Clay County Property Appraiser: Veteran Exemptions

The exemptions are the State's; the Florida entries explain them. The Clay County Property Appraiser takes applications online, by mail or at the Administration Building, 2nd floor, 477 Houston Street, Green Cove Springs (904-284-6305 ext. 1, [email protected]), generally by March 1. A veteran may apply before VA's letter arrives; once it does, the exemption is granted from the original application and excess taxes paid are refunded for up to four years. What its publications get right. The full exemption under section 196.081 for a service-connected total and permanent disability, with the prorated refund on a homestead bought during the year and the surviving spouse's carry-over; the surviving spouse of a member who died from service-connected causes on active duty; the wheelchair exemption under section 196.091, correctly requiring a total service-connected disability, specially adapted housing assistance and a wheelchair together; the combat-related discount at 65 under section 196.082; and the deployed servicemember exemption under section 196.173. What they narrow. The brochure (November 2023) and the list of exemptions dated August 18, 2026 describe the $5,000 exemption as for an "honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected disability of 10% or greater". Section 196.24 covers an ex-servicemember discharged under honorable conditions, so a general discharge qualifies, who is disabled 10% or more "by misfortune or while serving during a period of wartime service". Ask the Appraiser to apply the statute if a rating is not service-connected but the veteran served in wartime. Two other points. The brochure gives March 1 for the deployed exemption; for the 2026 roll only, chapter 2026-239 moved the deadline to August 1, 2026 and added operations and a partial refund for 2024 and 2025 (see the Florida entry). And the August 2026 list says the exemptions "do not apply to non-ad valorem assessments": that is true of the State's exemptions, but the County's own solid waste and stormwater exemptions follow the section 196.081 exemption; see the Clay County entry on them.