Homestead Exemption

[Anonymous]

Thanks! This tread just reminded me to fill out the paper work and stick in the mail.

[Anonymous]

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@StartingOver10 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@StartingOver10 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
So if I'm buying a house on 1/19 and the prior owner has the exemption, will my taxes for 2016 be whatever they were assessed at? Then I would apply for the exemption beginning in 2017? Is that how it works?

When I apply for homestead in 2017, do they revalue the property to some crazy amount or does it stay the course of what it is been valued at in the past? I'm really tring to understand but I'm a little confused and mr realtor tried explaining it but I'm still confused.

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If the prior owner has the homestead exemption you benefit because your lenders escrow for your tax bill will use the most recent tax bill, in this case 2015 which shows the prior owners homestead exemption. 

You are closing this month. You can file for homestead exemption anytime after the deed is recorded in the county where the property is located.  The exemption filing time is the rest of this year all the way up to Mar 1 of 2017 to file for homestead exemption for 2017.  You can not file for 2016 homestead exemption because you didn't own the property until Jan 19, 2016. Presumably the tax bill for 2016 will have the prior owners homestead exemption still in place. You will get an advance notice Sept 2016 of the projected tax bill for 2016 and you can contest it if you think the taxing authority has assessed your property for too much. 

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I did not benefit from the prior owner homestead exemption.  I was expecting to pay $469 due to exemption and what prior owner paid.    Escrow paid $1,411 back in taxes back in November.   I already filed for Homestead Exemption for 2016.  That is why I'm wondering if I will receive a credit after the exemption is approved.   

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Weatherguy, you purchased an REO property (owned by the bank). There is no homestead exemption for any bank owned property.  The $1411 would have been the property tax due for 2015 and if paid in Nov, that would have been the tax bill including the 4% discount allowed by the taxing authority.  The county would have sent the amount due to your lender for payment - which is what it sounds like happened - they got the bill, paid it and sent you the analysis.

So no, you won't get a credit unless your lender paid more than the amount due.  HOWEVER, you should have received a credit on your HUD1 from the selling bank for their portion of the taxes due for 2015 up to the closing date. That credit would have been applied to your closing costs and would reduce the amount you would have had to bring in for closing.

You can double check your tax bill by going to the county appraisers office (online) and downloading your itemized tax bill for 2015.

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Thanks!   

[Anonymous]

So I think I FINALLY understand enough of the homestead exemption to ask my lender the right questions - I found out the property has the 2016 exemption (woo hoo) and that my closing disclosure was wrong in my favor regarding the taxes (another woo hoo).  I feel like I'm on a merry go round right now and it's not stopping.  Cannot wait until Tuesday and I can get off!

[Anonymous]

Just an FYI as we are in Florida - we did  not file for homestead exemption before Nov 1st because my DH wanted to wait for is VA disability rating. That rating came through at the end of November. We had already paid our property taxes but not that it matters because the county appraiser's office told us that there is no credit etc and we would only qualify for the exemption for the 2017 tax year if we apply by March 1st. 

I didn't know that exemptions carry over to new owners on a property. I thought that you, as the new owner, has to apply. I think this is why tax info in Florida is misleading. One person may have exemptions so it seems low but the new owners can be hit with a much higher tax bill. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Just an FYI as we are in Florida - we did  not file for homestead exemption before Nov 1st because my DH wanted to wait for is VA disability rating. That rating came through at the end of November. We had already paid our property taxes but not that it matters because the county appraiser's office told us that there is no credit etc and we would only qualify for the exemption for the 2017 tax year if we apply by March 1st. 

I didn't know that exemptions carry over to new owners on a property. I thought that you, as the new owner, has to apply. I think this is why tax info in Florida is misleading. One person may have exemptions so it seems low but the new owners can be hit with a much higher tax bill. 

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In FL if the previous owner have  homestead exemption the new owner can inherit the exemption for the year the property was purchased.  But  one still have to file homestead exemption for the following year.    The only exception to not being able to inherit homestead exemption is  when the property is  bank owned.    

[StartingOver10]

Bank owned or the seller does not have a homestead exemption.