Florida SB 276: Voter Registration List Maintenance

Bill Text

276 
Homestead Property Tax Benefits for Long-term Owners and Permanent Residents 
2025-10-23T11:58:05Z 
Requiring that certain property be assessed at less than just value when the person who owns the property has owned and used the property as his or her permanent residence for a specified timeframe; providing that the assessed value of such property shall be a certain amount and may not be increased under certain circumstances; specifying a homestead exemption for certain long-term owners and residents; authorizing periods of ownership and residency to be aggregated, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 276 

 By Senator Bernard 

 24-00424B-26 2026276__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to homestead property tax benefits for 
 3 long-term owners and permanent residents; amending s. 
 4 193.155, F.S.; requiring that certain property be 
 5 assessed at less than just value when the person who 
 6 owns the property has owned and used the property as 
 7 his or her permanent residence for a specified 
 8 timeframe; providing that the assessed value of such 
 9 property shall be a certain amount and may not be 
 10 increased under certain circumstances; providing 
 11 construction; authorizing periods of ownership and 
 12 residency to be aggregated; requiring the property 
 13 appraiser to keep certain records; amending ss. 
 14 194.011 and 196.011, F.S.; conforming provisions to 
 15 changes made by the act; creating s. 196.078, F.S.; 
 16 specifying a homestead exemption for certain long-term 
 17 owners and residents; providing construction; 
 18 authorizing periods of ownership and residency to be 
 19 aggregated; requiring the property appraiser to keep 
 20 certain records; authorizing the Department of Revenue 
 21 to adopt emergency rules; specifying the timeframe 
 22 within which such rules are effective and may be 
 23 renewed; providing applicability; providing a 
 24 contingent effective date. 
 25 
 26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 27 
 28 Section 1. Section 193.155, Florida Statutes, is amended to 
 29 read: 
 30 193.155 Homestead assessments.—Homestead property shall be 
 31 assessed at just value as of January 1, 1994. Property receiving 
 32 the homestead exemption after January 1, 1994, shall be assessed 
 33 at just value as of January 1 of the year in which the property 
 34 receives the exemption unless the provisions of subsection (8) 
 35 or subsection (9) apply. 
 36 (1) Beginning in 1995, or the year following the year the 
 37 property receives homestead exemption, whichever is later, the 
 38 property shall be reassessed annually on January 1. Any change 
 39 resulting from such reassessment shall not exceed the lower of 
 40 the following: 
 41 (a) Three percent of the assessed value of the property for 
 42 the prior year; or 
 43 (b) The percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for 
 44 All Urban Consumers, U.S. City Average, all items 1967=100, or 
 45 successor reports for the preceding calendar year as initially 
 46 reported by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of 
 47 Labor Statistics. 
 48 (2) If the assessed value of the property as calculated 
 49 under subsection (1) exceeds the just value, the assessed value 
 50 of the property shall be lowered to the just value of the 
 51 property. 
 52 (3)(a) Except as provided in this subsection, or subsection 
 53 (8), or subsection (9), property assessed under this section 
 54 shall be assessed at just value as of January 1 of the year 
 55 following a change of ownership. Thereafter, the annual changes 
 56 in the assessed value of the property are subject to the 
 57 limitations in subsections (1) and (2). For the purpose of this 
 58 section, a change of ownership means any sale, foreclosure, or 
 59 transfer of legal title or beneficial title in equity to any 
 60 person, except if any of the following apply: 
 61 1. Subsequent to the change or transfer, the same person is 
 62 entitled to the homestead exemption as was previously entitled 
 63 and: 
 64 a. The transfer of title is to correct an error; 
 65 b. The transfer is between legal and equitable title or 
 66 equitable and equitable title and no additional person applies 
 67 for a homestead exemption on the property; 
 68 c. The change or transfer is by means of an instrument in 
 69 which the owner is listed as both grantor and grantee of the 
 70 real property and one or more other individuals are additionally 
 71 named as grantee. However, if any individual who is additionally 
 72 named as a grantee applies for a homestead exemption on the 
 73 property, the application is considered a change of ownership; 
 74 d. The change or transfer is by means of an instrument in 
 75 which the owner entitled to the homestead exemption is listed as 
 76 both grantor and grantee of the real property and one or more 
 77 other individuals, all of whom held title a