From the City of St. Petersburg...

The City of St. Petersburg has recently adopted an ordinance to allow for an additional homestead exemption on property taxes for low-income seniors who maintain long-term residency at their property in St. Pete. St. Pete will now be the third municipality in Pinellas County to allow this additional exemption that will significantly help eligible residents afford to remain in their current homes.

Residents must meet the below criteria to be eligible for the additional exemption:

• The owner is 65 or older on January 1.
• The applicant qualifies for or is already receiving Homestead Exemption.
• The owner’s household income is less than the limit established for the low-income senior exemption. For 2020, the limit was $30,721. The 2021 limit has not yet been calculated.
• The assessed value of the property is less than $250,000.
• The property has been the owner’s permanent residence for at least 25 years.

The new ordinance is consistent with the vision of St. Petersburg’s Housing Plan, which is a comprehensive 10-year plan that the City launched earlier in 2020 to address housing affordability by expanding existing programs and introducing new solutions. More about the plan can be found at stpete.org/AffordableHousing.

The City of St. Petersburg had long committed to serving and providing access to programming for its senior citizens, like the Parks and Recreation Office On Aging, the Sunshine Senior Center, AARP Fit Lot at Booker Creek Park and the Senior Hall of Fame.

Residents can now apply with the Pinellas County Property Appraiser at pcpao.gov  for tax year beginning Jan. 1, 2021. The application deadline is March 1 for the tax year in which the applicant wants to qualify.