Florida homestead portability can reduce a replacement home's assessed value. When downsizing to a home with a lower just value, the transferable benefit is proportional, subject to a $500,000 ceiling under Florida's portability statute. Your new tax bill still depends on exemptions, local tax rates and separate charges. The assessment benefit transfers; the old tax bill does not.

Identify the assessment difference you can transfer

Save Our Homes (SOH) limits annual increases in a qualifying homestead's assessed value to the lower of 3% or the applicable Consumer Price Index change. The accumulated gap between just value and the SOH-limited assessed value is the assessment difference that may qualify for portability. Florida Department of Revenue's SOH guide explains the benefit.

Keep three figures separate:

• Just value: the property appraiser's market valuation.
• Assessed value: value after applicable assessment limitations, before exemptions.
• Taxable value: assessed value minus applicable exemptions.

Calculate the old assessment difference using assessed value. Subtracting taxable value would incorrectly count exemptions as part of the transferable difference. DOR's homebuyer guide distinguishes the three values.

For an ordinary transfer, ask the property appraiser for the old home's January 1 just and assessed values for the year its homestead was abandoned, and the new home's January 1 just value for the year the new homestead is established. Sale prices and square footage do not determine which portability formula applies. Section 193.155(8) specifies the valuation dates.

Florida homestead portability: the downsizing calculation

For a straightforward transfer by one eligible owner, when the new home's just value is lower:

Transferable benefit = the lesser of $500,000 or [(old just value − old assessed value) × new just value ÷ old just value].

New assessed value = new just value − transferable benefit.

Calculate the proportion first, then apply the ceiling. This is algebraically equivalent to the assessed-value formula in section 193.155(8)(b).

Hypothetical example: a $600,000 homestead to a $400,000 homestead

Assume one owner qualifies for the full transfer, abandoned the old homestead in 2025 and established the new one on January 1, 2026. Both properties are entirely homestead, with no ownership-share adjustments or other assessment reductions.

The old difference equals 60% of the old just value: $360,000 ÷ $600,000. Apply that percentage to the new just value:

• Transfer: 60% × $400,000 = $240,000.
• New assessed value: $400,000 − $240,000 = $160,000, before exemptions.

Subtracting the entire old $360,000 difference would produce an incorrect $40,000 assessment. Downsizing preserves the percentage in this example, not the old dollar difference.

For comparison, if the same owner's new just value were $700,000, the higher-value formula would allow the full $360,000 difference, producing a $340,000 assessed value. The statutory ceiling remains $500,000. These are illustrative calculations, not county valuations.

Turn assessed value into a tax estimate

The $160,000 assessment is the starting point for the tax calculation. Next, apply exemptions, calculate each taxing authority's levy and add non-ad valorem assessments.

Apply the exemptions for the correct tax year

For 2026, the basic homestead exemption is $25,000, including for school taxes. The additional exemption is up to $26,411, applies to assessed value above $50,000 and excludes school taxes. DOR published that inflation-adjusted amount in its January 2026 exemption adjustment; its April 1, 2026 exemption-code schedule identifies the school and non-school treatment.

Continuing the hypothetical $160,000 assessment, assume the owner receives both ordinary homestead exemptions and no other exemptions:

Multiplying a single taxable value by a combined tax rate would miss this distinction. These are 2026 exemption amounts, not a forecast for a later tax year.

Apply local rates, then add separate charges

One mill produces $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value. Calculate each levy as taxable value × mills ÷ 1,000, then total the levies. Florida's statutory definitions establish that arithmetic.

Suppose, solely for illustration, school rates total 6 mills, non-school rates total 12 mills, and the parcel has $800 in non-ad valorem assessments:

• School tax: $135,000 × 6 ÷ 1,000 = $810.
• Non-school tax: $108,589 × 12 ÷ 1,000 = $1,303.07.
• Illustrative annual total: $810 + $1,303.07 + $800 = $2,913.07, before any payment discount.

Non-ad valorem assessments are separate charges that are not based on millage. Portability's assessed-value adjustment does not reduce them; verify their amounts separately. Section 197.3632 governs their uniform collection method.

A lower-value home can therefore carry a different—and potentially higher—bill when rates or separate charges differ. Compare the full estimate alongside other ownership costs and affordability considerations.

Check January 1 eligibility before counting on the benefit

The ordinary eligibility window requires a homestead exemption on the previous property as of January 1 of at least one of the three immediately preceding years. Establishing the new homestead depends on ownership and permanent-residence eligibility on January 1. The window is not three years from closing. DOR's portability guide explains how the clock runs; the homestead application addresses residency and ownership.

For example, an owner whose last qualifying January 1 was in 2024 generally needs to establish the new homestead by January 1, 2027. A late-2024 sale does not extend that to late 2027.

Owners who have moved more than once should also check which prior homestead qualifies for the tax roll being estimated. DOR's July 13, 2026 bulletin confirms that the law removing “immediate” from the prior-homestead requirement took effect July 1, 2026, but first applies to the 2027 tax roll.

When planning a home purchase, distinguish the closing-year bill from the next year's assessment. An ordinary purchase generally triggers reassessment the following January 1, subject to the buyer's own qualifying benefits. The purchase-year bill may still reflect the seller's benefits. DOR's homebuyer guide explains this timing.

File the applicable DR-501 and DR-501T forms

As of September 7, 2026, use these statewide versions or the new county's corresponding application process:

The February 2026 adoption record establishes the DR-501 rule's effective date. The August 2026 property tax rules list both versions. Use DR-501 R. 01/26 rather than the superseded R. 08/25 copy.

File the homestead and portability applications with the new home's county property appraiser by the usual March 1 deadline for the tax year claimed. DR-501T supplements the homestead application; applying for homestead alone does not complete the portability request.

Prepare the old and new parcel IDs, county names, deeds and ownership shares; the old homestead's abandonment date and assessment records; and the evidence of permanent residence requested by the appraiser. The forms request information about co-owners, including anyone remaining at the old home. DR-501T also directs the counties' exchange of records for a cross-county transfer.

If owners split into separate households, combine prior homesteads or leave a co-owner behind, obtain an individual determination before using the simple example. Ownership and abandonment rules can limit eligibility or the share transferred. Florida's portability rules address these cases. Consult the property appraiser and a Florida attorney for a disputed ownership or eligibility question.

Verify the figures in the buyer budget

Keep filing receipts and request confirmation of the accepted transfer and exemptions. Reconcile those figures with the proposed-tax notice, each applicable rate and the parcel's separate assessments. If a deadline was missed or a benefit is absent, contact the appraiser promptly about available filing or appeal procedures.

Use the same worksheet for each location in your local housing comparison. Give the lender an estimate labeled with its tax year and assumptions, showing the new assessment, school and non-school taxable values, rates and separate charges.