Moving your Save Our Homes cap to a new home
You can transfer up to $500,000† of accumulated Save Our Homes savings to a new Florida homestead, provided you establish the new one within three tax years†. It is not automatic — you have to apply for it — and the clock does not start when you sell.
What the cap actually is
Save Our Homes limits how fast the assessed value of a homesteaded property can rise: 3% or CPI, whichever is lower†. Market value can climb as fast as the market does, but the value you are taxed on cannot. After ten or fifteen years in a rising market, the gap between the two becomes the largest single line of savings most Florida homeowners have.
That gap is what portability moves. It is the difference between market value and assessed value on the home you are leaving — not a percentage, not a discount, and not something you can look up on a listing site. Your county property appraiser publishes the figure.
The three-year rule, and why people miscount it
The window is three tax years†, counted from 1 January of the year you last held the homestead exemption — not from the day you closed. Sell in November and you have already used most of a year before you have unpacked. The equivalent way to say it, and the way appraisers usually put it, is that you may go at most two tax years without a homestead exemption.
This detail alone is why portability is lost. Somebody sells in late autumn, rents for a while to look around, buys eighteen months later, and finds the transfer refused because the calendar was counted from the wrong date.
It is not automatic
Applying for the homestead exemption on your new home does not carry the cap across by itself. Portability is a separate application, filed alongside the exemption. If you assume it happened and never check, the first time you find out is when the new assessment arrives without it.
- File the homestead exemption on the new property.
- File the portability transfer at the same time. Both go to the property appraiser in the county of the new home.
- If the transfer is denied, that is appealable — on DR-486PORT†, within 25 days† of the notice.
Upsizing and downsizing work differently
| If your new home is | What transfers |
|---|---|
| Worth more than the old one (upsizing) | The full assessment difference, capped at $500,000† |
| Worth less than the old one (downsizing) | A proportional share — the same ratio of savings to value, not the whole amount |
The downsizing rule surprises people who assume the benefit is a fixed sum they own. It is proportional: move to a home worth half as much and roughly half the benefit comes with you. That still leaves a substantial saving, but it is worth modelling before you assume a smaller house means a smaller bill by the same ratio.
How this sits alongside the exemption
Portability and the homestead exemption are different things and people routinely conflate them. The exemption removes $51,411† of taxable value in 2026 — a figure that is re-indexed to inflation every year. Portability moves the accumulated assessment cap, which for a long-held home is usually worth considerably more than the exemption itself.
Related
Common questions
How long do I have to transfer my Save Our Homes benefit?
Three tax years, counted from 1 January of the year you last held the homestead exemption — not from your closing date. Equivalently, you may go at most two tax years without a homestead exemption.
How much Save Our Homes benefit can I transfer?
Up to $500,000 of the difference between market and assessed value on the home you are leaving.
Is portability automatic when I apply for homestead on my new home?
No. It is a separate application filed alongside the homestead exemption with the property appraiser in the county of the new home. Assuming it is automatic is how the benefit gets lost.
What happens to portability if I downsize?
You transfer a proportional share rather than the full amount. The ratio of savings to value carries across, so a home worth half as much brings roughly half the benefit.
Can I appeal a denied portability transfer?
Yes, using form DR-486PORT with the Value Adjustment Board, within 25 days of the notice. Denials often turn on documents and dates rather than judgement, which makes them more winnable than a value dispute.
Portability is governed by Florida Statutes §193.155 and administered by county property appraisers, whose forms and portals differ. Confirm the figures for your own property with your county appraiser before relying on them.