What interest will I pay?

The rate floats: half a percentage point above the average yield to maturity of Florida Retirement System investments, capped at 7%. It is set annually, so we publish the formula and the ceiling rather than a figure that would be stale within the year.

What happens when I die?

The deferred amount becomes due on a change of ownership or use, with an exception for a surviving spouse. If your heirs will need to sell, they inherit the balance and its accumulated interest — worth discussing with them before you file rather than after.

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Defer the Part of Your Property Tax You Cannot Afford

Florida will defer whatever your property tax bill exceeds 5% of your household income — 3% at 65, or the whole bill below $10,000 of income — against a lien on the home.

Verified August 18, 2026

What this benefit is

Florida will let you postpone the part of your property tax bill that exceeds a percentage of your household income, and take a lien on the home instead.

Above 5% of household income if you are under 65, above 3% at 65 and over, and the whole bill if your household income is under $10,000.

What it's worth: The part of the bill above 5% of your income — 3% at 65, all of it below $10,000

This is a deferral, not an exemption. The tax is owed and accrues interest at 0.5 percentage points above the average yield to maturity of Florida Retirement System investments, capped at 7 percent.
How much you can defer depends on your income, not on the size of your bill. Above the threshold the deferral is total; below it there is nothing to defer.

Who is entitled to it

Any owner entitled to claim the homestead exemption. There is no age test and no disability test.
With enough equity that the deferred taxes and all other liens stay under 85% of the just value.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

The thing most people get wrong

The widest gate and the narrowest relief

Every other deferral provision we hold gates on who you are — 65, disabled, a disabled veteran. Florida gates on almost nobody: if you have a homestead you can apply. What Florida narrows instead is the amount. Only the part of the bill ABOVE the income percentage can be deferred, so a veteran with an ordinary income and a modest bill is fully eligible and can defer nothing at all. Work out the threshold before you file, not after.

How to claim it

Deadline: March 31

1Claim the homestead exemption first, or ask the property appraiser for a certificate of eligibility if you waived it.
2Total your household income for last year — the deferral is measured against it, and everyone in the household counts.
3File Form DR-570 with your county tax collector.
4Keep the fire insurance in force and answer the annual lien notice within 30 days. Either failure ends the deferral and makes the balance due.

Form: DR-570
File with: Your county tax collector
Documents you will need: proof of household income · proof of fire insurance · homestead exemption or certificate of eligibility
You must re-file every year: The tax collector sends an annual notice about the lien. Failing to respond within 30 days makes the whole deferred balance due — this is a live trap, not a formality.

Common mistakes that cost people this benefit

Letting the fire insurance lapse. §197.263 makes the entire deferred balance immediately due if you do — and it is exactly the bill a household under pressure cuts first. No other deferral we hold has this condition.
Ignoring the annual lien notice. Failing to respond within 30 days ends the deferral and calls in the balance.
Reaching for deferral before the exemptions. §196.081 or §196.101 can take the bill to zero outright. Deferral only postpones what the exemptions do not reach.

Worth knowingLetting the fire insurance lapse makes the entire deferred balance immediately due under §197.263. No other deferral provision we hold has that condition, and it is the kind of thing a household under financial pressure is most likely to cut.

Worth knowingThe gate is wide and the relief is narrow. Any homestead owner may apply — there is no age test and no disability test — but only the portion of the bill above 5% of household income can be deferred, so a veteran with an ordinary income and a modest bill may qualify and still defer nothing.

Worth knowingTake the exemptions first. §196.081 or §196.101 can zero the bill outright, and deferral only postpones it against a lien. Deferral is what is left for the part the exemptions do not reach.

Known gapThe interest rate floats with Florida Retirement System yields and is set annually rather than published as a fixed figure. We publish the statutory formula and its 7 percent ceiling rather than a rate that would be stale within the year.

Questions people ask

What interest will I pay?: The rate floats: half a percentage point above the average yield to maturity of Florida Retirement System investments, capped at 7%. It is set annually, so we publish the formula and the ceiling rather than a figure that would be stale within the year.
What happens when I die?: The deferred amount becomes due on a change of ownership or use, with an exception for a surviving spouse. If your heirs will need to sell, they inherit the balance and its accumulated interest — worth discussing with them before you file rather than after.

Sources

authority · statuteFla. Stat. §§197.252, 197.2423(9), 197.262, 197.263
operating · published policyFlorida DOR — Taxpayer Exemptions

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.