How do homestead exemptions and Save Our Homes work?
The short answer
Homestead exemptions reduce taxable value, while Save Our Homes limits increases in assessed value for an eligible established homestead. Portability is a separate benefit that may let an eligible owner transfer some accumulated assessment protection to a new Florida homestead.
What this means for a buyer
Keep three questions separate: Do you qualify for homestead? When does your assessment cap begin? Can you transfer an existing assessment benefit? The Property Appraiser determines your eligibility; the seller's benefits are not automatically yours.
The 2026 exemption amounts
- The first exemption is up to $25,000, including school levies.
- The additional exemption is up to $26,411 for non-school levies, applied to assessed value above $50,000.
- With sufficient assessed value and full eligibility, adding the first $25,000 exemption to the verified additional $26,411 gives a combined non-school reduction of $51,411. It is a reduction in taxable value, not cash or a reduction of that amount in the tax bill.
Smaller-value example: With assessed value of $60,000, full standard eligibility and no other exemptions, the first exemption is $25,000. Only $10,000 lies above $50,000, so the additional exemption is $10,000. School taxable value is $35,000; non-school taxable value is $25,000.
The maximum additional amount is indexed annually when the applicable inflation change is positive. These are 2026 figures; do not reuse them as verified 2027 amounts.
Save Our Homes: an assessment cap, not a bill cap
After the first homestead year, ordinary annual assessed-value increases are limited to the lower of 3% or the applicable CPI change. DOR lists 2.7% for 2026.
Made-up example: Assume a qualifying established homestead assessed at $300,000 in 2025, with 2026 just value of $400,000, no ownership change, additions or other adjustments. Applying 2.7% gives a 2026 assessed value of $308,100. Exemptions are applied afterward.
- Changes in millage, exemptions or other charges can still change your bill.
- Assessed value cannot exceed just value; qualifying improvements and ownership changes have separate rules.
- A home bought during 2026 should not be modeled by applying the seller's 2026 cap to the buyer's 2027 assessment.
Portability: take your benefit, not the seller's
Eligible owners may transfer up to $500,000 of their prior Florida homestead's assessment difference. Eligibility generally requires homestead in one of the three immediately preceding years; downsizing can reduce the transferable amount proportionally. Joint ownership and other conditions affect the calculation. Apply through the Property Appraiser for the new homestead.
Parcelume's calculator does not include portability. A result can therefore differ from a future assessment that includes an approved transfer.
Applying for homestead
January 1 ownership and permanent-residence requirements matter. The usual application deadline is March 1; confirm required documents, timing and any applicable exceptions with your county Property Appraiser. A purchase alone does not establish eligibility.
The rule behind it
- Florida Constitution, Article VII, sections 4(d) and 6(a)(1): assessment protection and homestead exemptions. Read Article VII, sections 4(d) and 6(a)(1)
- Section 196.031, 2026 Florida Statutes: eligibility and school/non-school treatment. Statute
- DOR's 2026 exemption adjustment: $26,411 additional maximum. DOR exemption table
- DOR's Save Our Homes table: 2026 cap of 2.7%. SOH table
- Section 193.155, 2026 Florida Statutes and DOR portability guide, PT-112: assessment limitations and transfers. Statute, PT-112
- Section 196.011, 2026 Florida Statutes: exemption application requirements. Statute
Reflects current rules reviewed October 11, 2026. General educational information only; not individualized tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm eligibility, application dates and transfer amounts with your county Property Appraiser.