Complete Guide to Florida Property Taxes: Save Our Homes, Homestead Exemption, and Portability

Florida is one of nine states without a personal income tax. Like Texas, that policy choice means local governments — counties, school districts, municipalities, and special districts — fund most public services through property taxes. Florida's effective property tax rates tend to fall in the moderate range nationally (roughly 0.7% to 1.4% depending on county), but the dollar amounts can be substantial in areas with high home values, particularly South Florida and the Tampa Bay and Orlando metros.

What distinguishes Florida's property tax system is a set of powerful protections for long-term primary homeowners: the homestead exemption, the Save Our Homes cap, and the portability provision. Together, these tools can dramatically reduce your tax burden over time — but they only apply to your primary residence, and you must actively claim them.

The Florida Homestead Exemption

Florida's homestead exemption applies to properties you own and occupy as your permanent, primary residence as of January 1 of the tax year. The exemption has two tiers:

The first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from all property taxes — county, school, city, and special district taxes alike. For a home assessed at $25,000 or less, this means paying zero property taxes. For higher-value homes, it reduces the taxable value by $25,000 across all taxing jurisdictions.

An additional $25,000 exemption applies to assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000, but this second $25,000 applies only to non-school taxes. School district taxes are levied on the full value above the first $25,000.

The combined $50,000 homestead exemption saves most Florida homeowners between $500 and $1,000 per year, depending on local millage rates. The application deadline is March 1 of the tax year. Applications are filed with your county property appraiser — not the tax collector. You must apply once; the exemption renews automatically as long as you continue to qualify.

Save Our Homes: The Assessment Cap That Builds Over Time

The most powerful provision of Florida property tax law for long-term homeowners is the Save Our Homes (SOH) assessment cap, added to the Florida Constitution in 1995. Once you have homestead exemption on a property, the assessed value used for tax purposes cannot increase by more than 3% per year — or by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower.

This cap applies to assessed value, not market value. The county property appraiser can recognize that your home's market value rose 15% in a single year — but your taxable assessed value can rise by at most 3%. Over many years of appreciation, this creates an ever-growing "SOH benefit": the gap between the market value the appraiser recognizes and the lower assessed value you are taxed on.

A homeowner who bought a $250,000 Florida home in 2010 and has had homestead exemption since then might have a 2025 market value of $600,000 — but a capped assessed value of only $375,000. Their property taxes are calculated on $375,000 (minus the $50,000 exemption), not $600,000. This represents a very large ongoing tax savings.

When the property sells, the assessed value resets to the full market value for the new buyer, and the SOH cap starts fresh. This is why longtime Florida homeowners and new buyers in the same neighborhood can have dramatically different tax bills on comparable properties.

Florida Portability: Taking Your Savings With You

Florida's portability provision, effective since 2008, allows homeowners to transfer their accumulated Save Our Homes benefit — called the "assessment difference" — from a previous homestead to a new Florida homestead. This was a major legislative effort to encourage longer-term homeowners who were effectively "locked in" by their low assessed value to move without losing their tax advantage.

You have up to two tax years after selling your previous homestead to establish a new Florida homestead and claim portability. This means if you sell your Tampa home in 2024, you have until January 1, 2027, to establish a new Florida homestead and port your benefit.

The maximum portable benefit is $500,000. Here is how the math works: if your previous home had a market value of $500,000 and an assessed value of $300,000, your SOH benefit was $200,000. If your new home's market value is $700,000, you can apply the $200,000 benefit, reducing your new assessed value to $500,000 for tax purposes. If your new home costs less than the previous home, only a proportional share of the benefit transfers.

County Differences in Florida Millage Rates

Florida's 67 counties set their own millage rates, and the variation is significant. Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties in South Florida have among the highest total millage rates in the state, driven by dense populations, high service demands, and significant school bond debt. Effective total millage rates in these counties can exceed 20 mills for homesteaded properties.

Less populous counties in Central and North Florida tend to have lower millage rates. Rural counties with limited public services and smaller school bond obligations can have total millage rates of 12 to 15 mills. For a home assessed at $200,000 net of exemptions, the difference between 12 mills and 22 mills is $2,000 per year — a significant variation.

The school district levy is the single largest component of the property tax bill in most Florida counties. Florida's Required Local Effort (RLE) levy, set annually by the state, ensures that school districts contribute a minimum amount from local property taxes to fund education. This RLE rate varies by county and is calculated by the state to equalize funding across districts.

Non-Homestead Properties: No SOH Cap

Investment properties, rental properties, second homes, and vacant land in Florida are not eligible for the homestead exemption or the Save Our Homes cap. Non-homestead residential properties are subject to a different constitutional cap: assessed value cannot increase by more than 10% per year. But this limit offers much weaker protection than SOH in appreciating markets and still allows assessed values to reset fully to market value when the property sells.

For landlords and real estate investors, Florida's non-homestead property tax treatment is an important operating cost variable. Properties in South Florida's high-millage counties can have effective tax rates of 1.5% to 2.0% or more on non-homestead properties, directly affecting cash flow and cap rates.

Senior Exemptions and Additional Relief

Florida offers several additional exemptions for qualifying seniors:

• Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption (Low-Income): Homeowners age 65 or older with household income below the state-published threshold (approximately $35,000, indexed annually) can receive an additional exemption of up to $50,000. This exemption is granted by counties and municipalities that have adopted it — not all have. Check with your county property appraiser.
• Totally and Permanently Disabled Persons: A full homestead exemption (all taxes waived) for homeowners who are totally and permanently disabled. For disabled veterans with an honorable discharge, a full exemption applies regardless of income.
• Surviving Spouse of First Responder: The surviving spouse of a first responder (law enforcement officer, firefighter, or EMT) killed in the line of duty receives a full homestead exemption for as long as they maintain the property as their primary residence and do not remarry.
• Deployed Service Member: Active duty military members deployed outside the United States receive a prorated reduction in ad valorem taxes for the period of deployment.

Data Source

ZIP-level property tax data on PropertyTaxByZip comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates. Florida-specific program details are based on Florida Statutes Chapter 196 and the Florida Department of Revenue's property tax rules as of 2025. Exemption amounts, income thresholds, and application deadlines change annually — always verify with your county property appraiser before applying.