Both provisions apply automatically upon the establishment of a primary residence in Florida, but to reap the tax assessment benefits, the homestead exemption must be claimed by a filing with the local county property appraiser's office.
For tax purposes the year-to-year increase in assessed value of the homestead is limited to the lesser of 3% or the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index.
Because of the scope of the protection afforded, persons from other states with heavy debts or large court judgments against them have been known to purchase expensive estates in Florida, some examples being O. J. Simpson and Donald Trump.
However, for any future purchasers of all or part of the property, the protected land will drop to the one-half acre (2,000 sq m) allowed within a municipality.
Federal income tax liens are superior to the homestead protection provided by the Florida Constitution.
The amendment caps the increase of the assessed value of a home with a homestead exemption to the lesser of 3% or the rate of inflation.
Detractors argue that it creates an unfair system of taxation in which first time home buyers, new residents, seasonal residents, and businesses are burdened with more than their share of taxes while homesteaders are trapped in their own homes, often unable to move without doubling their tax rate.
For the taxation homestead exemption, "Persons Residing Under Color of Law" (a term created by the courts which applies to persons in the US with asylum or parole status, or someone who has applied for and completed the I-485 application process for a green card but is still awaiting final approval/issuance of the card).
A person under an H or L visa who has an already approved I-140, and is awaiting USCIS retrogressions in order to submit the I-485 application, is not benefited with the homestead exemption.
Some counties accept alien numbers as part of the requirements to obtain a homestead exemption, although J visa holders cannot file for adjustment of status.
Also, in general, a husband and wife in an intact marriage are treated as a single "family unit" under Florida law and are only entitled to a total of one homestead exemption no matter how many homes they own and occupy.
If such a devise is made, it is deemed invalid, and the surviving spouse will enjoy a life estate with the remainder to the decedent's children.
The elected Property Appraisers of Florida's 67 counties are the state constitutional officers responsible for maintaining the integrity of the homestead tax exemption program.
Instead, a homeowner on title (or the beneficiary of a trust, a person legally or naturally dependent upon the owner or lessees having an original term of 98 years or more, all having to meet "equitable title to real estate" law) must file for a homestead exemption with the Property Appraiser in the county in which the property is located.