Citrus County, Florida: A Local Guide for Home Buyers and Homeowners
Citrus County covers about 582 square miles of land, and about a quarter of its total area is water, from spring-fed Kings Bay at Crystal River to the Tsala Apopka chain of lakes at Inverness. About 170,000 people live here, and in winter Kings Bay fills with hundreds of manatees escaping the cooler Gulf.
Use this page as your checklist for buying or refinancing in Citrus: the towns and springs, where the loan limits live, the county and state down payment programs, the flood-zone building rules that matter on the coast, homestead filing, and who runs your water and power.
All of the sources behind this guide are listed at the bottom of the page.
- County seatInverness
- Founded1887, from Hernando County
- PopulationAbout 170,000
- Land areaAbout 582 sq mi
- Main highwaysUS 19, US 41, SR 44, Suncoast Parkway
- FHA limit, 1 unit$541,287 in 2026
- Conventional limit, 1 unit$832,750 in 2026
- School districtCitrus County Schools
- Cities and areas
- Homes and loan limits
- Down payment help
- Property taxes
- Storms and insurance
- Jobs, schools, commute
- Parks and local favorites
- Moving checklist
- Buying or refinancing
Towns and communities across Citrus County
Inverness is the county seat and Crystal River sits on the coast, but Homosassa Springs is the county’s largest community. You’ll also see Beverly Hills, Lecanto, Floral City, Holder, Lake Lindsey, Chassahowitzka, Fort Island and Red Level on Citrus addresses.
Citrus was formed from part of Hernando County on June 2, 1887, and named for its citrus groves, the main industry until the Big Freeze of 1894-1895. After the freeze, phosphate mining took over until World War I, and Bellamy Grove is the large grove that carried the citrus name forward.
Inverness
Inverness, first called Tompkinsville, sits on the western shore of the connected Tsala Apopka and Henderson lakes. Liberty Park and Wallace Brooks Park face Lake Henderson right next to the Withlacoochee State Trail’s Inverness trailhead.
The historic downtown courthouse was a filming location for the 1961 movie ‘Follow That Dream,’ and the county’s first library opened in Inverness in 1917.
Crystal River
Crystal River sits on the northeast side of Kings Bay, which stays about 72 degrees all year and is fed by about 50 springs. It calls itself the Home of the Manatee. US 19 and US 98 run through town, and SR 44 runs 17 miles east to Inverness.
Crystal River Archaeological State Park is on the northwest side of town.
Homosassa Springs
Homosassa Springs is the county’s largest community and home of Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, at 4150 S. Suncoast Blvd., where an underwater observatory looks into a first-magnitude spring.
Three Sisters Springs and Kings Bay
Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge was set up in 1983 as the only national wildlife refuge created specifically for the Florida manatee. Its Three Sisters Springs is the last undeveloped spring habitat in Kings Bay.
Lecanto
Lecanto, in the middle of the county, is where you’ll find county offices including Housing Services at 2804 W. Marc Knighton Ct. and Water Resources at 3600 W. Sovereign Path.
Buying a Citrus home, and where the loan limits are
Citrus addresses run from Inverness on the Tsala Apopka lakes to Crystal River and Homosassa Springs near the Gulf, and inland to Beverly Hills, Lecanto and Floral City. Because a quarter of the county is water, two questions come up on nearly every Citrus purchase: what flood zone the lot is in, and whether the house is on county sewer or a septic tank.
If you’re renting here, call 888-601-8344 and we’ll show you what that monthly rent could cover as a mortgage payment on a Citrus home.
The FHA and Conventional limits for Citrus County are in the table below. HUD and FHFA reset them every January, and the table updates itself.
| Loan limits in Citrus County for 2026 | Maximum loan |
|---|---|
| FHA, single-family home | $541,287 |
| FHA, two-unit home | $693,050 |
| FHA, three-unit home | $837,700 |
| FHA, four-unit home | $1,041,125 |
| Conventional, single-family home | $832,750 |
HUD sets the FHA limits and FHFA sets the Conventional limits for every county, and both change each January. This table refreshes itself from HUD's published figures.
Citrus is its own metro area for HUD’s purposes, the Homosassa Springs MSA, separate from Tampa. On a $250,000 purchase, FHA’s 3.5% minimum down payment is $8,750, and the statewide programs below can cover part or all of it. Call or text us at 954-816-8820 with the address in Inverness, Beverly Hills or Homosassa, and we’ll work out your cash to close.
On the coast, read the flood rules before you fall for a house. In flood zones, new or replacement homes must be built to a Design Flood Elevation that may be 1 foot above FEMA’s base flood elevation. Enclosed space below it is limited to storage, parking and access, and A/C, electrical and plumbing equipment must sit at or above it. Accessory structures over 600 square feet in Zones A and AE, or over 100 square feet in VE and coastal A zones, must be raised too.
The county has also been moving homes off septic through septic-to-sewer projects in places like Cambridge Greens, Fort Island Trail and Homosassa, so ask how the house you like is served before you set your budget.
Down payment help for Citrus County buyers
Citrus County’s own housing money has mostly gone to repairs, sewer hookups and rental projects, so the statewide Florida Housing programs and FHA 100% financing carry a lot of the load for Citrus buyers. Here’s what each program is. What it pays, and whether it’s taking new files, we check for your address.
Citrus County SHIP
Citrus County’s SHIP program, run by Housing Services in Lecanto, has funded emergency home repair, repairs for very-low-income households, help with mandatory water and sewer connections, a nonprofit developer strategy and special-needs rental construction. It takes applications by appointment as funding allows, at (352) 527-7520.
The strategies in the Citrus plan shift from one plan to the next, so before you write an offer we ask Housing Services whether SHIP has anything for buyers and whether money is left for the year. Call 888-601-8344 and we’ll make that call to Lecanto for you.
Citrus County Housing Services
Citrus County Housing Services is the office to ask about any local homebuyer help, at 2804 W. Marc Knighton Ct., Lecanto, FL 34461, (352) 527-7520. It also runs the Housing Choice Voucher and CDBG programs.
If the county adds a purchase strategy, this is where it starts. Text us at 954-816-8820 with the Crystal River or Floral City address you like, and we’ll find out from Housing Services what’s on offer before you sign anything.
Florida Hometown Heroes (statewide)
Florida Hometown Heroes pairs a Florida Housing 30-year fixed first mortgage with a 0% down payment and closing cost second that has no monthly payment. It’s deferred, not forgiven: you repay it when you sell, refinance, pay off the first or stop living in the home. At least one buyer must work full time for a Florida-based employer in health care, K-12 schools, first response, public safety, the courts or licensed child care. Active-duty military qualify with any employer; veterans, Reserve and National Guard members qualify with any full-time Florida-based job.
It pairs with FHA, VA, USDA and Conventional firsts, requires a homebuyer education course and is purchase only, for a home you move into within 60 days. You can use Florida Housing help once in a lifetime, so spend it on the right Citrus house with the right lender. Call 888-601-8344 first, and we’ll check that Hometown Heroes is reserving funds and what it pays on your price, since income and purchase limits differ by county.
FL Assist and HFA Preferred / HFA Advantage (statewide)
FL Assist is a 0% Florida Housing second for down payment and closing costs with no monthly payment, repaid when you sell, refinance, transfer the home or move out. It goes with a Florida Housing first: FHA, VA, USDA or Conventional HFA Preferred or HFA Advantage. HFA Advantage PLUS adds a second that’s forgiven over 5 years while you live there, and FL HLP is a second with a small fixed payment over 30 years.
Florida Housing reserves these seconds loan by loan and they can run out. Text us at 954-816-8820 before you write an offer in Inverness or Crystal River, and we’ll tell you which one has money and what it adds to your purchase.
FHA 100% financing fills the gap: a down payment assistance second sits behind a 96.5% FHA first mortgage, and the down payment can come entirely from the program. Call us before you write an offer in Crystal River or Inverness and we’ll confirm which programs have money that week.
Property taxes and your homestead exemption
Once a Citrus home is your primary residence, homestead can take up to $50,000 off its assessed value: the first $25,000 applies to all taxes, school taxes included, and the second $25,000 to non-school taxes on value above $50,000. Homestead also starts Save Our Homes protection on assessment increases, and portability lets you move some or all of the savings to a later Florida homestead.
Ownership on January 1 decides the year, so you file with the Citrus County Property Appraiser by March 1 of the year after you buy. If your loan has escrow, the lender pays the tax bill from that account.
Citrus County Property Appraiser
Property search and homestead filing: citruspa.org
Storm surge, flood zones and insurance on the Citrus coast
Hurricane Helene pushed 6 to 9 feet of storm surge inundation along the coast from south of Cedar Key to the Anclote River on September 26 and 27, 2024. A sensor at the mouth of the Crystal River measured 9.0 feet above mean higher high water.
If you’re buying on or near the water, call the county’s Floodplain Administrator before you make an offer, and check the flood-zone building rules above. Base flood elevations come from FEMA’s flood maps, and flood insurance is required on a federally backed loan in any zone starting with A or V.
- Pull up the lot on the FEMA Flood Map Service Center before you write an offer, especially near Kings Bay or the coast. If FEMA shows a high-risk zone, flood insurance comes with any FHA, VA or other federally backed loan.
- Call the Citrus County Floodplain Administrator at (352) 527-5310 or email Flood@citrusbocc.com with questions about a specific lot, and read the county’s flood-zone construction rules.
- Every Florida residential policy covers catastrophic ground cover collapse; broader sinkhole coverage costs extra, and insurers may require an inspection first. The Florida Geological Survey’s sinkhole helpline is 850-245-2118.
- Price the homeowners policy during your inspection period. Insurers weigh roof age heavily, and a wind mitigation inspection can earn a discount.
- Emergency information in Citrus runs through the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Operations page.
Jobs, schools and getting around
Duke Energy Florida’s Crystal River Energy Complex sits in northern Citrus County, served by a freight rail line, and health care is one of the county’s big employment sectors. In Crystal River, manatee watching and swimming tours are a large part of the local economy.
Two big projects never happened: a proposed Port Citrus was dropped after a 2015 county vote, and the Cross Florida Barge Canal was ended after environmental opposition. Long before either, phosphate mining carried the county from the Big Freeze of 1894-1895 until World War I.
Schools
Public schools are run by Citrus County Schools, with the district office at 1007 W. Main St. in Inverness. Call the district office to confirm which schools serve a given address.
Getting around
US 19, Suncoast Boulevard, is the main road on the west side and US 41, Florida Avenue, on the east side. US 98, SR 44 (the Gulf-to-Lake Highway) and the Suncoast Parkway (SR 589) also serve the county.
There’s no commercial airline service in the county; Crystal River Airport and Inverness Airport handle general aviation. The paved Withlacoochee State Trail runs about 46 to 47 miles from Citrus Springs to Dade City.
Manatees, springs and local favorites
Manatee season in Kings Bay
Kings Bay can hold hundreds of manatees in winter when Gulf waters cool, and Crystal River calls itself the Home of the Manatee. Refuge rules prohibit chasing manatees, touching resting or feeding manatees, and separating mothers and calves.
Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park
The underwater observatory lets you watch fish and manatees from below the surface of a first-magnitude spring. The park has cared for black bears, a red wolf, Key deer, flamingos and whooping cranes, and its hippo, Lu, was made an honorary Florida citizen by Gov. Lawton Chiles.
Crystal River Archaeological State Park
Crystal River’s mound complex was built about 2,500 years ago and occupied for roughly 2,000 years, and nobody knows why it was abandoned. Crystal River Preserve State Park is nearby.
Withlacoochee State Trail
The Withlacoochee State Trail follows a former Atlantic Coast Line rail corridor through Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties. At Inverness it runs between the lakes, and the Withlacoochee State Forest covers land in the county too.
The county is named for citrus, yet after the freeze of 1894-1895 the groves never came back at scale, and Bellamy Grove is the large one people point to.
Moving to Citrus County: your first-month checklist
- Electric: Duke Energy Florida has its Crystal River and Citrus plant sites in the county. Confirm which electric provider serves the address before closing.
- Water and sewer: Citrus County Water Resources, 3600 W. Sovereign Path, Suite 291, Lecanto, (352) 527-7650, provides drinking water and wastewater treatment and has been extending sewer through septic-to-sewer projects.
- Homestead: apply with the Property Appraiser (citruspa.org) before March 1 following your closing year.
- County questions: call (352) 527-5200, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or go to citruscounty.gov.
- Hurricane season: follow the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Operations page for storm information.
Buying or refinancing in Citrus County with AAA Capital Funding
Buying a home
FHA is the loan most of our Citrus buyers use: 3.5% down, flexible credit guidelines, and with FHA 100% financing the down payment can come from a second mortgage. We also do VA loans with no down payment for eligible veterans, Conventional loans, Hometown Heroes and DSCR loans for rentals.
AAA Capital Funding has been a licensed Florida mortgage broker since 1997, lending statewide in all 67 Florida counties, so we write Citrus loans from Floral City to Chassahowitzka and anywhere else in the state you might buy. We shop your loan with multiple wholesale lenders and check the flood zone and elevation questions with you before you’re under contract.
Refinancing the home you have
A refinance can lower your monthly payment, take cash out for a sewer hookup, a new roof or storm repairs, pay off higher-interest debt, or buy out a co-owner on the title.
Call 888-601-8344 and we’ll put the new payment, your cash out and the closing costs on one page for your Citrus home.
Citrus County questions we hear a lot
What is the FHA loan limit in Citrus County, Florida?
The FHA and Conventional limits for Citrus are in the loan limit table on this page, which refreshes from HUD’s published figures. HUD and FHFA reset both every January, and Citrus is figured as its own Homosassa Springs metro area.
Is there down payment assistance in Citrus County?
Yes. Statewide programs like Hometown Heroes and FL Assist work here, and Citrus County Housing Services in Lecanto is the place to ask about any county help for buyers. FHA 100% financing can cover the down payment too. Call us and we’ll check what’s funded for your address.
Will I have to connect to county sewer?
It depends on where the home is. The county has run septic-to-sewer projects in areas such as Cambridge Greens, Fort Island Trail and Homosassa, and Citrus County SHIP has offered help with mandatory water and sewer connections. Ask before you buy so the cost doesn’t surprise you.
When do I file for homestead in Citrus County?
File with the Citrus County Property Appraiser by March 1 of the year after you buy. Ownership on January 1 is what counts.
Do I need flood insurance in Citrus County?
On any federally backed loan, yes, when FEMA puts the house in a high-risk zone. Helene put 9.0 feet of water above mean higher high water at the mouth of the Crystal River, so get a flood quote on any coastal home, mapped zone or not.
Sources for this guide (22)
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Citrus County, FL
- Citrus County, Florida (Wikipedia, history and parks)
- Crystal River, Florida (Wikipedia)
- Inverness, Florida (Wikipedia)
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge
- Florida State Parks: Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife
- Florida State Parks: Withlacoochee State Trail
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center
- Citrus County: Construction in flood zones
- Citrus County Housing Services
- Citrus County: SHIP programs
- Florida Housing: Hometown Heroes
- Florida Housing: Homebuyer programs
- Florida Department of Revenue: Homestead exemption (PT-113)
- Citrus County Property Appraiser
- National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Helene report
- Florida Statutes 627.706: Sinkhole coverage
- Florida Geological Survey: Sinkholes
- Florida PSC: Electric service area map
- Citrus County Water Resources
- Citrus County Schools
- Citrus County government
AAA Capital Funding, Inc. NMLS #374739. Jason J. Sarji, NMLS #374700. Licensed Florida mortgage broker serving Citrus County and all 67 Florida counties since 1997. Equal Housing Opportunity.
You work with the same person from start to finish, in every county in Florida.
We've been closing Florida loans since 1997, in all 67 counties. If you want to know what's possible in Citrus County, call 888-601-8344 or text 954-816-8820. One call, under ten minutes. No application needed to start.
AAA Capital Funding, Inc. · NMLS #374739 · Jason J. Sarji, NMLS #374700