Can I live in Florida part of the year?

The homestead exemption is only for property the owner in good faith makes his or her permanent residence, and anyone who claims a tax break tied to residency in another state cannot have it. Whether you have made Florida your permanent home is a question of fact that the county property appraiser decides from a list of signs, among them a recorded declaration of domicile, a Florida driver license, voter registration, a Florida tag, the address on your federal tax return, where your bank accounts are, and proof that you pay the utilities at the home.

A declaration of domicile, filed with the clerk of the circuit court, is a sworn statement that your Florida home is your predominant and principal home, for people who also keep a home in another state. Renting out a homestead counts as giving it up until the owner lives there again, though the current year's exemption survives unless the home is rented for more than 30 days a year two years in a row; this part of the law was changed in 2026, back to January 1, 2026. A homestead claimed when it should not have been can be looked back on for 10 years, with the taxes saved, a 50 percent penalty and 15 percent a year in interest.

Hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, when many part-year residents are away. The state's advice for a home is to protect every opening, with impact-resistant windows and doors or a covering such as rated hurricane shutters or properly secured 5/8-inch plywood.

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