If you own a homesteaded home in Florida, you may have built up valuable property tax savings over the years — and the good news is, you can often take them with you when you move. This is called portability.
What Is Portability?
Florida caps how much your property’s taxable value can go up each year, as long as you have a homestead exemption. Over time, this can create a nice gap between what your home is worth and what you’re actually taxed on.
Portability lets you transfer that savings to your next Florida home, up to $500,000.
Who Qualifies?
- You must apply for homestead exemption on your new home
- You must file form DR-501T with the property appraiser by March 1st
How Much Time Do You Have?
You have up to 3 years from the time you leave your old homestead to move into a new one and keep your savings.
Example: Sell in 2021 → you have until January 1, 2024 to re-establish homestead elsewhere.
Simple Example
Moving to a more expensive home:
- Old home: worth $400,000, taxed on $250,000 (a $150,000 savings)
- New home: worth $600,000
- You’re taxed on: $600,000 − $150,000 = $450,000
Moving to a less expensive home:
- Old home: worth $400,000, taxed on $250,000
- New home: worth $275,000
- You’re taxed on roughly: $171,750 (savings scale down proportionally)
Why It Matters
Whether you’re selling and moving elsewhere in Florida, or buying and hoping to bring savings with you, portability can make a real difference in your future tax bill. It’s worth discussing early in the process.
Questions about how this applies to you? Feel free to reach out — happy to help.
Source: Brevard County Property Appraiser’s Office — www.bcpao.us
