(1) A servicemember who receives a homestead exemption may receive an additional ad valorem tax exemption on that homestead property as provided in this section.
(2) The exemption is available to servicemembers who were deployed during the preceding calendar year on active duty outside the continental United States, Alaska, or Hawaii in support of any of the following military operations:
(a) Operation Joint Task Force Bravo, which began in 1995.
(b) Operation Joint Guardian, which began on June 12, 1999.
(c) Operation Noble Eagle, which began on September 15, 2001.
(d) Operations in the Balkans, which began in 2004.
(e) Operation Nomad Shadow, which began in 2007.
(f) Operation U.S. Airstrikes Al Qaeda in Somalia, which began in January 2007.
(g) Operation Copper Dune, which began in 2009.
(h) Operation Georgia Deployment Program, which began in August 2009.
(i) Operation Spartan Shield, which began in June 2011.
(j) Operation Inherent Resolve, which began on August 8, 2014.
2(k) Operation Atlantic Resolve/Atlantic Sentry, which began in April 2014.
(l) Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, which began on January 1, 2015.
2(m) Operation Juniper Shield, which began in February 2007.
2(n) Operation Pacific Eagle, which began in September 2017.
2(o) Operation Martillo, which began in January 2012.
2(p) Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa, which began in January 2015.
2(q) Operation European Assure, Deter and Reinforce, formerly known as European Reassurance Initiative/European Deterrence Initiative, which began in 2014.
2(r) Operations in Israel and Gaza Strip’s Mediterranean Territorial Seas and Air Spaces, which began in March 2023.
2(s) Operations in support of Pacific Deterrence Initiative, which began in 2021.
2(t) Operation Southern Spear, which began in 2025.
2(v) Operations by the Multinational Force and Observers, which began in 1981.
The Department of Revenue shall notify all property appraisers and tax collectors in this state of the designated military operations.
(3) The exemption is also available to servicemembers who were deployed during the preceding calendar year on active duty outside the continental United States, Alaska, or Hawaii in support of a subordinate operation to a main operation designated in subsection (2).
(4) By January 15 of each year, the Department of Military Affairs shall submit to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the tax committees of each house of the Legislature a report of all known and unclassified military operations outside the continental United States, Alaska, or Hawaii for which servicemembers based in the continental United States have been deployed during the previous calendar year. The report must include:
(a) The official and common names of the military operations;
(b) The general location and purpose of each military operation;
(c) The date each military operation commenced; and
(d) The date each military operation terminated, unless the operation is ongoing.
(5) The amount of the exemption is equal to the taxable value of the homestead of the servicemember on January 1 of the year in which the exemption is sought multiplied by the number of days that the servicemember was on a qualifying deployment in the preceding calendar year and divided by the number of days in that year.
(6)(a) An eligible servicemember who seeks to claim the additional tax exemption as provided in this section must file an application for exemption with the property appraiser on or before March 1 of the year following the year of the qualifying deployment. The application for the exemption must be made on a form prescribed by the department and furnished by the property appraiser. The form must require a servicemember to include or attach proof of a qualifying deployment, the dates of that deployment, and other information necessary to verify eligibility for and the amount of the exemption.
(b) An application may be filed on behalf of an eligible servicemember by his or her spouse if the homestead property to which the exemption applies is held by the entireties or jointly with the right of survivorship, by a person who has been designated by the servicemember to take actions on his or her behalf pursuant to chapter 709, or by the personal representative of the servicemember’s estate.
(7) The property appraiser shall consider each application for a deployed servicemember exemption within 30 days after receipt or within 30 days after receiving notice of the designation of qualifying deployments by the Legislature, whichever is later. A property appraiser who finds that the taxpayer is entitled to the exemption shall approve the application and file the application in the permanent records. A property appraiser who finds that the taxpayer is not entitled to the exemption shall send a notice of disapproval no later than July 1, citing the reason for disapproval. The original notice of disapproval shall be sent to the taxpayer and shall advise the taxpayer of the right to appeal the decision to the value adjustment board and shall inform the taxpayer of the procedure for filing such an appeal.
(8) As used in this section, the term “servicemember” means a member or former member of any branch of the United States military or military reserves, the United States Coast Guard or its reserves, or the Florida National Guard.
History.—s. 1, ch. 2011-93; s. 3, ch. 2012-159; s. 24, ch. 2012-193; s. 1, ch. 2016-26; s. 15, ch. 2018-118; s. 7, ch. 2020-10; s. 7, ch. 2022-97; s. 18, ch. 2026-239.
“Application deadline for additional ad valorem tax exemption for specified deployments.—
“(1) Notwithstanding s. 196.173, Florida Statutes:
“(a) For the 2026 ad valorem tax roll, the deadline for an applicant to file an application with the property appraiser for an additional ad valorem tax exemption under s. 196.173, Florida Statutes, is August 1, 2026.
“(b) For purposes of calculating the 2026 exemption for the military operations added by this act, a servicemember may include as days he or she was on a qualifying deployment in the preceding calendar year the total number of days he or she was on qualifying deployments during the 2023, 2024, and 2025 calendar years.
“(2) If an application is not timely filed under subsection (1), a property appraiser may grant the exemption if:
“(a) The applicant files an application for the exemption on or before the 25th day after the property appraiser mails the notice required under s. 194.011(1), Florida Statutes;
“(b) The applicant is qualified for the exemption; and
“(c) The applicant produces sufficient evidence, as determined by the property appraiser, which demonstrates that the applicant was unable to apply for the exemption in a timely manner or otherwise demonstrates extenuating circumstances that warrant granting the exemption.
“(3) If the property appraiser denies an application under subsection (2), the applicant may file, pursuant to s. 194.011(3), Florida Statutes, a petition with the value adjustment board which requests that the exemption be granted. Such petition must be filed on or before the 25th day after the property appraiser mails the notice required under s. 194.011(1), Florida Statutes. Notwithstanding s. 194.013, Florida Statutes, the eligible servicemember is not required to pay a filing fee for such petition. Upon reviewing the petition, the value adjustment board may grant the exemption if the applicant is qualified for the exemption and demonstrates extenuating circumstances, as determined by the board, which warrant granting the exemption.
“(4) A servicemember may receive a refund of taxes paid for the 2024 or 2025 tax year, or both, if he or she was on qualifying deployments for military operations added by this act for a total of more than 365 days during the 2023, 2024, and 2025 calendar years. The amount of the refund is equal to the total taxes paid on the servicemember’s homestead in 2024 and 2025 multiplied by the number of days in excess of 365 that the servicemember was on qualifying deployments during the 2023, 2024, and 2025 calendar years, divided by 730.
“(5) This section shall take effect upon this act becoming a law and applies to the 2026 ad valorem tax roll.”
