Miami-Dade property appraiser begins outreach in Opa-locka on homestead, veterans and senior exemptions

Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser Tomas Regalado visited the City of Opa-locka on (date of roundtable) to outline county outreach to help residents apply for homestead and other property-tax exemptions and to answer questions about rising property values and tax notices.

Regalado told the audience that ‘‘information is power’’ and said his newly independent office is conducting outreach across municipalities to make exemption options — including homestead, widow(er), veterans, disability and certain senior exemptions — easier to access. He said county records show more than 3,000 residents in Opa-locka and encouraged people to visit his staff at a resource table at the event.

The appraiser described situations he encountered early in his term in which residents discarded mail they believed was a bill rather than an informational notice about their property valuation. He pointed to statewide exemption categories and said some residents do not know they may qualify for relief. "There are people that do not know that they can apply for widows exemption, veterans exemption, disability exemption, even long term seniors exemption," Regalado said.

Residents asked specific questions at the roundtable. Sharon Peterson asked whether a family member can apply on behalf of a veteran and whether a person can claim both a disability exemption and a veterans exemption; Regalado responded that multiple categories exist (partial and total disability, veterans with disability, seniors, widows) and that eligibility and filing steps vary by exemption type.

Regalado noted a current statutory income threshold discussed in Tallahassee for certain senior exemptions — citing roughly $37,000 as a benchmark used in the eligibility discussion — and said county staff are advocating for an income-counting method that would apply to the individual claimant rather than aggregate household income. He also encouraged residents to bring examples of their property notices to his staff for review and said some records take time to correct if an exemption has lapsed after a spouse's death.

Regalado said his office will supply printed materials and staff contact cards and that the office intends to coordinate with local officials to bring services directly to municipalities.

The roundtable closed with an invitation to meet the property appraiser’s staff at the information table to address individual questions and to obtain application materials for exemptions.