Oakland County, Michigan vs Sarasota County, Florida

AgeWays Nonprofit Senior Services (Area Agency on Aging 1-B) serves older adults in Oakland County. Services include home-delivered and congregate meals, in-home and personal care, caregiver support, Medicare/Medicaid counseling (MMAP), long-term care options counseling, and help applying for the MI Choice waiver. Older adults age 60 and over, and adults with disabilities, can call 1-800-852-7795 to ask what help is available.

Estimated service value: $1,500–$6,000 a year

The Michigan Veterans Trust Fund gives one-time emergency grants to veterans facing a temporary, unexpected financial hardship — most grants go toward rent, mortgage, utility bills, and home repairs. A veteran with at least 180 days of active wartime-era service and an honorable discharge may qualify, and dependent family members, including a surviving spouse, can apply in some cases. Since December 2021, peacetime-era veterans age 65 and older, and their surviving spouses, can apply through the 65+ Peacetime Program — important for seniors who served between wars. Applications go to the MVTF committee in the county where the veteran lives, which decides each case individually. Call 1-800-MICH-VET (800-642-4838) to reach the local committee.

OLHSA's Water Affordability Program helps Oakland County households pay a past-due residential water bill, including reconnect fees, with up to $3,000. It can pay the full cost to stop a shutoff or turn water back on. Household income must be under 200% of the federal poverty level, or the household must get TANF, food assistance (SNAP), State Emergency Relief, Social Security income, weatherization help, or WIC. Call OLHSA at 248-209-2600 to set up an appointment.

MI Coordinated Health (MICH) replaced MI Health Link on January 1, 2026. It combines Medicare and most Medicaid benefits, including long-term services and supports, into one health plan with one card and a personal care coordinator, and no copays or deductibles for in-network services (some Medicare Part D drugs may have a copay). It is available only to people who live in Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, Macomb, St. Joseph, Van Buren, or Wayne County, or in the Upper Peninsula except Chippewa, Gogebic, and Menominee counties. You must be age 21 or older, have Medicare Parts A, B, and D plus full Medicaid, not live in a state veterans home, and not already be in hospice. Enroll any time by calling the plan you want, 1-800-MEDICARE, or the MMAP counseling line.

Estimated service value: about $0 a year

The Home Help program pays for personal care for Medicaid-eligible adults who need hands-on help with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, grooming, mobility, and toileting, so they can stay in their own home. An MDHHS Adult Services worker visits to assess what help is needed. Unlike the MI Choice waiver, Home Help has no waiting list — if you are Medicaid-eligible and meet the functional need, services are provided. Apply through your local MDHHS office.

Estimated service value: $3,000–$20,000 a year

In-home services for veterans using a self-directed model: the veteran has a say in who provides the care and how it is delivered. Standard supports can include a care assessment, ongoing case management, help with personal care and homemaking, a personal emergency response system, transportation, and fiscal-intermediary services that handle paying the workers. AgeWays receives referrals from the Detroit and Ann Arbor VA Medical Centers; veterans interested in VDC should ask their VA care team for a referral. AgeWays: (800) 852-7795.

The Homestead Property Tax Credit refunds part of the property tax (or rent) Michigan homeowners and renters pay, with more generous treatment for seniors age 65+. For the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026) you may claim it if your total household resources are $71,500 or less and your home's taxable value is $165,400 or less. The maximum credit is $1,900. Seniors recover a higher share of their property tax — up to 100% for the lowest-income seniors. File Form MI-1040CR.

Estimated bill savings: $100–$1,900 a year

Sarasota County's Health and Human Services Department coordinates the county's safety-net programs for low-income residents in crisis. The Department's Human Services division administers state-mandated indigent care funding (under §409.211 Fla. Stat. and related statutes) and provides intake and referral for residents needing emergency help with rent, mortgage, utilities, or basic needs. The county ran the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) during the COVID years, but that program has ended and the county no longer lists it. Sarasota County also coordinates with the Office of Housing and Community Development for longer-term housing programs and with the Sarasota Memorial Hospital District for indigent medical care. To start an intake, call Sarasota County at (941) 861-5000 (general number) or 311, or visit the Health and Human Services page at scgov.net for the current intake portal.

Estimated bill savings: $500–$6,000 a year

Optional State Supplementation is a monthly cash payment from the State of Florida that supplements an SSI-eligible senior's income so they can afford the cost of an Assisted Living Facility (ALF), Adult Family Care Home (AFCH), or Mental Health Residential Treatment Facility. OSS is for low-income seniors and disabled adults who need help with the activities of daily living but who do not require nursing-home-level care. The state pays the difference between the resident's countable income and a published 'provider rate plus personal needs allowance' total — for an individual in an ALF the monthly income eligibility standard is $1,045.40 and the base provider rate is $991.40, plus a $160 monthly Personal Needs Allowance the resident keeps for incidentals (Florida Administrative Code 65A-2.036, effective June 24, 2025). To qualify, you must meet SSI's categorical eligibility (age 65+, blind, or disabled with countable income and resources below the SSI limits), be assessed as needing the level of care the facility provides, and reside in a state-licensed facility that accepts OSS payments. Eligibility is determined by DCF; payments are made monthly.

Estimated cash: $1,200–$9,600 a year

Florida's Homestead Exemption reduces the taxable assessed value of an owner-occupied primary residence by up to $50,000. The first $25,000 is exempt from all ad-valorem property taxes (including school taxes). A second $25,000 exemption applies to the assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000 and is exempt from all property taxes except school district levies — so a homeowner whose home is assessed at $75,000 or more receives the full $50,000 reduction (with $25,000 of that not exempt from school taxes). Eligibility hinges on owning and making the home your permanent residence as of January 1 of the tax year. There is no age or income test for the base exemption. Once granted, the exemption automatically continues each year as long as the homeowner continues to occupy the home — re-application is only required if ownership or occupancy changes. The Homestead Exemption is also what unlocks the 'Save Our Homes' 3% annual assessment-increase cap, which protects long-time homeowners from large property-tax jumps when market values rise.

Estimated bill savings: $200–$750 a year

Florida homeowners with a homestead exemption can put off paying part of their property taxes when the bill is high compared with their income. If you are 65 or older, you can defer the part of your taxes and assessments that is more than 3% of your household income (5% if you are younger than 65). You can defer the whole bill if household income was under $10,000 last year, or if you are 65 or older and your income is under the limit for the senior additional homestead exemption. The taxes are not canceled. They become a lien on the home, earn interest (no more than 7%), and come due when the home is sold or is no longer your homestead; a surviving spouse who qualifies can keep the deferral. You must apply each year with your county Tax Collector by March 31 and keep fire and extended insurance on the home.

On top of the base Florida Homestead Exemption and the $50,000 Senior Additional Homestead Exemption, Florida gives counties and cities the option to grant a Long-Term Resident Senior Homestead Exemption that can wipe out up to 100 percent of the assessed value of a qualifying low-income senior's home — paying $0 in the local property taxes the exemption applies to. To qualify you must be age 65 or older, hold the base homestead, have lived in the same home as your permanent residence for at least 25 years, have a household adjusted gross income at or below the same CPI-adjusted limit used for the $50,000 senior add-on ($38,686 for tax year 2026), and the home's just (market) value must be less than $250,000. Like the $50,000 senior add-on, this exemption is not automatic statewide — each county and each city has to adopt it by a super-majority ordinance, and adoption rates vary across Florida's 67 counties and 400+ municipalities. The exemption applies only to taxes levied by the adopting jurisdiction and does not apply to school district taxes. Apply by March 1 with your county Property Appraiser using the senior add-on application packet (typically Form DR-501SC plus a sworn statement of household income).

Estimated bill savings: $800–$2,500 a year

Florida lets counties and municipalities grant an additional homestead exemption of up to $50,000 to homeowners age 65 and older with limited household income. This stacks on top of the base $25,000+$25,000 Homestead Exemption — so a qualifying low-income senior can shield up to $100,000 of assessed value from non-school property taxes in a county that adopts the maximum. The exemption applies only to taxes levied by the county or city that has adopted it; it does not apply to school district taxes. For the 2026 tax year, household income (the adjusted gross income of all household members, as defined by IRC §62) must not exceed $38,686 — a figure that the Florida Department of Revenue adjusts each January 1 by the change in the federal cost-of-living index from the statutory $20,000 base set in §196.075, Fla. Stat. Each county and city must adopt the exemption by ordinance, and the amount adopted (up to the $50,000 maximum) varies — many but not all Florida counties have adopted it, often at the full $50,000.

Estimated bill savings: $300–$700 a year