Two identical homes on one street can carry property tax bills thousands of dollars apart. The reason is a 1992 amendment that caps how fast a homestead's assessed value can rise.
- Save Our Homes caps annual increases in a homestead's assessed value at 3% or the change in CPI, whichever is lower.
- The gap between market value and capped assessed value is your accumulated benefit. It can reach six figures on a long-held home.
- A sale or change of ownership resets the assessment to market value the following January 1.
- You can carry up to $500,000 of the benefit to a new Florida homestead through portability.
Where the cap comes from
Florida voters approved the Save Our Homes amendment in 1992, and it took effect for the 1995 tax roll. It is now Article VII, section 4 of the Florida Constitution and section 193.155 of the statutes. The rule is short: once a property has a homestead exemption, its assessed value may not rise by more than 3% per year or the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. In the years after 2020 when inflation ran above 3%, the cap held at 3%. In low-inflation years it has been under 1%.
The cap applies to assessed value, not to market value and not to the tax rate. The property appraiser still estimates full market value every year. The cap simply limits how much of that value you are taxed on.
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How the benefit builds
Take a home bought for $350,000 in 2015 with a homestead exemption. If its market value doubled by 2026, the assessed value under the cap could have risen only about 3% a year, to roughly $480,000. The difference between the $700,000 market value and the $480,000 assessed value, around $220,000, is the Save Our Homes benefit, and it is printed on your TRIM notice as the assessment differential.
Multiply that differential by the millage rate and you have the dollars the cap saves you every year. At 18 mills, $220,000 of protected value is roughly $3,960 a year. That is why a long-time owner and a recent buyer on the same street can pay very different amounts. The recent buyer is paying on today's value. The long-time owner is paying on a value that has been climbing 3% a year since the mid-1990s.
The cap does have a sting. In a year when the market drops but your assessed value is still below market, your assessed value can still rise 3%. This is the recapture rule, and it is why some owners saw their assessment go up in 2009 while their neighbors' home values fell.
What resets the cap
The cap belongs to the homestead, not the person, and it resets to full market value on the January 1 after a change of ownership. A sale is the obvious case. Others surprise people: transferring the home to an LLC, adding a non-spouse to the deed, or a transfer at death to someone who does not qualify as a continuing homestead. Some transfers are protected by statute: adding or removing a spouse, transfers between spouses in a divorce, transfers into a revocable trust where the owner keeps the beneficial interest, and correcting a deed. If the appraiser reset your cap after one of those, it can be fixed through the appeal process.
The reset is also why buyers should never budget from the seller's tax bill. The seller's bill reflects the seller's cap. Your first full bill will reflect your purchase price. We explain the timing in why Florida property taxes go up the year after you buy.
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Portability: taking the benefit with you
Since 2008, Florida lets you carry the Save Our Homes differential from one homestead to the next, up to $500,000. Move up in price and the full differential transfers. Move down and a proportional share transfers. The application is filed with your new homestead application, and as of 2021 you have three tax years after abandoning the old homestead to establish the new one and claim it. The rules and a worked example are in our homestead portability guide, and the portability calculator shows the dollars for your move.
Non-homestead property has its own cap
Second homes, rentals and commercial property are not covered by Save Our Homes. Since 2008 they have a separate 10% annual cap that applies to every levy except school taxes. It is less generous and it resets on the same events. Investors and snowbirds should read the 10% cap for non-homestead property before relying on last year's bill.
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Submit a Contract →What this means when you sell
Your capped assessment is worth money to you and nothing to your buyer. A listing that advertises "low taxes" is describing the seller's cap, and an experienced buyer's agent will recalculate. Sellers with a large differential should look at portability before closing rather than after, because the benefit only travels to another Florida homestead. Our property tax estimator will show a buyer what the home will actually cost once the cap resets.
Related Reading
Florida Homestead Portability (2026): Transfer Your Savings
Moving within Florida? Portability transfers up to $500,000 of Save Our Homes savings to your new home.
Florida's 10% Cap on Non-Homestead Property Taxes, Explained
Investment and vacation property gets its own assessment cap in Florida.
Why Florida Property Taxes Jump the Year After You Buy
The bill prorated at closing belongs to the seller's assessment and exemptions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Save Our Homes cap in Florida?
A constitutional limit that prevents the assessed value of a homestead property from rising more than 3% per year, or the change in the Consumer Price Index if that is lower, regardless of how much market value increases.
Does Save Our Homes lower my tax rate?
No. It limits the assessed value your taxes are calculated on. The millage rate is set separately by each taxing authority every year.
Why does my neighbor pay less property tax on a similar house?
They have likely owned it longer under a homestead exemption. Their assessed value has been capped at 3% growth per year, while a recent purchase is assessed at its full market value.
What resets the Save Our Homes cap?
A change of ownership, such as a sale, a transfer to an LLC, or adding a non-spouse to the deed. Transfers between spouses, into a revocable trust, or to correct a deed generally do not reset it.
Can I take my Save Our Homes benefit to a new house?
Yes. Portability lets you transfer up to $500,000 of the assessment differential to a new Florida homestead, if you establish the new homestead within three tax years.
Does Save Our Homes apply to rental or vacation property?
No. Non-homestead property has a separate 10% annual cap that does not apply to school taxes.