Filing for Homestead and Other Exemptions

What You Need When Filing for Homestead
When filing an application you must bring the following items listed below. To claim 100% coverage, all owners occupying the property as Tenants in Common (i.e., proportional share co-owners) must file in person on jointly held property. In the case of a husband/wife ("Tenants by the Entirety") or Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship ("JTRS"), any one owner may qualify for 100% coverage -- although it is always highly advisable to have all eligible owner-occupants to file. If you are married and the Deed has different last names for a husband and wife, a marriage certificate must be presented if the deed does not indicate the two co-owners are "husband and wife."
Proof of Ownership: In general, the recorded Deed or Co-op Proprietary Lease must be held in the name(s) of the individuals applying for Homestead. You do not need to bring a copy of the deed or co-op lease if the document has already been recorded in the Official Records of Broward County. If the PROPERTY IS HELD IN A TRUST, WE ALSO NEED EITHER A NOTARIZED CERTIFICATE OF TRUST OR A COMPLETE COPY OF THE TRUST AGREEMENT. Note: Most taxpayers prefer to use the simple Certificate of Trust form, instead of submitting the entire trust for our review, as it better protects the privacy of your estate planning and other financial matters.
Proof of Permanent Florida Residence -- preferably dated prior to January 1 of the tax year for which you are filing -- is established in the form of:
FOR ALL APPLICANTS: Florida's Driver's License (or -- for non-drivers only -- a Florida I.D. Card) is REQUIRED. Note: "Valid Only in Florida" driver license is not acceptable. You must ALSO have either one of the following:
Florida Voter's Registration; or
Recorded Declaration of Domicile.
FOR NON-US CITIZENS, you must have the items listed above AND proof of permanent residency, asylum/parolee status (or other "PRUCOL" status).
If you or your married spouse have a Homestead Exemption in any other county, state or country (or an equivalent permanent residency-based exemption or tax credit, such as New York's "S.T.A.R." exemption) on another property you also currently own, you will not be eligible for a homestead in Broward until after you surrender the exemption in that other jurisdiction. (Note: If you know of someone with a Homestead Exemption in Broward who also maintains an exemption on another property elsewhere, please report this information to our Fraud Investigations Section at 954.357.6900.)
The State-approved application form requests certain information for all owners living on the premises and filing:
Current employers of all owners
Addresses listed on last I.R.S. income tax returns.
Date of each owner's permanent Florida residence.
Date of occupancy for each property owner.
Social Security numbers of all owners filing (plus the Social Security numbers of any married spouses, even if not named in the deed).
Note: The amount of the homestead exemption protection granted to an owner residing on a particular property is to be applied against the amount of that person's interest in the property. This provision is limited in that the proportional amount of the homestead exemption allowed any person shall not exceed the proportionate assessed valuation based on the interest owned by the person. For example, assuming a property valued at $40,000, with the residing owner's interest in the property being $20,000, then $20,000 of the homestead exemption is all that can be applied to that property. If there are multiple owners, all as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, the owner living at property filing receives the full exemption