring property that no longer meets certain
   14         eligibility requirements to be reassessed in a
   15         specified manner; providing a contingent effective
   16         date.
   17          
   18  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   19  
   20         Section 1. Section 193.6245, Florida Statutes, is created
   21  to read:
   22         193.6245 Homestead assessment limitation for certain
   23  persons age 65 years or older.—
   24         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   25         (a) “Income” means the adjusted gross income, as defined in
   26  s. 62 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, for a person
   27  who applies for a homestead exemption under s. 196.031 or, in
   28  the case of co-applicants, the first person listed on the
   29  application for such exemption.
   30         (b) “Senior citizen homesteader” means a person who has
   31  attained age 65 and who has applied for and received a homestead
   32  exemption under s. 196.031.
   33         (2) The assessed value of real property used as a homestead
   34  by a senior citizen homesteader may not exceed the assessed
   35  value as of the January 1 immediately preceding the date such
   36  person attained age 65 if his or her income would meet the most
   37  recent income limitation calculated in s. 196.075(3).
   38         (3) To receive the homestead assessment limitation under
   39  this section, the senior citizen homesteader must be the
   40  applicant for the homestead exemption under s. 196.031. In the
   41  case of co-applicants, the senior citizen homesteader must be
   42  the first person listed on the application for such exemption.
   43         (4) If a property appraiser determines that, for any year
   44  within the immediately previous 10 years, a person who was not
   45  entitled to the homestead assessment limitation under this
   46  section was granted such limitation, the property appraiser
   47  shall serve upon the person a notice of intent to record in the
   48  public records of the county a notice of tax lien against any
   49  property owned by that person in the county, which property must
   50  be identified in the notice of tax lien.
   51         (5) If the senior citizen homesteader no longer meets the
   52  income limitation requirement of this section, and the property
   53  has not changed ownership as described in s. 193.155(3), the
   54  property shall be reassessed under s. 196.031(1) for any tax
   55  year in which such senior citizen homesteader did not meet such
   56  income limitation.
   57         Section 2. This act shall take effect on the effective date
   58  of the amendment to the State Constitution proposed by SJR 326
   59  or a similar joint resolution having substantially the same
   60  specific intent and purpose, if such amendment to the State
   61  Constitution is approved at the next general election or at an
   62  earlier special election specifically authorized by law for that
   63  purpose.