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I bought my home in Boca Raton, FL, in 2005 and I had a homestead exemption. To my knowledge once you apply for the exemption you don't have to reapply for it.

I haven't moved or rented the house since I bought it. I don't own any other home/real estate property and haven't owned any other real estate property since I bought my home in 2005.

I was checking something on the property appraiser's website and to my surprise I noticed that since 2012 my $50,000 exemption has not applied to my home property tax. The last year it seems to have been applied was the 2011 tax year.

Does anyone have any idea how and why this could have happened? Is there any chance I can get my money back?

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  • Are you married? Do you (or your spouse) claim out-of-state residency or tax benefits, have a non-FL driver's license, have an unregistered vehicle, or register to vote elsewhere? Have you done anything that executes a change to the home's deed such as adding or removing names?
    – CKM
    Commented Feb 19, 2019 at 18:23
  • I got my answer when I went to the property appraiser's office. I was not what I expected. I posted the answer to my own question.
    – George
    Commented Feb 25, 2019 at 14:41

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You are correct. Once you have the Florida homestead exemption, you do not have to reapply for it.

I would suggest that you contact the property appraiser's office and take this matter up with them.

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The Property Appraiser's Office messed up. My dad lived with me and has the same last and first name name as mine. In 2011 he passed away. Someone looked at the death certificate in Palm Beach County and looked at the name and address but not social security number and from the property tax standpoint I was declared dead and lost my homestead exemption.

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  • You haven't explicitly answered your original question "Is there any chance I can get my money back?"
    – nanoman
    Commented Feb 25, 2019 at 21:51
  • I answered one of my questions. :-) "Does anyone have any idea how and why this could have happened?" Don't have an answer to the second question yet.
    – George
    Commented Feb 26, 2019 at 19:00
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Although it's true you don't need to re-apply, they do send occasional questionnaires, which if left unanswered can give them the authority to remove your exemption.

I know this because it almost happened to me. A perfect storm occurred where we never received these questionnaires because they were being delivered to the wrong address. After selling my home and applying for the homestead portability, they said I had lost my homestead exemption.

We went down to Miami-Dade county tax office and had to apply for a correction. Thankfully, it was granted but it was a huge lesson in the state's shenanigans in legally reassessing homes. Think of how many people they do this to and get away with it!

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