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In the Spotlight Your Rights to Property Tax Exemptions An interview with Akin Akinyemi, Property Tax Appraiser of Leon County, FL tell me about those exemptions? AA: If you have a disability, you may qualify for an additional $500 off the assessed value of your property. Proof of disability is required for this exemption in the form of a Florida certified physician’s statement, a letter from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or the Social Security Administration. Additionally, a person with a total and permanent disability may be exempt from property taxes. Proof of disability is required for this exemption in the form of two (2) Florida certified physician’s statements. Individuals who are legally blind may provide one statement from an optometrist. Applicants must also meet the annual household gross income requirement by completing a statement of gross income. To qualify for tax exemption in 2017, your 2016 total household income cannot exceed $28,115. The income limit is adjusted annually by the Florida Department of Revenue. LP: And is this applicable across all the counties of Florida or is this just in Leon County? GF: This is applicable to all counties of Florida. The Department of Revenue is the oversight agency, and they provide us all the rules and guidelines on the different statues that spell out these exemptions. The Department of Revenue has a lot of this information on their website and most county property appraisers will have this information on their website as well. LP: Let’s go on to the military exemptions. GF: If you are a veteran with a service-connected disability of 10% or more, you may qualify for an additional $5,000 off the assessed value of your property. If you are a veteran or a veteran confined to a wheelchair with a total and permanent service-connected disability, you may be exempt from property taxes. For both of these exemptions, a letter from the United States Government or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, which states the percentage of disability, the effective date, and that the applicant was honorably discharged is required. LP: Under Disabled Veterans Discount, age 65 or older, it says ‘% of Disability’. What does that mean? By Linda Price One way our state government tries to help the disabled is through tax reductions or exemptions. In an interview with Akin Akinyemi, the Leon County Property Appraiser, discussed exemptions the disabled can claim. During the interview, we also spoke with Gina Fletcher, Director of Tax R o l l Compliance/CAMA D i r e c t o r a n d B i l l Eichhoefer, Director of Community Affairs. Excerpts of the interview follow. LP: What are some of the tax exemptions people with disabilities are eligible for? AA: There are many disability exemptions available that can be very difficult to understand due to the variances in qualifications and the documentation required. Disability exemptions can be broken down into two basic categories: Non-Military & Military/Veteran. Some provide as much as a total exemption from taxation, while others only provide a $500 reduction on the assessed value. GF: Let me explain, too. The $500 or the $5000 that they are eligible to receive is the amount that is going to come off their assessed value, not their tax dollars. The $500 reduction in assessed value amounts to about $8 in taxes. … Each county and city establishes their own millage rate. That millage rate is what you use to calculate the taxes against the assessed value of your property. So, in every county and city in the State of Florida, that number, $8 in taxes could vary slightly; it depends on their millage rate. LP: Let’s talk first about the non-military. What can you 32 AmeriDisability July/August 2017


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