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 Sep 2023 and repairs are complete in Feb 2024, your Nov 2023 tax bill will not include any property tax reduction, it will appear on your Nov 2024 tax bill and the value of repaired/replaced property won’t be taxed until Nov 2025)
• 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 re-evaluation 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. 

PROPERTY TAX REFUND

You may be eligible for a property tax refund due to damage associated with the catastrophic event. The following conditions apply:

• The property must have been rendered uninhabitable for at least 30 days from damage associated with a hurricane or other catastrophic event.
• The owner must provide our office a completed DR-465 Application for Catastrophic Event Tax Refund  (Section 197.319,Florida Statutes).
• The form must be accompanied by supporting documentation showing the real property could not be inhabited following the date of the catastrophic event.
  • This includes utility bills, insurance claims, contractor statements, permit applications, or certificates of occupancy.
• The taxpayer is still responsible for paying property taxes owed, if eligible, a refund will be issued to the taxpayer after timely payment of the taxes.
• If damage is due to Hurricane Idalia, the deadline to file for the refund is March 1, 2024.

FURTHER 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.