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Florida Homestead Exemption and Save Our Homes: The Complete Guide
Florida homestead exemption: $50,000 off taxable value ($25K from all taxes + $25K additional from non-school taxes). Save Our Homes (SOH) cap: once homestead filed, assessed value cannot increase more than 3% or CPI per year. Example: $400K purchase at 3%/yr for 10 years = $537K assessed vs $700K market value. Portability: transfer SOH differential (up to $500K) to new Florida homestead. File by March 1 with county property appraiser. Own Luxury Homes® FL BK3626873. 12-Point Agent Integrity Audit™.
Florida Homestead Exemption and Save Our Homes: The Complete Guide
The Florida homestead exemption and Save Our Homes cap together represent one of the most powerful property ownership benefits in any state. Every Florida homebuyer who will occupy the property as their primary residence should understand both — and should file before March 1 of the first full year of ownership.
The $50,000 Homestead Exemption
The Florida homestead exemption reduces the taxable value of your primary residence: First $25,000: exempted from all taxing authorities (county, city, school district, special districts). Applied to the first $25,000 of assessed value. Second $25,000 (additional homestead exemption): exempted from all taxing authorities except school districts. Applied to assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000. Net effect: the full $50,000 exemption reduces taxable value for non-school taxes; only $25,000 reduces taxable value for school taxes. Annual savings example on a $400,000 home at a combined tax rate of 1.8%: • Without exemption: $400,000 × 1.8% = $7,200/year • With homestead: taxable value reduced by $25,000–50,000 depending on school vs non-school portion • Approximate annual savings from exemption alone: $600–1,200/year depending on local rates Additional exemptions available: $500 additional for widows, widowers, blind persons, and disabled persons. $5,000 for disabled veterans. Complete exemption for veterans with 100% service-connected disability.
Save Our Homes: The 3% Assessment Cap
The Save Our Homes amendment (Art. VII, Sec. 4, Florida Constitution) limits the annual increase in assessed value of a homestead property to the lower of: • 3% of the prior year's assessed value, OR • The percentage change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) This cap applies only to the assessed value used for tax calculations — not the market value. The compounding power over time: Buy a home for $400,000 in 2015. By 2025 it's worth $700,000. What do you pay taxes on? • Market value 2025: $700,000 • SOH assessed value at 3%/year for 10 years: $400,000 × (1.03)^10 = $537,566 • Taxable value: $537,566 − $50,000 exemption = $487,566 • At 1.7% combined rate: $8,289/year • Without SOH cap: $700,000 − $50,000 = $650,000 × 1.7% = $11,050/year • Annual SOH savings after 10 years: $2,761/year A buyer who just purchased that same home pays taxes on $700,000 (less exemption) until they've benefited from several years of the SOH cap.
Portability: Taking Your SOH Savings With You
One of Florida's most valuable and least understood benefits: when you sell your Florida homestead and purchase a new Florida homestead, you can transfer (port) the accumulated SOH benefit — the difference between the just/market value and the assessed value — to your new property. Maximum portable amount: $500,000 Example: • Current home market value: $700,000 • Current assessed value (after years of SOH): $500,000 • SOH differential (portable): $200,000 • Buying a new home for $800,000 in the same county • New assessed value: $800,000 − $200,000 portable differential = $600,000 • You start your new homestead with $200,000 of immediate SOH protection The portability application: must be filed with your county property appraiser within 3 years of establishing your new homestead. It is not automatic. For Florida homeowners moving up or relocating within Florida, portability is often worth more than any other financial feature of the transaction.
“Portability is the conversation I have with every Florida homeowner who is moving up. The accumulated SOH differential is real money — it's a reduction in your future property tax bill that compounds for as long as you stay in the new home. A client who has a $300,000 SOH differential from a home they've owned for 15 years and is moving to a $900,000 home starts their new homestead at a $600,000 assessed value instead of $900,000. At 1.8% combined rate, that's $5,400/year less in property taxes from day one. That's worth understanding before any Florida move-up purchase.”
— Ryan Brown, Principal Broker & CEO, Own Luxury Homes®
What is the Florida homestead exemption?
The Florida homestead exemption reduces the taxable value of your primary residence by up to $50,000: $25,000 exempted from all taxing authorities, plus an additional $25,000 exempted from all taxes except school districts. File with your county property appraiser by March 1 of the first year you want the exemption. Annual savings: approximately $600-$1,200/year depending on local tax rates. Also activates the Save Our Homes 3% annual assessment cap, which provides increasing savings over time as market values rise.
What is Save Our Homes in Florida?
Save Our Homes (SOH) is a Florida constitutional amendment that caps the annual increase in assessed value for homestead properties at 3% or the CPI rate of inflation, whichever is lower. Once you file a homestead exemption, your assessed value (used for tax purposes) can never increase more than 3% per year regardless of market appreciation. On a home that doubles in market value over 10 years, SOH can reduce taxable value by $100,000-$200,000+ versus market value, generating thousands in annual tax savings. When you sell and buy a new Florida home, you can "port" up to $500,000 of this accumulated SOH differential to the new property.
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— Ryan Brown, Principal Broker & CEO, Own Luxury Homes® (FL License BK3626873)