Florida homestead portability: transfer your Save Our Homes savings

Portability transfers the prior homestead's assessment differencewhen you establish a new homestead within the statutory window. The assessment difference is the prior home's just value minus its assessed value. That is the Save Our Homes protection being moved, subject to the limits in Fla. Stat. §193.155(8).

If you want to understand the annual cap that creates this difference, read how the Save Our Homes assessment cap works.

The statute says the person must have received a homestead exemption “as of January 1 of any of the 3 immediately preceding years” and establish a new homestead (Fla. Stat. §193.155(8)). This is the 3-year window.

The window was extended from 2 years to 3 years by the 2020 constitutional amendment. Your property appraiser can confirm how your homestead history fits the rule.

The transfer is limited to “the lesser of $500,000 or the difference between the just value and the assessed value” (Fla. Stat. §193.155(8)). In other words, the transfer cannot be more than the prior assessment difference and cannot be more than $500,000.

Upsize: When the new home's just value is at least the prior home's just value, transfer the assessment difference, capped at $500,000. The assessment difference is the prior just value minus the prior assessed value (Fla. Stat. §193.155(8)).

Downsize: When the new home's just value is lower than the prior home's just value, the new assessed value equals (new just value / prior just value) × prior assessed value. In plain terms, the same percentage discount carries to the new home. The $500,000 differential cap still applies (Fla. Stat. §193.155(8)).

Portability math is fact-specific. These formulas explain Fla. Stat. §193.155(8), but they do not decide eligibility or calculate your final assessment. This guide is informational only, not legal or tax advice.

Use form DR-501T to claim the transfer. The property appraiser and the Florida Department of Revenue administer portability under Fla. Stat. §193.155(8). County-specific filing details are local, so check the process with your property appraiser.

1. Confirm the prior homestead and timing. Confirm that you received a homestead exemption as of January 1 of any of the 3 immediately preceding years and are establishing a new homestead.
2. Gather the values used for the transfer. The transfer starts with the prior homestead's assessment difference: its just value minus its assessed value. Upsize and downsize transfers use that information differently.
3. Use form DR-501T. Use form DR-501T to claim the transfer. The property appraiser and the Florida Department of Revenue administer portability.
4. Check the local process. Ask the property appraiser for the county-specific filing process. Local details belong with the county that administers the claim.