Homestead Exemption is a tax reduction allowable to homeowners who make their property their primary residence. If approved, this exemption could reduce the taxable value of your residence by up to $50,000. The first $25,000 of this exemption applies to all taxing authorities. The second $25,000 of exemption excludes School Board taxes and applies to properties with assessed values between $50,000 and $75,000. As a result, the homeowner would enjoy a substantial savings on the taxes levied on their property by the various taxing authorities.

Homeowners must file an initial application once they have moved into the property. The Homestead Exemption will be automatically renewed each year and a renewal receipt will be mailed to them as long as NO changes have occurred to their exemption status. (i.e. mailing address, marital status, etc.)

It is, however, the responsibility of the owner to notify the Property Appraiser of any change in their exemption status. Florida law requires the filing of a new application when any title change is made.

HOW TO QUALIFY

As of January 1st, you must:

• be a legal resident of Seminole County
• have recorded legal or beneficial title to the property on which you are applying
• be making the property your permanent legal residence

WHEN TO FILE

• January 1st through March 1st – Regular Filing time (For the current tax year)
• March 2nd through December 31st – Prefiling (For the upcoming tax year)

For the best service and so that you can avoid long lines at the regular filing time, we recommend prefiling your application.

HOW TO FILE

• File in person
• File by mail

New homeowners can expect to receive an original application with instructions on how to file. You can also call to have an application mailed to you. If you prefer, you can bring the required information to property appraisers office and they  will be glad to assist you in filing. In any case, the application must be completed and submitted along with the proper proof of residency information.

You may also download a blank application from the Download button on our main page. Please provide your name, address and Property ID number at the top where requested. Property ID can be obtained from the Record Search .

WHAT YOU NEED TO FILE

Proof of residency information:

1. If you drive you must provide a copy of your Florida Driver’s License that reflects the address of the property for which you are seeking the exemption. A copy of your spouse’s Florida Driver’s License is required even if they are not on title. (If more than one person is applying for exemption, the Florida Driver’s license reflecting the property address must be provided for each applicant)
2. If you do not drive you must provide the following:
   • Copy of Florida Identification card reflecting the property address
   • Affidavit of non-driver , and
   • Seminole County Voter’s Registration or a recorded Seminole County Declaration of Domicile
3. If you are not a U.S. citizen, you must provide a copy of your resident alien (green) card.
4. You must provide social security numbers for all applicants, their spouse or any occupant who may be entitled to the exemption.

WHERE TO FILE:

Seminole – Main Office: Hours: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Seminole County Services Bldg., 1101 East First Street, Sanford Florida

Orange – Main Offic: Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday – Friday, (Located in the SunTrust Tower, 17th Floor) 200 S. Orange Avenue Suite 1700, Orlando FL 32801, or, file online by clicking here.

Remember the deadline to file is March 1st!

If you have any questions please contact your local property appraiser or refer your questions to http://www.thecoregroupfl.com/contact.php.

One in every four workers in Central Florida is employed by one of the region’s 100 largest private-sector employers. This table shows those employers and their work-force totals based on operations in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Lake, Volusia and Brevard counties as of November 2011. 

Reflecting the still-uncertain economy, fewer than half the companies on the list have more workers than they did a year ago: 46 reported having more workers, 36 reported having fewer, and six reported having the same number as last year. The remaining 12 were not included in, or did not respond to, last year’s Top Employers survey. 

The 100 companies on this year’s list employ a combined 340,233 people — an 8 percent increase from the 2010 list. No. 1-ranked Walt Disney World — the nation’s largest single-site employer — by itself employs nearly 19 percent of the Top 100′s total and roughly 5 percent of all workers in the six-county region. 

Some companies with large Central Florida work forces did not disclose their employment figures this year, most notably Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Bank of America Corp., Home Depot Inc. and Burger King Holdings Inc. 

You can click on the company names below for more information 

Rank 2011	Rank 2010	Company (Local subsidiary)	2011 Full-time	2011 Part-time	2011 TOTAL	2010 TOTAL
1	1	Walt Disney Co. (Walt Disney World)	39,700	24,300	64,000	62,200
2	2	Adventist Health System (Florida Hospital)	19,809	1,780	21,589	21,483
3	4	Publix Super Markets Inc.	7,425	11,075	18,500	17,521
4	5	Comcast Corp. (Universal Orlando)	NR	NR	16,000	14,300
5	6	Orlando Health	12,668	433	13,101	12,392
6	7	McDonald’s Corp.	NA	NA	10,272	10,230
7	–	Best Buy Co. Inc.	3,298	5,215	8,513	NR
8	–	Marriott International Inc.	6,583	939	7,522	NR
9	8	Lockheed Martin Corp.	NA	NA	7,393	7,870
10	9	Hilton Hotels Corp.	NR	NR	7,133	7,657
11	11	Darden Restaurants Inc.	NA	NA	6,960	6,620
12	12	Harris Corp.	NA	NA	6,500	6,500
13	–	Winn-Dixie Stores Inc.	NR	NR	5,780	NR
14	15	SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Inc.	1,810	3,850	5,660	5,246
15	10	Health First Inc.	4,548	1,097	5,645	6,822
16	16	Target Corp.	1,653	2,976	4,629	4,913
17	13	Walgreen Co.	3,474	1,085	4,559	6,272
18	17	Siemens AG	4,475	0	4,475	4,400
19	27	Lowes Companies Inc.	2,664	1,283	3,947	2,872
20	20	JPMorgan Chase & Co.	NA	NA	3,750	3,463
21	21	Halifax Health	3,388	150	3,538	3,396
22	24	SunTrust Banks Inc.	3,135	143	3,278	3,197
23	14	Central Florida Investments	3,066	99	3,165	5,425
24	25	OSI Restaurant Partners Inc.	1,575	1,575	3,150	3,150
25	39	Loews Corp. (Loews Hotels, CNA Insurance)	2,323	740	3,063	2,300
26	28	Wyndham Worldwide Corp.	2,936	85	3,021	2,790
27	29	Mears Transportation Group	1,087	1,759	2,846	2,776
28	32	Rosen Hotels and Resorts	2,611	221	2,832	2,667
29	26	FedEx Corp.	NR	NR	2,821	3,000
30	30	Wells Fargo & Co.	NR	NR	2,800	2,765
31	47	HCA Inc.	NR	NR	2,610	1,761
32	23	AT&T Corp.	2,600	NR	2,600	3,210
33	33	CVS Caremark	NR	NR	2,500	2,500
34	34	Central Florida Health Alliance	2,090	408	2,498	2,480
35	31	Northrop Grumman Corp.	NR	NR	2,400	2,746
36	49	PepsiCo. Inc.	NR	NR	2,232	1,623
37	43	Southwest Airlines Co. (and AirTran Airways)	NR	NR	2,212	1,953
38	39	Orange Lake Country Club and Affiliate	1,750	450	2,200	2,300
39	45	J.C. Penney Co. Inc.	598	1,459	2,057	1,817
40	38	CenturyLink Inc.	2,002	36	2,038	2,316
41	37	Subway Restaurants	987	1,013	2,000	2,320
42	35	Brinker International Inc.	807	1,157	1,964	2,469
43	44	Wuesthoff Health System	1,771	149	1,920	1,933
44	46	Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.	NA	NA	1,823	1,767
45	36	United Parcel Service Inc.	850	825	1,675	2,379
46	69	SAIC Inc.	NA	NA	1,543	926
47	54	Rockwell Collins Inc.	NR	NR	1,541	1,378
48	18	United Space Alliance LLC	1,532	0	1,532	4,149
49	42	Aon Corp. (Hewitt Associates)	1,515	16	1,531	2,012
50	64	HD Supply Inc.	1,482	0	1,482	1,080
51	52	JetBlue Airways Corp.	1,276	166	1,442	1,460
52	53	DRS Technologies Inc.	NR	NR	1,400	1,450
53	57	Health Central	1,308	58	1,366	1,301
54	22	7-Eleven Corp.	NR	NR	1,350	3,300
55	56	Covelli Family L.P. (Panera Bread)	843	500	1,343	1,306
56	58	Sprint Nextel Corp.	1,299	31	1,330	1,288
57	–	Sysco Corp.	NR	NR	1,319	NR
58	61	Bank of New York Mellon Corp.	1,300	NA	1,300	1,138
59	79	Massey Services Inc.	1,248	26	1,274	768
60	59	Peabody Hotel Group	1,057	193	1,250	1,280
61	51	Yum! Brands Inc.	110	1,135	1,245	1,601
62	63	Brunswick Corp.	1,200	0	1,200	1,100
63	75	Hyatt Hotels Corp.	949	237	1,186	832
64	48	Cox Enterprises Inc.	786	388	1,174	1,735
65	65	Dillard’s Inc.	NR	NR	1,100	1,050
66	70	Gaylord Entertainment Co.	1,023	71	1,094	900
67	66	Parrish Medical Center	934	103	1,037	1,036
68	67	Advance Auto Parts Inc.	508	493	1,001	974
69	–	Coca-Cola Co.	934	63	997	NR
70	70	Tijuana Flats	150	750	900	900
Tie (70)	73	Charles Schwab Corp.	NR	NR	900	850
72	72	Tribune Co. (Orlando Sentinel)	626	236	862	884
73	73	Sonny’s Franchise Co.	260	600	860	850
74	80	Brown & Brown Inc.	760	10	770	762
75	77	Fiserv Inc.	768	0	768	787
76	81	AutoNation Inc.	746	19	765	748
77	77	BB&T Corp.	682	74	756	787
Tie (77)	82	Autogrill SpA (HMSHost Corp.)	441	315	756	744
79	86	Planet Hollywood	481	265	746	691
80	84	D&A Building Services	300	400	700	700
Tie (80)	–	Albertsons LLC	NR	NR	700	NR
82	68	American Automobile Association	626	47	673	946
83	92	Brambles Industries DLC Group (CHEP)	665	0	665	642
84	83	Tri-City Electrical Contractors	663	0	663	735
85	94	NextEra Energy Inc. (FP&L)	661	0	661	638
86	92	CED/Concord Management	577	50	627	642
87	88	United Launch Alliance	623	0	623	685
88	90	Regions Financial Corp.	480	120	600	650
89	–	Romacorp Inc. (Tony Roma’s)	355	235	590	NA
90	96	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co.	578	3	581	597
91	76	Boeing Co.	535	6	541	800
92	–	Interstate Hotels & Resorts Inc.	385	122	507	NR
93	–	Washington Post Co. (Kaplan Inc.)	500	0	500	750
Tie (93)	97	Covidien PLC	NR	NR	500	500
Tie (93)	–	Avis Budget Group Inc.	NR	NR	500	NR
96	95	International Speedway Corp.	420	60	480	610
97	–	Island One Resorts (time shares)	399	77	476	NR
98	–	Wheeled Coach Industries	460	0	460	NR
Tie (98)	–	Regal Marine Industries Inc.	NR	NR	460	NR
100	100	Toronto Dominion Bank (TD Bank)	325	110	435	350