Pinellas County Property Appraiser: Veteran Exemptions and the Combat Discount

The exemptions are the State's; the Florida entries explain them. The Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Exemptions Department (727-464-3207) grants them. What the Appraiser says. The full exemption for an honorably discharged veteran with a service-connected total and permanent disability, carried to a surviving spouse; the $5,000 exemption for an honorably discharged veteran rated 10% or more, or an unremarried surviving spouse; and the combat discount for a veteran 65 or older on January 1 with "a partial or total permanent combat-related disability", equal to the whole permanent rating even where only part is combat-related, carried to the surviving spouse. It tells veterans to apply before VA's documents arrive, since the exemption dates back to the application and excess taxes are refunded for up to four years (section 196.081(5)). Apply by March 1. Unlike several other Florida offices in this catalog, the Appraiser's descriptions do not narrow the statutes. Citation slips. The page labels both the total and permanent exemption and the $5,000 exemption "Section 196.082"; they are sections 196.081 and 196.24. No annual renewal. Section 118-4 of the Pinellas County Code (Ordinance 07-58) waives annual renewal of the combat discount once granted, as long as the use of the property and the disability percentage do not change; the veteran must tell the Appraiser promptly if either does (section 196.011(9)(b)). The ordinance still cites the discount as "Section 6(g), Art. VII" of the Florida Constitution; it is now Article VII, section 6(e).