Florida homeowners have a powerful opportunity in 2025 to fortify their properties against hurricanes — with financial help from the state.
Through the expanded My Safe Florida Home Program, qualifying homeowners can apply for free wind mitigation inspections and up to $10,000 in matching grants for resilience upgrades like roof reinforcements and stormproof windows.
Additionally, insurance savings from these improvements often exceed $1,000 annually, making the program financially attractive as well as safety-focused.
But there’s an important question many homeowners are asking: Will these upgrades also raise my property taxes?
In this article, we’ll:
Unpack how the My Safe Florida Home program works
Why some improvements may impact your assessed property value
How to benefit from the program without triggering property tax hikes
First launched in 2006 and relaunched in 2022 in response to rising insurance costs and hurricane risks, the My Safe Florida Home Program (MSFH) provides state-funded support to harden residential properties against wind damage.
The My Safe Florida Home Program — 2025 Update
As of 2025, the program reopened applications on August 4, 2025, and is currently prioritizing low-income seniors, with staggered application windows for other eligible homeowners throughout the year.
The program offers two significant benefits:
1. Free Wind Mitigation Inspections:
A certified inspector evaluates your home’s ability to withstand wind, identifying key weaknesses. This report is essential for both the grant application and for securing insurance discounts.
2. Matching government grants:
The state provides $2 for every $1 the homeowner spends up to a maximum grant of $10,0000 on wind mitigation upgrades identified in your inspection report, such as:
Secondary water resistance barriers
Opening protection
Roof-to-wall connection strengthening
Roof-to-deck strengthening
Window upgrades
Exterior door upgrades (including garage doors)
These upgrades not only strengthen your property during storms but also often lower your insurance premiums.
According to Jimmy Patronis, Florida CFO and State Fire Marshal, as of February 2025, participating homeowners who completed the program saved an average of over $1,000 per year on insurance premiums, and the program gave $240 million in home hardening grant reimbursements.
Eligibility Requirements and Five Group Application Dates
First, you must meet the eligibility requirements for an inspection, which are:
Your home must be a single-family, detached residential property or townhouse (single-family homes that are attached to other units will be treated as townhouses under the My Safe FL Home Program).
Must be site-built and owner-occupied
Must have been granted a homestead exemption on the home.
Non-eligible properties include:
Multi-Family Homes (such as apartments, duplexes, and triplexes)
Condominiums
Cooperatives
Retirement Homes
Mobile Homes & Manufactured Homes
Second Homes, Vacation Homes, & Rental Properties
If you meet these inspection qualifications, the MSFH program prioritizes the five groups below.
Group 1: Low-income homeowners aged 60+ (August 4, 2025)
Someone who is born before July 1, 1965, and whose total household income* is at or below 80% of the median income for their county of residence.
Group 2: Low-income homeowners (August 18, 2025)
“Low-income” means that household income is at or below 80% of the median income for their county of residence.
Group 3: Moderate-income homeowners aged 60+ (September 1, 2025)
Must be born before July 1, 1965, and the total household income is below 120% of the median income for their county of residence.
Group 4: Moderate-income homeowners of any age (September 15, 2025)
Any homeowner whose total household income is below 120% of the median income for their county of residence.
Group 5: General Inspection Only Applications (September 29, 2025)
Group 5 includes applications of all ages above the moderate-income threshold (above 120% of the median income of their county of residence). However, Group 5 applicants are ineligible for grants and can only access the inspection application.
*Note that the MSFH program defines ‘income’ as “wages, assets, contributions, and other resources counted as income by HUD, adjusted for family size, minus certain tax deductions.”
Also, access to the inspection and grant applications for all dates is available at 8 a.m. EST.
Hurricane Mitigation Grant Requirements (Group 1-4)
To apply for the hurricane mitigation grant, groups 1-4 must meet the following qualifications:
Received an initial inspection through the program.
Must be an insured dwelling of $700,000 or less.
The building permit application for initial construction of the home must precede January 1, 2008.
The homeowner must provide the name and license number of the contractor selected to perform the mitigation project.
Must agree to make the home available for a final inspection once the project is completed.
Must agree to provide the program with all information received from the homeowner’s insurer, identifying the discounts due to the improvements funded by the program.
You can apply here through the MSFH Applicant Portal. However, if the program runs out of available funding before your group, you cannot apply for an inspection or grant until next year’s program.
For more detailed information on applications, scheduling inspections, and necessary paperwork, visit MSFH’s Support Center.
Do Wind and Hurricane Mitigation Improvements Increase Property Taxes?
The short answer is that wind and hurricane mitigation improvements should not increase your assessed value and thus property taxes. However, mistakes can occur with annual property tax reassessments. Therefore, there are steps homeowners can take to help ensure they’re not over-assessed and taxed.
In Florida, property taxes are based on the assessed value of your home, which county property appraisers determine annually to calculate your property tax bill.
Improvements generally fall into two categories: those that add value and those that maintain value.
Capital Improvements:
Typically, capital improvements that add to a home’s market value, such as kitchen remodels or room additions, will also raise its assessed value and result in higher property taxes.
Maintenance and Repair:
Local property appraisers should perceive wind and hurricane mitigation improvements, such as roof reinforcements or impact windows, as strengthening and mitigation efforts. They’re to help maintain the value of the home.
Thus, these MSFH improvements are generally seen as maintaining value; it's crucial to understand the specific laws in Florida that aim to prevent them from increasing your tax assessment.
Understanding Florida’s Constitution Concerning Wind Damage
On November 4, 2008, Floridians passed Florida Amendment 3, which prohibits improvements to residential property that increase “resistance to wind damage and installation of renewable energy source” as factors in assessing a property’s value for tax purposes.
The original bill and statute, Section 193.624, defines improvements to enhance the property’s resistance to wind damage as:
Improving the strength of the roof deck attachment
Creating a secondary water barrier to prevent water intrusion
Installing hurricane-resistant shingles
Installing gable-end bracing
Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections
Installing storm shutters
Installing impact-resistant glazing
Installing hurricane-resistant doors
Most of the MSFH mitigation upgrades from the grant are covered under this statute. However, there are several action items homeowners can take to ensure these improvements don’t raise the property value and thus property taxes.
How to Help Ensure Your MSFH Improvements Don’t Increase Your Assessment
While insurance companies often require mitigation documentation to apply discounts, county property appraisers usually learn about home improvements through permitting systems or property inspections — not directly from homeowners.
This passive approach can lead to improper assessments. For example:
If an assessor misclassifies a hurricane-resistant window installation as a generic home upgrade, it could increase your assessed value unnecessarily.
If you receive a grant for improvements, and the assessor counts the cost of the full upgrade as your personal investment, it could further distort your valuation.
The law is clear: wind mitigation upgrades should not raise your property taxes, but misclassifications and errors can occur. Thus, it’s essential to keep your paperwork to challenge any incorrect assessments. You can also do so with a company like Ownwell.
To help avoid this confusion and increased assessments:
1. Submit documentation showing that upgrades were for wind and hurricane mitigation.
2. Indicate the use of grant funding when appropriate.
3. Reference Florida laws, such as the Florida Constitution, Article VII, Section 4(i), to establish that improvements should not contribute to increased assessments.
This proactive approach is especially important if you must appeal an inaccurate tax assessment later.
If you see a spike in your assessed value following grant-funded work, you may have grounds to appeal. Document the source of funding and the statutory protections available. If you need help appealing your property taxes, Ownwell can help. Eighty-six percent of our clients successfully reduced their property assessments. Enter your address to see how much you’re overpaying on property taxes.
