What is Florida homestead portability?

It is the ability to transfer the Save Our Homes assessment difference — the gap between a homestead's just value and its lower assessed value — from an old Florida homestead to a new one, under Section 193.155(8) of the Florida Statutes. The transfer reduces the assessed value of the new homestead, lowering its property taxes. It lets a homeowner keep the tax benefit accumulated over years rather than losing it when moving. The maximum transferable amount is $500,000 of assessment difference.

How much can be transferred?

Up to $500,000 of the assessment difference. If the owner upsizes to a home of equal or greater just value, the full difference transfers up to that cap. If the owner downsizes to a less valuable home, the transferred amount is prorated by the ratio of the new home's just value to the old home's just value. So downsizing from a $500,000 home to a $250,000 home lets the owner move only 50% of the accumulated difference.

What is the deadline for portability?

There are two. The owner must establish a new Florida homestead within three years of January 1 of the year the old homestead was abandoned — a window extended from two to three years effective January 1, 2021. And the owner must file Form DR-501T along with the new homestead exemption application by March 1. Missing either deadline forfeits the transfer, and after the three-year window closes the benefit is lost permanently.

What is Form DR-501T?

It is the Transfer of Homestead Assessment Difference form, the document that actually claims portability. Filing the standard homestead exemption application by itself does not transfer the Save Our Homes benefit — the DR-501T must be filed separately with the county property appraiser where the new homestead is located, together with the new homestead exemption application, by March 1. Forgetting to file the DR-501T is one of the most common ways homeowners accidentally lose their portability.

What is the difference between upsizing and downsizing?

Upsizing means the new homestead's just value is equal to or greater than the old homestead's; in that case the full assessment difference transfers, up to $500,000. Downsizing means the new home is worth less than the old one; the transferred amount is then prorated by the ratio of the new home's just value to the old home's. The proration prevents a homeowner from eliminating the entire taxable value of a much smaller home by carrying over a large benefit.

Does portability work between states?

No. Portability applies only between two Florida homesteads. The Save Our Homes assessment limitation and its transferable difference are creatures of Florida law, so a homeowner cannot carry a benefit into Florida from another state or out of Florida to another state. Both the old homestead being abandoned and the new homestead being established must be in Florida, and both must qualify for the homestead exemption for the transfer to work.

Florida Homestead Portability: Transfer Save Our Homes

TL;DR

Homestead portability lets a Florida homeowner carry the property-tax savings built up under Save Our Homes from an old homestead to a new one, and the mechanics are set by Section 193.155(8) of the Florida Statutes. The savings being transferred is the assessment difference — the gap between a home's just (market) value and its lower assessed value that accumulated while Save Our Homes capped annual increases. Portability moves that difference, up to a maximum of $500,000, to reduce the assessed value of the next homestead. The transfer is not automatic and is not unlimited. To claim it, the owner must establish a new Florida homestead within three years of January 1 of the year the old homestead was abandoned, and must file Form DR-501T, the Transfer of Homestead Assessment Difference, along with the new homestead exemption application, by the March 1 deadline. How much transfers depends on whether the owner is upsizing or downsizing: if the new home's just value is equal to or greater than the old home's, the full assessment difference transfers up to the $500,000 cap; if the new home is worth less, the transferred amount is prorated by the ratio of the new home's just value to the old home's. This article covers the transfer mechanics only; the underlying Save Our Homes cap is a separate topic.

What portability transfers

To understand portability, start with what Save Our Homes creates: an accumulated assessment difference. Because Save Our Homes limits how much a homestead's assessed value can rise each year, a long-held home often has a market value far above its assessed value, and that gap is the tax benefit the owner has built up. When the owner sells or abandons that homestead, the benefit would ordinarily be lost, and the new home would be assessed fresh at full market value. Portability solves that by letting the owner move the accumulated difference to the new homestead, lowering its assessed value and therefore its taxes.

The amount that can move is capped at $500,000 of assessment difference. If a homeowner's old home had a just value of $450,000 and an assessed value of $280,000, the assessment difference is $170,000, and that full amount can transfer because it is under the cap. A homeowner with a difference larger than $500,000 can only move $500,000; the rest does not carry over. Portability applies only between Florida homesteads — it cannot be used moving into or out of the state. The accumulated benefit itself comes from the Save Our Homes assessment limitation, covered in our guide to the homestead exemption and Save Our Homes cap.

Upsizing versus downsizing

How much of the assessment difference actually transfers depends on the relative value of the two homes, and this is the calculation the exam tests most. When a homeowner upsizes — the new homestead's just value is equal to or greater than the old homestead's just value — the entire assessment difference transfers, subject to the $500,000 cap. The new home's assessed value becomes its just value minus the transferred difference. For example, moving from a home with a $170,000 difference to a more expensive new home lets the owner reduce the new home's assessed value by the full $170,000.

When a homeowner downsizes — the new homestead's just value is less than the old homestead's — the transferred amount is prorated. The owner transfers a percentage of the assessment difference equal to the ratio of the new home's just value to the old home's just value. If the old home's just value was $500,000 and the new home's is $250,000, the owner can transfer only 50% of the accumulated difference, because the new home is worth half as much. This proration prevents a homeowner from wiping out the entire taxable value of a much smaller home. The just value and assessed value figures come from the county's assessment process, covered in our guide to the property tax assessment process.

Deadlines and the DR-501T form

Portability has two timing rules a candidate must know. The first is the three-year window: to transfer the assessment difference, the owner must establish a new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year in which the prior homestead was abandoned. This lookback was extended from two years to three years by a constitutional amendment approved in November 2020 and effective January 1, 2021, so current materials should reflect the three-year window rather than the older two-year rule. If more than three years pass between abandoning the old homestead and establishing the new one, the benefit is lost permanently.

The second rule is the filing requirement. Portability is not automatic — filing the regular homestead exemption application alone does not transfer the benefit. The owner must separately file Form DR-501T, the Transfer of Homestead Assessment Difference, with the county property appraiser where the new homestead is located, together with the new homestead exemption application, by the March 1 deadline. Missing either the three-year window or the DR-501T filing means losing the transfer. When two spouses who each held homesteads combine into one, or when only some co-owners move, the transferable share can be affected, but the core requirements — the three-year window, the $500,000 cap, and the DR-501T filing by March 1 — apply in every case. The homestead exemption these rules attach to has its own constitutional basis, covered in our guide to constitutional homestead protection under Article X, Section 4.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Florida homestead portability?: It is the ability to transfer the Save Our Homes assessment difference — the gap between a homestead's just value and its lower assessed value — from an old Florida homestead to a new one, under Section 193.155(8) of the Florida Statutes. The transfer reduces the assessed value of the new homestead, lowering its property taxes. It lets a homeowner keep the tax benefit accumulated over years rather than losing it when moving. The maximum transferable amount is $500,000 of assessment difference.
How much can be transferred?: Up to $500,000 of the assessment difference. If the owner upsizes to a home of equal or greater just value, the full difference transfers up to that cap. If the owner downsizes to a less valuable home, the transferred amount is prorated by the ratio of the new home's just value to the old home's just value. So downsizing from a $500,000 home to a $250,000 home lets the owner move only 50% of the accumulated difference.
What is the deadline for portability?: There are two. The owner must establish a new Florida homestead within three years of January 1 of the year the old homestead was abandoned — a window extended from two to three years effective January 1, 2021. And the owner must file Form DR-501T along with the new homestead exemption application by March 1. Missing either deadline forfeits the transfer, and after the three-year window closes the benefit is lost permanently.
What is Form DR-501T?: It is the Transfer of Homestead Assessment Difference form, the document that actually claims portability. Filing the standard homestead exemption application by itself does not transfer the Save Our Homes benefit — the DR-501T must be filed separately with the county property appraiser where the new homestead is located, together with the new homestead exemption application, by March 1. Forgetting to file the DR-501T is one of the most common ways homeowners accidentally lose their portability.
What is the difference between upsizing and downsizing?: Upsizing means the new homestead's just value is equal to or greater than the old homestead's; in that case the full assessment difference transfers, up to $500,000. Downsizing means the new home is worth less than the old one; the transferred amount is then prorated by the ratio of the new home's just value to the old home's. The proration prevents a homeowner from eliminating the entire taxable value of a much smaller home by carrying over a large benefit.
Does portability work between states?: No. Portability applies only between two Florida homesteads. The Save Our Homes assessment limitation and its transferable difference are creatures of Florida law, so a homeowner cannot carry a benefit into Florida from another state or out of Florida to another state. Both the old homestead being abandoned and the new homestead being established must be in Florida, and both must qualify for the homestead exemption for the transfer to work.

Bottom Line

Florida homestead portability under Section 193.155(8) lets a homeowner transfer the Save Our Homes assessment difference — the gap between just value and assessed value — from an old Florida homestead to a new one, up to a $500,000 cap. When upsizing to a home of equal or greater just value, the full difference transfers; when downsizing, the amount is prorated by the ratio of the new home's just value to the old home's. The owner must establish the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year the old one was abandoned — a window extended from two to three years effective January 1, 2021 — and must file Form DR-501T with the new homestead exemption application by March 1. Both properties must be Florida homesteads. For related topics, see our guides to the Save Our Homes cap, the property tax assessment process, and constitutional homestead protection.

Source: Florida Statutes § 193.155(8) (transfer of homestead assessment difference); Fla. Const. Art. VII, § 4(d). F.S. § 193.155 (Florida Senate) · Save Our Homes and Portability (Florida DOR) · F.S. § 193.155 (FindLaw)