Use homestead in Florida to save on real estate taxes

It it is your homestead, and if you applied for and been granted homestead exemption, the tax appraisers office will reduce the assessed value of your home by $50,000 and that will save you about $750 per year in real estate taxes.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Paul, you're on News 96.5, go ahead.

Paul: Yes sir. I was calling to find out if you could claim homestead on a condominium that you've purchased in order to reduce your taxes, or is that only on houses and townhomes that you've bought?

Attorney Tom Olsen: Paul, not only is it on houses, it is on condos. In fact, you can claim homestead on an RV or a yacht if you're living on it.

Paul: Okay. Is that typically reduced taxes in Florida, or is that state dependent?

Attorney Tom Olsen: No, I'm strictly speaking Florida. Okay?

Paul: Okay.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Here, in the state of Florida, if your home is of a certain value, you can claim homestead exemption. They will knock $100,000 off the assessed value of your property, and that will save you about $750 a year in real estate taxes.

Paul: Awesome. Well, thank you very much.

Attorney Tom Olsen: By the way, Paul, I'm talking about real estate taxes. There's another kind of homestead given to us by our Florida Constitution, that says that no creditor may take away the home of an individual, whether it's a house, a condo, an RV or a yacht, if you're claiming homestead on it.