Report Property Damage (Hurricane or Other Calamity)

If your home has suffered catastrophic damage, there are provisions in Florida law that pertain to your property tax assessment and how it is affected when your home is destroyed by a hurricane, fire or other calamity.

• Contact our office as soon as possible to discuss the calamity and future assessment with your Area Appraiser
  
  • For your convenience, we have created a storm damage form/survey to report structural damage to your home and improvements (not fence damage or downed trees)
• Please provide photos and videos of damage, insurance adjusters’ reports, repair receipts and any other related documentation to the structural damage of your home and improvements (not fence damage or downed trees)
• Our appraisers will document the property’s condition and then return for a field visit at the end of the year to determine if repairs/rebuild have been completed
  
  • If incomplete on January 1 after the damage occurred, appraisers will reduce your market and capped values accordingly as of January 1 for the new tax year
  • The reduced value will affect the property tax bill you receive next November (e.g., if your home suffered extensive damaged in Aug 2024 and repairs are complete in Feb 2025, your Nov 2024 tax bill will not include any property tax reduction, it will appear on your Nov 2025 tax bill and the value of repaired/replaced property won’t be taxed until Nov 2026)
• Homeowners may continue to receive the homestead exemption and the Save-Our-Homes cap as long as they do not claim a new homestead exemption on a different home while they rebuild or repair the damages. Section 193.155 4(b), Florida Statutes 
• Property revaluation once rebuild or repairs are complete:
  
  • If the repaired or replaced building is no larger than 110% of the former damaged building, no value is added over the capped value that existed at the time the damage occurred
  • If the rebuilt square footage is greater than 110% of the building’s original size, only the value attributed to excess square footage is added above the 3% Save-Our-Homes cap or 10% non-homestead cap.
  • If the original home was less than 1,500 SF, a maximum of 1,500 SF or 110% of the original, whichever is greater, may be added.

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Property Tax Refund

Residential property owners may be eligible for a property tax refund due to damage associated with a catastrophic event if certain conditions are met.

• The property must be rendered uninhabitable from damage associated with a hurricane or other catastrophic event for a minimum of 30 days from the date of the event.
• The owner must provide our office a completed form DR-465 Application for Catastrophic Event Tax Refund as per Section 197.319, Florida Statutes.
• The DR-465 form must be accompanied by supporting documentation showing the real property could not be inhabited after the catastrophic event to include utility bills, insurance claims, contractor statements, permit applications, or certificates of occupancy.
• The deadline to file for the refund is March 1 of the year immediately following the catastrophic event.
• The taxpayer is still responsible for paying property taxes owed.
• Refunds will be issued to the taxpayer after confirmation that the above conditions have been met.

IF YOU WERE IMPACTED BY HURRICANE HELENE, PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

You have until March 1, 2025, to apply. Please do not submit DR-465 Form before the following is known:

• Hurricane Helene impacted Pinellas County on September 26, 2024, the maximum number of days a residential property may have been uninhabitable in 2024 is 97 days (Sep 26, 2024 – Dec 31, 2024).
• Please read the Instructions on page 2 of the DR-465 Form carefully to understand the documentation required and refund calculations.
• 2024 property taxes must be paid in full prior to refund issuance. Tax bills will be available on the Pinellas County Tax Collectors website on November 1, 2024.
• Supporting documentation must be provided showing the real property could not be inhabited following the date of the catastrophic event includes utility bills, insurance claims, contractor statements, permit applications, or certificates of occupancy.

Once you have applied and met the requirements for the refund, it will take a minimum of 4-6 weeks to issue the refund. Our office cannot begin the refund process until January 2025.

Repair or Replacement of Damaged or Destroyed Property due to a Calamity

Under Florida Law, if a property is damaged or destroyed by misfortune or calamity after the damage or destruction occurs, the property owner may continue the homestead exemption. The owner must notify the Property Appraiser that they intend to repair or rebuild the property and use the property as the primary residence following the completion of repairs. Review the scenarios below to better understand how this may impact your property taxes:

• Elect not to rebuild - The exemption will be removed on the January 1 following the damage and the property owner will have the 3-tax year statutory window to port (transfer) any assessment differential to a new homestead.

• Repair Property owner makes necessary repairs and reoccupies the property. No impact to the assessed value cap.

• Elevate (flooded properties) - If the property owner is able to repair and elevate (lift) the lowest living level of the home above base flood elevation, the value of the newly constructed subarea(s) at grade level will be added above the assessed value cap. The elevated improvements will remain under the cap as long as they do not exceed 110% of the original structure or 1,500 SF, whichever is greater. The affected property owner has 3 years from the January 1 following the damage or destruction of the property to commence the changes, additions or improvements.

• Rebuild - If the property owner chooses to rebuild (up to 110% of original improvement or 1,500 SF, whichever is greater) then the Save Our Homes (SOH) cap or non-homestead cap will continue upon completion of the new building as if no damage occurred. The homestead exemption will remain on the vacant land during construction. However, if the owner chooses not to rebuild after notifying the PAO that they wish to, the SOH cap will most likely be severely reduced. The affected property owner has 3 years from the January 1 following the damage or destruction of the property to commence the changes, additions or improvements. (will increase from 3 to 5 years effective January 1, 2025)
  • Below explains how we determine when square footage exceeds the 110%:
    • The primary area for a single-family space is labeled as “BAS” (Base heated/living space) and represents the baseline level of finish for the living area of the structure at 100%. This space is the primary living area which includes the kitchen. All other areas, also referred to as subareas, are measured as a percentage of the base area, as their level of finish is typically something less than the Base.
    • The description for each subarea “SAR”, gross area “AREA”, percentage of base “%B”, and the effective area “EFF.AREA” for each can be found on the Property Record Card.  The effective area takes into account the weighting (as a percent of base) for each subarea. Effective area will always be greater than or equal to your living area since it includes all subareas.
    • This information can be found on the Property Record Card which can be downloaded from our website (https://www.pcpao.gov/) from the Quick Pick Tool box. See example (Ex:1) below.
    • In the first example below (Ex:1), the effective area prior to the calamity was 1,524 sqft. Accounting for the 110% (1.10 x 1,524), the effective area can increase to 1,676 sqft without exceeding the existing capped/assessed value. Any square footage exceeding this amount would add value over the existing capped/assessed value.  Graphic Ex:2 below shows the effective area increased from 1,524 to 2,369 sqft. So, the amount exceeding the 110% (2,369 – 1,676) is 693 sqft, and would be valued as new construction above the cap. The cap would then apply to this space going forward in future years under the same ownership.These calculations are also presented in tabular form in row 1 of Ex:3 below.

Example of Rebuilding using Effective Area

• Ex:1
  
• Ex:2
  
• ​Ex:3

Maximum	Original Effective SF	New Effective SF	Allowed SF (under SOH Cap)	Excess Area Assessed at Just (Market) Value
110% of the original SF	1,524 SF	2,369 SF	1,676 SF (1,525 x 1.10)	693 SF (2,369 - 1,676)
1,500 SF	1,200 SF	1,600 SF	1,500 SF	100 SF (1,600-1,500)

Note: The “Excess Area Assessed at Just (Market) Value” would be the amount not covered by the SOH or non-homestead cap. After being added to the tax roll, this area would fall under SOH or non-homestead cap protection in future years.

Additional Resources

The State of Florida, Dept of Revenue has published two informative guides to help inform Florida homeowner’s who have suffered property damage:

• A Florida Homeowner’s Guide: Catastrophic Event Property Damage
• A Florida Homeowner’s Guide: Property Tax Relief for Catastrophic Events in 2023

The loss or damage to your home due to a calamity (hurricane, storm or otherwise) is a devastating experience. The revaluation of your home is possibly the last thing on your mind; but please let us know as soon as you are able so we can help make the process easier.