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Florida Homestead Exemption
Florida property tax

Save Our Homes and portability

The cap limits how fast assessed value can rise. For a long-held home it is usually worth more than the exemption itself — and it can move with you.

Reviewed against published state sources on August 21, 2026. Rules and figures change — always confirm with the agency before acting.

The Save Our Homes cap

Section 193.155(1), Florida Statutes, limits the annual increase in the assessed value of homestead property to the lower of:

  • 3 percent of the assessed value for the prior year, or
  • the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index.

Market value can rise as fast as the market allows. The cap governs the assessed figure the exemptions are then subtracted from, so in a rising market the gap between just value and assessed value — the “Save Our Homes benefit” — widens every year.

When the cap starts

The cap begins the year after the property receives homestead exemption, not in the first year. Section 193.155(1) reads “beginning in 1995, or the year following the year the property receives homestead exemption, whichever is later.” A newly homesteaded property is assessed at just value first, and the cap starts from there.

What resets it

A change of ownership — defined in s. 193.155(3) as any sale, foreclosure, or transfer of legal or beneficial title in equity to any person, subject to enumerated exceptions — requires reassessment at full just value effective January 1 of the following year. That reset is why a buyer's tax bill often bears no resemblance to the seller's.

A recent change

The 2026 tax package (HB 7031) added a disclosure requirement aimed squarely at this: online listing platforms are to show a prospective buyer's estimated taxes rather than the seller's current taxes.

Rebuilding after a calamity

CS/CS/SB 180, effective June 2025, allows homesteaded property damaged by calamity to be rebuilt to 130% of the original square footage or 2,000 square feet, whichever is greater, while keeping the Save Our Homes capped assessment. For non-homestead property the corresponding figures are 110% and 1,500 square feet.

Portability

Portability lets an owner carry the accumulated Save Our Homes benefit from an old Florida homestead to a new one.

Maximum transferable
$500,000. Section 193.155(8) provides that the reduction from just value may not exceed $500,000.
Time window
The prior property must have received homestead exemption as of January 1 of any of the 3 immediately preceding years. County guidance describes it as up to three tax years from the sale.
Forms
Form DR-501T, Transfer of Homestead Assessment Difference, filed together with the DR-501 for the new homestead by March 1. Form DR-501TS designates ownership shares of an abandoned homestead where several owners split a ported benefit — after a divorce, for example.
Automatic?
No. Portability requires a new application on every move.

Upsizing and downsizing

Moving to a more valuable home transfers the benefit up to the $500,000 cap. Moving to a less valuable home transfers it proportionally. A commonly used county illustration: a $150,000 benefit on a $400,000 home, moving to a $200,000 home — half the value — carries $75,000.

Two years or three?

You will find sources describing the portability window as “two years” or “a minimum of two years.” Some of that language predates the 2020 amendment. The operative statutory text in s. 193.155(8) says the prior homestead must have been exempt as of January 1 of any of the 3 immediately preceding years. Where a secondary source and the statute disagree, the statute governs — and your county property appraiser applies it.

Common questions

What is the Save Our Homes cap in Florida?
Section 193.155(1), Florida Statutes, limits the annual increase in assessed value of homestead property to the lower of 3% of the prior year's assessed value or the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index.
When does the Save Our Homes cap start?
The year following the year the property receives homestead exemption. In the first homestead year the property is assessed at just value, and the cap applies from the next January 1.
How much Save Our Homes benefit can I transfer?
Up to $500,000. Section 193.155(8) provides that the reduction from just value on the new homestead may not exceed $500,000.
How long do I have to use Florida homestead portability?
The prior property must have received homestead exemption as of January 1 of any of the 3 immediately preceding years, under s. 193.155(8). County guidance describes it as up to three tax years from the sale of the previous home.
Is portability automatic when I move?
No. A new homestead application and Form DR-501T must be filed for the new property by March 1.

Sources

  1. s. 193.155, Florida Statutes — assessment limitation and portability — http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0193/Sections/0193.155.html
  2. St. Johns County Property Appraiser — portability and the three-year window — https://www.sjcpa.gov/homesteadportability/
  3. Pinellas County Property Appraiser — legislative update — https://www.pcpao.gov/learn-about/legislative-update
  4. Florida Dept. of Revenue property tax forms (DR-501T, DR-501TS) — https://floridarevenue.com/property/Pages/Forms.aspx