Hillsborough County Window Replacement Program: What Is Real in 2026

October 27, 2026 · Impact Protection Program

Close-up of a new window installed on a Hillsborough County home

Homeowners searching for a Hillsborough County window replacement program usually want one thing: help paying for new windows on a house in Brandon, Riverview, Tampa or somewhere in between. The straight answer is that Hillsborough County does not run a program that replaces windows simply because they are old, drafty or hard to open. What does exist in 2026 is a set of real options that can pay for some or all of the work — a county repair loan for lower-income homeowners, a separate program inside the City of Tampa, a state hurricane grant, a state sales-tax refund on impact windows, and county-approved financing. The catch is that each one covers a different part of the county and a different kind of homeowner. This guide sorts them by where the house sits and who lives in it.

Every program fact below was checked against the agency’s own web page in October 2026. Public programs open, close and run out of money, so call the office named before counting on any of them.

The Short Answer for Hillsborough Homeowners

Lower income, unincorporated Hillsborough, Plant City or Temple Terrace: the county’s Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Program can repair windows and doors as part of fixing a home’s safety problems. It is a forgivable loan, not a window upgrade program.
Lower income, inside the City of Tampa: the county program does not cover you. The city runs its own housing rehabilitation program.
Low or moderate income anywhere in the county, homesteaded home built before 2008: the state’s My Safe Florida Home grant can pay toward impact windows and doors.
Anyone buying impact windows or doors: a state sales-tax refund of up to $500, filed after the purchase.
Everyone else, on an eligible parcel: county-approved financing with $0 down and approval not based on your credit score. It is financing, not a grant.

For the statewide picture, including options outside Hillsborough, see Florida Window Replacement Program: What Is Real in 2026.

Step One: Find Out Which Part of Hillsborough Your House Is In

Almost every option on this list depends on one question that most homeowners have never had to answer: is the house in unincorporated Hillsborough County, or inside the city limits of Tampa, Temple Terrace or Plant City? Those are the county’s three cities. Everything else — Brandon, Riverview, Valrico, Seffner, Lutz, Ruskin, Apollo Beach, Carrollwood, Town ’n’ Country, Thonotosassa and the rest — is unincorporated county, even though many of those homes have a “Tampa” mailing address.

The mailing address does not settle it. The parcel does. The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser’s parcel search shows the jurisdiction for every property. That one answer decides which repair program you call, which office permits your windows, and whether county-approved financing is available.

Hillsborough County’s Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Program

The program closest to what people mean by a county window program is the Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Program, run by Hillsborough County Affordable Housing Services. On September 15, 2026 the county announced that funding is available. It is a repair program for homeowners who cannot afford to fix conditions that affect life, health, safety or accessibility — the county says plainly that it is not a remodeling program.

Windows and doors are on the list. The county’s program page names repairs of doors, walls and windows as eligible work, and the September announcement lists windows and doors under weatherization work alongside air conditioning and insulation. Roofs, plumbing, electrical, water heaters, structural repairs and accessibility changes are covered too. Repairs are prioritized life, health and safety first, materials are contractor grade, and customization is not offered. Nobody should apply expecting a choice of window brand or an impact-window upgrade.

Who qualifies, according to the county’s program page:

A single-family home, villa or condominium in unincorporated Hillsborough County, Plant City or Temple Terrace. Mobile homes qualify only if the owner also owns the land and the home meets HUD and county code standards.
Homesteaded as the owner’s permanent residence for at least two years, with a homestead exemption for the past two years.
Household income below 80% of the area median. For 2026 the page lists $64,250 for one person and $91,750 for a household of four.
The deed is not held in a trust, the owner owns no other real estate, there is no more than one mortgage, property taxes are current, and any old open permits are closed.
No help from this program or another SHIP, HOME or CDBG-funded repair program in the past five years.

How the money works. It is an interest-free, deferred-payment loan recorded as a lien on the home. No monthly payments are due, and the loan is forgiven over 5 to 15 years, depending on the amount, as long as the owner keeps living in the house. Read the loan documents for what happens if the home is sold or the owner moves out early.

How to apply. Download the application from the Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation page on hcfl.gov, or contact Affordable Housing Services at (813) 635-1610 or AffordableHousingServices@HCFL.gov. The county does not post a deadline on the page, and funding is limited, so applying early matters.

Inside the City of Tampa: A Separate Program

Homes inside Tampa city limits are not covered by the county program — the county’s own announcement says the city has its own. That is the City of Tampa Housing Rehabilitation and Renovation Program, run by the city’s Housing and Community Development division. As of the city’s July 2026 update, it was not accepting new applications and expected to reopen subject to state and federal funding. Check the program page on tampa.gov, where the city offers a notice when the page changes, or call (813) 274-7954 for the current status. The city also lists an owner-occupied rehabilitation program for the East Tampa redevelopment area.

My Safe Florida Home: The State Grant Every Hillsborough Area Can Use

My Safe Florida Home is a state program, so the city-versus-county line does not matter for it. It is set up in section 215.5586 of the Florida Statutes and run by the Florida Department of Financial Services. It starts with a free wind mitigation inspection. If the inspection recommends opening protection — impact windows, exterior doors and garage doors — and the homeowner qualifies, the state pays $2 for every $1 the homeowner puts in, up to $10,000 of state money. Low-income homeowners can receive up to $10,000 with no match.

The house has to be a homesteaded, site-built home built before 2008 with an insured value of $700,000 or less, and grants go only to low- and moderate-income homeowners. The income limits are set by county, so a Hillsborough household is measured against Hillsborough’s numbers; the current table is in our guide to My Safe Florida Home income limits and eligibility. Whether the program has grant money open right now changes through the year — see My Safe Florida Home funding status.

One rule costs homeowners more than any other: work that starts before the grant is approved is not reimbursed. Do not sign a construction contract or let anyone order windows until the approval is in writing. The My Safe Florida Home program page walks through the steps; for homeowners who use it, the Program handles the account setup, inspection request, itemized proposal, permits and the reimbursement packet.

The State Sales-Tax Refund on Impact Windows and Doors

Under HB 7031E, a homeowner who buys impact-resistant windows, exterior doors or garage doors between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2029 can apply to the Florida Department of Revenue for a refund of the sales tax paid on those products, up to $500. It is a refund, not a tax-free purchase: the tax is paid at the time of sale and claimed back afterward. It covers the products, not the installation labor, and it does not cover ordinary non-impact windows. It can be used on the same project as a My Safe Florida Home grant. Filing steps and the documents to keep are in the Florida rebate for impact windows guide.

County-Approved Financing in Hillsborough

Most Hillsborough homeowners earn too much for the county repair loan, cannot wait for the next grant round, or want energy-efficient windows that no grant pays for. For them the practical tool is county-approved financing. Qualified homes get $0 down, and approval is not based on your credit score. Florida law names energy-efficient, impact-resistant, wind-resistant and hurricane windows and doors among the improvements it can cover, so it works for both impact windows and doors and energy-efficient replacement windows.

Here the city-versus-county line matters again. Parcels in unincorporated Hillsborough County are eligible. Homes inside the city limits of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City are not. That is why a house in Riverview or Brandon can usually use it, while a house a few miles away inside Tampa city limits cannot — and why the address is checked before anything is quoted. Our impact windows in Hillsborough County page breaks the county down city by city.

Be clear about what it is. It is not a government grant, and $0 down does not mean free. It is financing, repaid with interest and fees, and the written financing estimate shows the APR and the total cost before anything is signed. The impact windows financing guide explains how it works.

What No Program in Hillsborough Covers

A homeowner above the income limits who wants to replace sound but old single-pane windows with energy-efficient ones has no grant, no county program and, since the end of 2025, no federal tax credit to use. The federal energy-efficient home improvement credit covered windows only for work placed in service through December 31, 2025. And none of the real options makes a window project free for a homeowner outside the low-income groups. Anyone promising “free windows from the county” is selling something.

How to Spot a Fake “County Window Program”

Ads and door hangers that borrow the county’s name are common. A few checks sort them out:

The county does not send salespeople. Hillsborough’s repair program is applied for through Affordable Housing Services, by the homeowner. A company at the door is not the county and was not sent by it.
Look for the agency’s own page. A real program has a page on hcfl.gov, tampa.gov or the state agency’s site, and a phone number answered by that office.
Nobody can promise a grant. Approval comes from the agency. A contractor can help with paperwork but cannot guarantee an award or its timing.
There is no approved contractor list for My Safe Florida Home. The program does not certify contractors. Any active, Florida-licensed contractor can do grant work, and a license can be checked at myfloridalicense.com.

Which Option Fits Your Hillsborough Home

Lower income, broken or failing windows, outside Tampa city limits: call Hillsborough County Affordable Housing Services at (813) 635-1610 about the Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Program.
Lower income, inside Tampa city limits: check the City of Tampa Housing Rehabilitation and Renovation Program status at (813) 274-7954.
Low or moderate income, homesteaded home built before 2008, wants impact windows: apply to My Safe Florida Home and wait for written approval before signing anything.
Above the limits, or the timing does not work: have the address checked for county-approved financing, then file for the sales-tax refund after an impact window purchase.
Older homeowners on a fixed income: the county repair loan and My Safe Florida Home both put seniors and lower incomes first; our post on help for Tampa Bay seniors lists the related county programs.

Next Step

The Impact Protection Program works across Hillsborough County and starts every project the same way: confirm whether the parcel is city or county, check which of the options above fit the household, and only then talk about windows and price. Homeowners who qualify for the state grant get help with the whole application. Homeowners who do not get a straight answer on financing before anything is quoted.

See what your home qualifies for — it takes about a minute and there is no obligation.

We serve homeowners across Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties. Start with the page for your area:

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