Duval County Homestead and Senior Exemptions: How Jacksonville Owners Cut Their Tax Bill
If you own and live in a home in Jacksonville, the Duval County Property Appraiser can take a big piece of its value off your tax bill. There's a homestead exemption, an assessment cap, and two separate senior exemptions for lower-income owners 65 and older. Everything is due by March 1. Here's what each one does, who qualifies, and how to file without a trip downtown.
AT A GLANCE
|
The basic homestead exemption
The Property Appraiser's office says every legal Florida resident can get a homestead exemption on a home, condo, co-op apartment and certain mobile home lots. You have to own the home and live in it as your permanent residence on January 1. It also counts if it's the permanent home of someone who legally or naturally depends on you.
The exemption comes in two pieces:
The first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from all property taxes, school taxes included.
An additional exemption of up to $25,000 applies to assessed value over $50,000. It does not apply to school taxes.
The Florida Department of Revenue's guide (PT-113) shows how that plays out:
If your assessed value is | What happens |
|---|---|
$45,000 | The first $25,000 is exempt from all taxes. The other $20,000 is taxable. |
$65,000 | The first $25,000 is exempt. The next $25,000 is taxable. The last $15,000 is exempt from non-school taxes. |
$100,000 or more | The first $25,000 is exempt. The next $25,000 is taxable. The third slice is exempt from non-school taxes. Everything above that is taxable. |
The middle $25,000 is always taxable. The second exemption only helps once your assessed value is above $50,000.
That second $25,000 now grows with inflation
The Duval office describes the homestead as "up to $50,000". The state's newest PT-113 (revised August 2025) adds a detail: the additional $25,000 is adjusted every January 1 for inflation when the Consumer Price Index goes up. If the CPI falls, it stays where it was. The state's example shows it going from $25,000 to $25,722 after a 2.9% rise. The pages we reviewed don't give Duval's current indexed figure. Your TRIM notice in August shows the exemption amounts applied to your home.
---
Save Our Homes: the cap that builds up over time
Getting the homestead exemption also triggers the Save Our Homes limit. According to the state, after the first year your home is assessed at market value, its assessed value can't rise more than 3% a year, or the CPI change if that's lower. The gap between market value and assessed value is your Save Our Homes benefit. In a rising market, that gap can grow large.
The benefit goes away when ownership changes. The Property Appraiser notes that when a home is sold, its assessed value goes back up to market value for the new owner. The state lists changes that don't trigger a reset. They include transfers between spouses, certain transfers at death, and fixing an error in the title.
Moving? Take the benefit with you
If you're moving from one Florida homestead to another, portability lets you transfer all or part of your Save Our Homes benefit. The state says you have to set up the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you gave up the old one. That's not three years after the sale. File form DR-501T with your homestead application by March 1.
---
Duval's two senior exemptions
Florida lets counties and cities adopt extra exemptions for lower-income seniors. Duval County has two, and you can get either one or both.
Limited-income senior exemption | Long-term residency senior exemption | |
|---|---|---|
Age | 65 or older | 65 or older |
Income (2025 household) | No more than $38,686 | No more than $38,686 |
Must already have | Homestead exemption | Homestead exemption |
Other tests | None | At least 25 years of permanent residence in the home, and a just value under $250,000 |
What it does | Up to $50,000 off value for county and municipal taxes | Exempts the City of Jacksonville's share of the tax, up to the home's assessed value |
Which taxes they don't touch
Neither senior exemption covers school taxes. The original exemption applies only to county and municipal millage. The long-term residency exemption applies to the City of Jacksonville levy and to any other city's levy where that city has adopted the ordinance.
Already getting the original senior exemption?
You won't be moved over automatically. The Property Appraiser says owners with an existing limited-income senior exemption who think they also qualify for the long-term residency exemption must apply for it separately.
How income is counted
The income limit is set by the Department of Revenue each year and can change. For the 2026 exemptions it's $38,686, based on your 2025 income. The Property Appraiser defines household income as the adjusted gross income of everyone living in the home for the prior year. That's the figure on IRS Form 1040. If you don't have to file a tax return, it's your total income minus Social Security benefits.
You'll need proof of age and proof of all household income.
Already have the original senior exemption and lived in the home for 25 years? Apply for the long-term residency exemption separately. It isn't added for you.
Staying enrolled
Since 2022, both senior exemptions renew automatically. Early each year, the Property Appraiser mails a card to prior-year holders. Return it only if you no longer qualify. The card lists the new income limit.
---
Other exemptions worth checking
The state law allows several smaller exemptions on top of the homestead. You can usually claim them on the same application.
Exemption | Who | What you'll need the first time |
|---|---|---|
$5,000 widow or widower | Permanent Florida residents whose spouse died. You lose it if you remarry. Divorced before the death doesn't count. | Death certificate |
$5,000 blindness | Florida residents who are legally blind | Certificate from the Division of Blind Services or the VA |
$5,000 disability | Florida residents who are totally and permanently disabled | Certificate from a licensed Florida physician, or from the VA |
$5,000 disabled veteran | Honorably discharged veterans with at least a 10% wartime or service-connected disability, and their unremarried surviving spouses | Certificate from the U.S. government or the VA, plus proof of Florida residence |
Total exemption, disabled veterans | Honorably discharged veterans with a service-connected total and permanent disability | Proof such as a VA letter |
Total exemption, quadriplegic, wheelchair or legally blind | Quadriplegics have no income test. For others, 2025 gross household income can't exceed $37,712. | Certificates from two licensed Florida doctors, or a VA letter, plus a statement of gross income |
For that last exemption, gross income includes VA benefits and Social Security. That's different from the senior exemptions.
Veterans 65 and older
There's also a discount on homestead taxes for veterans who are at least 65, were honorably discharged, and have a permanent service-connected disability that is at least partly combat-related. The discount is the same percentage as your VA disability rating. The state says it carries over to a surviving spouse who holds title, lives there and hasn't remarried. File form DR-501dv with proof of age, a VA letter showing your rating, evidence of the combat connection, and your discharge papers.
The Property Appraiser recommends visiting the city's Military Affairs and Veterans Services office first. It's at 117 W. Duval St., Suite 175, in City Hall, and can help you gather documents.
Building a granny flat
If you build or rebuild living space for a parent or grandparent who is 62 or older, your assessed value can be reduced. The cut is the lesser of the added value from the construction or 20% of the home's total assessed value. It needs annual approval and ends if your parent or grandparent moves out.
Surviving spouses and first responders
Homes owned by the surviving spouse of a veteran who died on active duty, or of a first responder who died in the line of duty, can be fully exempt. First responders who became totally and permanently disabled in the line of duty can also qualify. They need Social Security paperwork, physician certificates and an employer certification.
---
How to file
Online: The Property Appraiser takes homestead applications at homestead.coj.net.
On paper: The exemption page says paper forms (the Duval 501 application and form DR-501SC for the senior exemptions) are available by calling (904) 255-5900 or emailing pacustserv@coj.net, "due to website updates." You can return them:
In person or by mail to Customer Service/Exemptions, 231 E. Forsyth St., Suite 260, Jacksonville, FL 32202
By fax to (904) 255-7963
By email to pacustserv@coj.net, as scanned forms and documents
The state lists the kinds of things the office may ask for to prove residency. They include your Florida driver license or ID number, Florida vehicle plate number, voter registration number, and a declaration of domicile. It also asks for Social Security numbers for you and your spouse.
Deadlines
What | When |
|---|---|
Own and live in the home | January 1 |
Timely applications, including senior and portability forms | March 1 |
Late applications, with a reason | Through the 25th day after TRIM notices are mailed in mid-August (usually early September) |
Renewal card | Mailed in January. Keep it as your receipt. |
Once you're approved, the homestead renews automatically each January 1 as long as nothing about ownership or use has changed.
Don't lose it by renting
The Property Appraiser warns that renting your homesteaded home for long or repeat stretches can cost you the exemption. Very short rentals may be OK, but going over the allowed time in back-to-back years triggers a loss. If you rent out only a room or an accessory unit, the exemption may be prorated. Call before you list the home on a short-term rental site.
---
Before you file
☐ Your parcel number or property address
☐ Florida driver license or ID, and vehicle registration or voter card
☐ Social Security numbers for all owners and spouses
☐ For the senior exemptions: proof of age and your 2025 Form 1040, or proof of all income if you don't file
☐ For a disability or veteran exemption: physician certificates or a VA letter
☐ For portability: the address of your previous Florida homestead
YOUR NEXT STEPS
|
More help in Jacksonville
Official sources
Last checked: October 30, 2026. Exemption amounts, Duval's senior exemptions, the income limits, filing methods, contacts and deadlines come from the Duval County Property Appraiser. The inflation adjustment, the Save Our Homes cap and portability rules come from the Florida Department of Revenue.
This is general information, not tax or legal advice. The Property Appraiser decides who qualifies, and income limits change every year. Confirm current figures with Customer Service/Exemptions at (904) 255-5900 before you apply.
Comments