Florida Homestead Portability Calculator

What Is Florida Homestead Portability?

Florida’s Save Our Homes amendment caps how much the assessed value of a homesteaded property can increase each year — no more than 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. Over years of rising markets, that cap creates a growing gap between your home’s market (just) value and its much lower assessed value. That gap is real money: it is the amount of value the county cannot tax you on.

Portability (formally, the “transfer of homestead assessment difference”) lets you carry up to $500,000 of that accumulated Save Our Homes benefit from your old Florida homestead to your new one — so when you move, you don’t start over at full market value. The calculator above estimates how much you can transfer and what your new assessed value will look like before the homestead exemption is applied on top.

Upsizing vs. Downsizing

The formula depends on whether your new home is worth more or less than your old one:

• Upsizing (new market value ≥ old market value): you transfer your entire Save Our Homes benefit, up to the $500,000 cap. Your new assessed value is the new market value minus the ported benefit.
• Downsizing (new market value < old market value): you transfer a proportional share. The percentage discount you enjoyed on your old home is applied to your new home’s market value, so you keep the same relative benefit.

The Three-Year Rule and March 1 Deadline

Portability is not automatic and it is not permanent. You must establish a new Florida homestead within three tax years of January 1 of the last year you had your previous homestead, and you must file the transfer application by March 1 of the year you want the benefit to begin. Wait too long and the benefit you spent years building simply disappears — one of the most expensive mistakes Florida homeowners make when relocating.

How to File for Portability

File two forms with your new county’s property appraiser: Form DR-501 (the homestead exemption application) and Form DR-501T (the transfer of homestead assessment difference). Most Florida counties accept these online, by mail, or in person. Your new county coordinates with your former county to certify the exact Save Our Homes benefit you had built up. Keep your prior year’s TRIM notice or property record card handy — it shows the assessed and market values you’ll need. For a plain-English walk-through, see our complete Florida homestead portability guide.