Q May a board of supervisors or the county tax assessor take any action to allow a taxpayer homestead exemption for the current year, when, through a mistake in a conveyance transaction, the property was not legally in the taxpayer’s name on January 1 of the current year?

A No. The board of supervisors nor the county tax assessor have authority to allow the homestead exemption for the current year, when the property was not in the citizen’s name on January 1, and he did not file for homestead thereafter by the statutory deadline. (Attorney General’s Opinion to Hemphill dated June 6, 2008)