I have sat across from too many long-term Florida homeowners who are stunned at the moment of selling — not by what they’re getting for their home, but by what their buyer is going to pay in property taxes afterward. And then the panic sets in: “Does that mean I’m going to pay that much when I buy my next place?”

The answer is: only if you don’t port your homestead.

If you’ve owned your Florida home for five or more years and have a homestead exemption, you’ve been receiving something called the Save Our Homes (SOH) assessment cap. It’s limited how much your property’s assessed value can increase each year — capping it at 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. Over time, that creates a massive gap between what your home is assessed at for tax purposes and what it’s actually worth on the market.

That gap is your accumulated benefit. And when you sell and move within Florida, you can take up to $500,000 of it with you. But only if you do it right — and on time.

How the Save Our Homes Cap Works

When you establish homestead exemption on a Florida property, the assessed value for tax purposes is capped at your purchase price (plus the $25,000 standard homestead exemption). After that, the assessed value can only increase by 3% per year OR the Consumer Price Index — whichever is lower.

In the 2020–2022 period, Florida home values jumped 25–40% in many areas. But if you had a homestead, your assessed value only crept up 3% per year. The result: a massive differential between your market value and your taxable assessed value.

The Reset Reality: What Happens When You Sell

Here’s where long-term homeowners get blindsided: when you sell your home, the Save Our Homes cap does not transfer to the buyer. The buyer’s property taxes will reset to the full market value of their purchase price.

This matters to your sale in two ways:

1. It affects buyer affordability. A buyer purchasing your $485,000 home will be taxed on close to $485,000 — not your protected $290,000. That could add $150–$200+/month to their total housing payment. This is real and it affects your buyer pool.
2. It affects your next purchase. If you’re buying another Florida home, YOUR property taxes will also reset to full market value — unless you port your SOH benefit.

Portability: How to Take Your Savings With You

Florida law allows homeowners to “port” their accumulated SOH benefit — up to $500,000 — to a new Florida homestead property. This can dramatically reduce your taxable assessed value on your next home.

The Portability Rules

• You must establish homestead exemption on your new Florida property within 3 years of when you abandon your previous homestead (i.e., sell and move)
• The maximum portable benefit is $500,000
• You must apply for portability when you file for homestead on your new property
• Portability only works within Florida — you cannot port a Florida SOH benefit to another state
• The application deadline is typically March 1 of the year following your move-in

How the Portability Calculation Works

Your portable benefit is calculated as the difference between your old home’s just (market) value and its assessed value. This is your “SOH differential.” You carry this differential to your new property.

However, if you’re moving to a less expensive home, the benefit is proportionally reduced (portability is capped at the new home’s just value). If you’re moving to a more expensive home, you port the full dollar amount, reducing your new assessed value by your saved differential.

Orange County vs. Seminole County Case Study

Here’s a hypothetical scenario showing the real-dollar impact of portability vs. no portability for a homeowner who has lived in their home since 2010:

Step-by-Step: How to File for Portability in Florida

1. Confirm your departure homestead date. This is the date you moved out and sold your old home. Your 3-year porting window starts here.
2. Establish homestead on your new property. You must actually live in the new home and it must be your primary residence in Florida.
3. Contact your new county’s Property Appraiser’s office. File for homestead exemption AND portability at the same time — these are separate applications but submitted together.
4. Complete the DR-501 form (Homestead) AND the DR-501T form (Transfer of Homestead Assessment). Both are available from your county Property Appraiser’s office.
5. Submit before March 1. If you purchase in 2026, you must file by March 1, 2027 to receive the benefit for the 2027 tax year.
6. Your previous county Property Appraiser will verify your old SOH differential. The two counties communicate to confirm the amount.