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Florida homestead portability (also called Save Our Homes portability) lets an eligible owner transfer all or part of the accumulated difference between just value and assessed value from a prior Florida homestead to a new Florida homestead — lowering the new home’s assessed value under rules in section 193.155, Florida Statutes. The Florida Department of Revenue is clear that the homestead exemption itself does not move with you; what may transfer is the Save Our Homes assessment-limitation difference. To apply, you file Form DR-501T with a new homestead application (Form DR-501) by March 1, and you must establish the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you abandoned the prior homestead. The portable difference is capped at $500,000 under current statute.

At a glance

QuestionShort answerSource
What moves when you move?Not the homestead exemption — the Save Our Homes assessment difference (portability)DOR FAQ 1641; PT-112
What is the transfer cap?$500,000 of assessment differences. 193.155(8), F.S.; Miami-Dade PA; St. Lucie PA
Upsizing (new just value ≥ prior)New assessed value = new just value minus the lesser of $500,000 or the prior SOH differences. 193.155(8)(a)
Downsizing (new just value < prior)Benefit is proportional; portable difference still cannot exceed $500,000s. 193.155(8)(b); St. Lucie PA explainer
FormsDR-501 (new homestead) + DR-501T (transfer attachment)DOR; Form DR-501T
Filing deadlineMarch 1 (with the new homestead application timeframes)PT-112; DR-501T; DOR FAQ 1641
How long to re-establish?Within three years of January 1 of the year the prior homestead was abandonedPT-112; PTO 20-11 (2→3 years as of 2021)

Homestead exemption vs Save Our Homes vs portability

These are three related Florida property-tax concepts. Mixing them up is how buyers lose time — or leave a portable benefit unclaimed.

Homestead exemption. DOR’s Property Tax Information for Homestead Exemption brochure (PT-113) says that when someone owns property and makes it their permanent residence (or a dependent’s), the property may be eligible for a homestead exemption of up to $50,000 in the base statutory structure: the first $25,000 applies to all property taxes, including school taxes; an additional exemption applies to assessed value over $50,000 and only to non-school taxes. That additional amount is adjusted annually for inflation when CPI change is positive (s. 196.031, F.S.). DOR’s Additional Homestead Exemption Adjustment PDF (Revised January 2026) lists the 2026 additional amount as $26,411. Only the county property appraiser decides whether a parcel qualifies. The exemption is claimed on Form DR-501, generally by March 1 of the tax year, for a residence occupied as of January 1.

Save Our Homes assessment limitation. After the first year a home receives homestead exemption and is assessed at just value, annual assessed-value increases are limited to the lower of 3% or the CPI change (s. 193.155(1), F.S.). DOR’s PT-112 brochure calls the accumulated gap between just (market) value and assessed value the SOH benefit. A change of ownership generally resets the property to just value the following January 1, with statutory exceptions (transfers between spouses, certain death transfers, and other listed cases).

Portability. When you leave one Florida homestead and establish another in Florida, you may be able to transfer (“port”) all or part of that SOH assessment difference to the new homestead so the new assessed value starts below just value. DOR’s FAQ is blunt: you cannot transfer the homestead exemption itself when you move — only, if eligible, the assessment difference.

Luxury closings do not change the forms. A branded condo in Sunny Isles and a single-family home in Coral Gables use the same DR-501 / DR-501T path; the appraiser still has to confirm abandonment of the prior homestead and the transferable difference.

How the $500,000 cap and upsizing vs downsizing work

Section 193.155(8), Florida Statutes (2026), is the primary rule. County property appraisers publish plain-language versions that track it.

If the new homestead’s just value is greater than or equal to the prior homestead’s just value (what St. Lucie County’s portability page calls upsizing): the new assessed value is the new just value minus an amount equal to the lesser of $500,000 or the difference between the prior just value and prior assessed value as of January 1 of the year the prior homestead was abandoned (s. 193.155(8)(a)).

If the new homestead’s just value is lower (downsizing): the statute applies a proportional formula — new assessed value equals (new just value ÷ prior just value) × prior assessed value — and then caps the resulting difference so it cannot exceed $500,000 (s. 193.155(8)(b)). St. Lucie County’s explainer walks the same idea: you may transfer a proportionate SOH adjustment, still up to $500,000.

Assessed-value reductions become tax savings only after local millage rates are applied, and those rates vary by county and taxing authority. For a personal estimate, use your county property appraiser’s tools (Miami-Dade, for example, publishes a tax estimator and TRIM notice tools) or ask the appraiser — not a marketing calculator.

Joint ownership, divorce splits and “someone stayed in the old house” situations have extra rules in s. 193.155(8)(c)–(f), including Form DR-501TS for designation of ownership shares of an abandoned homestead. Those are fact-specific and depend on the file.

Deadlines, forms and the three-year window

From DOR PT-112, Form DR-501T and DOR FAQ 1641:

  1. Establish a new Florida homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you abandoned the prior homestead — not three years after the sale closing date. (Constitutional Amendment 5 / PTO Bulletin 20-11 lengthened this window from two years to three, effective for transfers beginning January 1, 2021.)
  2. File Form DR-501T (Transfer of Homestead Assessment Difference) as an attachment to the new homestead application (Form DR-501) with the property appraiser in the new county.
  3. Deadline: March 1 (aligned with homestead application timeframes). Late applicants may have petition paths under s. 193.155(8)(j)–(k); refunds for prior years are not available if you first succeed in a later year.
  4. Cross-county moves: the new county’s appraiser sends information to the prior county’s appraiser; the prior office returns certification so the new office can apply the transferable difference (see Form DR-501T instructions and s. 193.155(8)(i)).

Miami-Dade’s portability page adds a concrete timing illustration: if the previous homestead exemption was abandoned in March 2024, the applicant must establish the new homestead exemption by January 1, 2027. Always confirm the January 1 / abandonment-year logic with the appraiser on your facts.

Practical notes for luxury buyers and sellers

  • Build portability into the move calendar, not the closing binder alone. Abandonment year — not the deed date — drives the three-year clock (PT-112). Sellers who will buy again in Florida should track January 1 of the abandonment year before they assume they “have three years from closing.”
  • File DR-501 and DR-501T even when the math looks obvious. Portability is not automatic. The sworn DR-501T is what starts the inter-county certification when the prior home was elsewhere in Florida.
  • Upsizing does not mean “unlimited.” Even on a much more expensive new homestead, statute caps the transferable assessment difference at $500,000.
  • Downsizing is proportional, not “all or nothing.” A lower-just-value replacement home can still receive a portable benefit, calculated under s. 193.155(8)(b) and capped at $500,000.
  • If a co-owner remains in the prior homestead, portability generally cannot proceed until that homestead is abandoned under the statute’s sharing rules — a common issue in divorces and multi-owner titles (see county FAQs and s. 193.155(8)(d)).
  • International and dual-residency buyers: homestead requires permanent Florida residence facts the appraiser can verify (PT-113 lists typical evidence). Portability only applies from a prior Florida homestead; it is not a way to import a tax benefit from another state.
  • This is not legal, tax or appraisal advice. County property appraisers determine exemption and portability; complex title or share designations belong with the owner’s own advisors.

Featured agents: Haute Real Estate Network members include Iryna Velychko, a Real Estate Advisor with Compass in Miami, Florida, and Maria Kuzina, Broker/Owner of Miami Luxury Real Estate in Miami Beach, Florida. Browse Find a Realtor.

Related

FAQ

What is Florida homestead portability?
It is the transfer of all or part of the Save Our Homes assessment difference from a prior Florida homestead to a new Florida homestead, so the new home can be assessed below just value under s. 193.155(8), F.S. DOR also calls it a homestead assessment difference transfer.

Can I take my homestead exemption with me when I move?
No. DOR FAQ 1641 states you cannot transfer the homestead exemption to the new home. You apply for a new exemption on the new homestead and, if eligible, separately apply to port the SOH assessment difference.

What is the maximum amount I can port?
Current statute caps the transferable assessment difference at $500,000 (s. 193.155(8)(a)–(b), F.S.). That is a cap on the assessment difference, not a promise of a particular tax-bill savings.

What is the difference between upsizing and downsizing?
If the new home’s just value is equal to or higher than the prior home’s, the full prior SOH difference can transfer, subject to the $500,000 cap. If the new just value is lower, the benefit is proportional under s. 193.155(8)(b), still capped at $500,000. St. Lucie County’s portability page uses the upsizing/downsizing labels for those two statutory cases.

Which forms do I file, and when?
File Form DR-501 (new homestead) and Form DR-501T (transfer of homestead assessment difference) with the county property appraiser by March 1. Establish the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you abandoned the prior homestead (PT-112; DR-501T).

Does portability apply if I am moving to Florida from another state?
Portability moves an SOH difference from a prior Florida homestead to a new Florida homestead. A first-time Florida homestead may qualify for the exemption and then begin accruing SOH protection going forward; it does not import another state’s assessment benefit.

Sources