Florida Veteran Mortgage Guide

The Florida veteran mortgage benefits worth claiming go well past the VA loan. Several are state benefits that nobody applies on your behalf.

Federal Florida veteran mortgage benefits

• VA home loan: no down payment, no mortgage insurance, and consistently low rates
• VA IRRRL: streamline refinance with no appraisal
• VA cash-out: higher loan-to-value limits than other programs allow
• Funding fee waived entirely for veterans receiving VA disability compensation
• No VA loan limit where you hold full entitlement

The state benefits you have to claim yourself

This is where Florida adds real money, and where veterans most often leave it unclaimed. Every item below is filed with your county property appraiser, and the deadline is 1 March. No lender, title company or agent does this for you.

• Standard homestead exemption: up to $50,000 off assessed value, plus the Save Our Homes cap limiting annual increases
• Disabled veteran exemption: an additional $5,000 for a service-connected disability rated at 10% or more
• Total and permanent disability exemption: a full exemption from property tax on a homesteaded property for a veteran rated totally and permanently disabled from service-connected causes
• Combat-related discount at 65: veterans aged 65 and over with a combat-related disability may receive a percentage discount matching their rating
• Surviving spouse provisions: several of these carry over, subject to conditions

Consider what the total exemption is worth. On a home with a $4,000 annual tax bill, that is $4,000 every year for as long as you own it, which over two decades exceeds what most people save on the interest rate they spent months negotiating.

Hometown Heroes treats veterans differently

Hometown Heroes provides up to 5% of the loan, capped at $35,000, and military and veteran applicants receive an exemption from the first-time buyer requirement that binds everyone else.

Therefore a veteran who has owned before can still use it, which is not true of most assistance programs. Because it layers on top of a VA first mortgage, the combination of no down payment and assistance toward closing costs is among the strongest packages available in the state.

One thing to raise with your lender early

If a disability claim is pending, say so at application. The funding fee exemption depends on your award status at closing, and a rating granted afterwards means chasing a refund rather than simply not paying. Read Florida VA loan benefits for the detail.

Sources: US Department of Veterans Affairs loan guaranty rules, and Chapter 196, Florida Statutes, covering veteran and disabled veteran property tax exemptions. Eligibility conditions change; confirm with the VA and your county property appraiser.