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Florida's home hardening sales tax refund: who qualifies and how to claim it

Last verified October 23, 2026 against the official sources linked on this page. HardenScout is not a government agency, is not an installer, and is not affiliated with any program or company described here.

Sources for everything above: Florida Department of Revenue Tax Information Publication 26A01-09 (issued July 16, 2026) and section 212.08(21), Florida Statutes (2026), created by section 27 of chapter 2026-239, Laws of Florida. Both checked October 23, 2026.

What the refund covers

The law lists three "home hardening products." Each one has to be rated for impact resistance and wind pressure under the most recent version of at least one of the named test standards (s. 212.08(21)(a), F.S.):

The frame and attachment hardware count as part of the window or door system when they're bought in the same sale and meant to be installed to the engineering requirements.

Not covered: shutters of any kind (see our roll-down shutters guide for the credits they can earn), roofing, and labor. The refund is for sales tax on the products themselves. Labor on a furnish-and-install job generally isn't taxed in the first place, as explained below.

Who qualifies

All of these have to be true (TIP 26A01-09; Form DR-26HH):

1. You hold legal title to the property. The refund goes to the owner, not to the contractor or a tenant.
2. The home has a Florida homestead exemption granted under s. 196.031, F.S. Your county property appraiser's record shows whether it does.
3. It's a site-built dwelling. Mobile homes, manufactured homes, trailers, and anything titled or registered under chapter 319 or 320 are out.
4. The property's just value is $700,000 or less. Just value is the property appraiser's figure, not your insured value or a sale price. Look it up on your county property appraiser's website.
5. The products were bought at retail between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2029. The Department of Revenue says a June 2026 purchase doesn't qualify, even if installation happened later.
6. Florida sales tax was actually paid, and you have a receipt that shows it.
7. You haven't already claimed for a different property. Each owner can claim for only one eligible property.

One thing the law doesn't spell out is when the homestead exemption has to be in place: at purchase, at installation, or at filing. If you just bought your home and your homestead isn't granted yet, ask the Department of Revenue before you count on the refund.

The lump-sum contractor problem

This is the part most homeowners miss, and it's spelled out in Scenario 3 of the Department of Revenue's TIP.

When you hire a window company to furnish and install your windows for one price, Florida treats that as an improvement to real property, not a sale of windows to you. So the contractor doesn't charge you sales tax on your contract. Instead, the contractor pays sales tax when it buys the windows from the manufacturer or supplier.

The refund still belongs to you, the owner. The TIP confirms that if your contractor made the retail purchase, you can claim it. But the receipt you need is the one the manufacturer or supplier gave your contractor, showing Florida sales tax paid. Your own contract or invoice from the installer usually won't show any tax at all, so it won't be enough by itself.

Two practical consequences:

• The tax is based on the contractor's cost for the products, not your full contract price. On a big job the tax may still be well over $500, but on a smaller job it may be less than you'd guess from your contract total.
• You're relying on your contractor to hand over a document from its own supplier. Some will do this easily. Others may not have it organized by job, or may not want to share their cost. It's much easier to agree on this before you sign than after the final payment.

The TIP also describes the other route (Scenario 2): you buy the windows yourself from a retailer, pay the sales tax on your own receipt, and hire a licensed contractor separately to install them. That makes the paperwork simple, but it changes who's responsible for ordering, sizing, product approvals, and warranty questions. Talk it through with your installer before choosing that path.

What to ask your installer for before you sign

If you're signing a furnish-and-install contract during the purchase period, ask for these in writing. A reasonable way to do it is a short line in the contract saying the contractor will provide them with the final invoice.

1. A copy of the supplier or manufacturer invoice for the products used on your job, showing the Florida sales tax the contractor paid. This is the key document. Ask that it identify your job, for example by your address or a job number, so it's clear which products went to your home.
2. The date of that supplier purchase. It has to fall between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2029.
3. The cost of the qualifying products and the tax paid on them. The DR-26HH affidavit asks you to state the actual cost of the products and the Florida sales tax paid, so you need both numbers.
4. Product approval details for each window and door, such as the Florida Product Approval number or Miami-Dade NOA, and the impact and wind pressure standard each one is rated to. This shows the products meet the law's definitions.
5. A separate line for any shutters or non-impact items, so the qualifying products are easy to tell apart.

You don't need to be adversarial about this. Many installers already know about the refund and have handled it before. If one says it can't provide a supplier receipt, that's useful to know while you're still comparing quotes.

How to file, step by step

1. Confirm the basics. Check your homestead status and just value on your county property appraiser's site, and note your parcel number. The form asks for it.
2. Gather your receipts. Either your own store or supplier receipt showing Florida sales tax, or the supplier receipt your contractor provides. Make clear copies.
3. Fill out Form DR-26HH, Home Hardening Products Sales Tax Refund. It asks for the owner's name and Social Security number (or FEIN if applicable), the refund amount (no more than $500), the property address, parcel number, and county, plus a signed affidavit stating the products were installed there, their actual cost, and the Florida sales tax paid. The affidavit is signed under penalty of perjury, so the numbers need to match your receipts.
4. Complete Form DR-26S, Application for Refund, Sales and Use Tax. The Department lets you complete it online from its refunds page.
5. Submit. If you file DR-26S online, upload your completed DR-26HH and receipts with it. Or mail all three to: Refunds, Florida Department of Revenue, PO Box 6490, Tallahassee, FL 32314-6490 (address from Form DR-26HH, revised 07/26).
6. Wait for a decision. The statute gives the Department 30 business days after receiving your application to decide, and 30 business days after approval to issue the refund. If it needs more information, it will contact you.

Questions about the exemption go to Department of Revenue Taxpayer Services at (850) 488-6800. To check on a refund claim, the Refunds team is at (850) 617-8585. Both numbers are from the TIP.

Is $500 worth the paperwork?

Probably, if you qualify. Filing is a couple of forms and some receipts. Just go in with realistic expectations.

• At Florida's 6% state rate (Department of Revenue), $500 is the state tax on roughly $8,333 of products. County surtax adds a little more tax per dollar where it applies. That's simple math, not an estimate of your refund: if the taxed product cost on your job is above roughly that amount, you'll reach the $500 cap.
• It's one claim per owner, one property, $500 total. It won't change the overall math on a large project, but it's real money back for paperwork you can do in an evening.
• Florida ran a similar refund from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024, according to the House final bill analysis for HB 7031-E. This version runs from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029, and the law itself is set to repeal on June 30, 2030.

If you're also looking at grants, see our guide to My Safe Florida Home. Neither the TIP nor the statute says how the refund interacts with a grant-funded project, so ask the Department of Revenue if that applies to you. And once the work is done, a wind mitigation inspection is how your insurer learns about the new windows and doors.

Spotted something out of date or wrong? Email hello@hardenscout.com and we'll check it against the source and fix it.