Florida Homestead Exemption and Save Our Homes: 2026 Amounts and Deadlines

If you own your home in Florida and live in it full time, three rules shape your property tax bill: the homestead exemption, the Save Our Homes cap on assessment increases, and the discount for paying early. Here is how each one works for the 2026 tax year.

How the exemption is built

Florida’s homestead exemption comes in two layers [1][3]:

1. The first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from every property tax on the bill, including school district taxes.
2. A second layer applies to assessed value above $50,000 and only to non-school taxes. It started at $25,000 and, by law, rises each January 1 with inflation when prices go up. For 2026 it is $26,411, so the total can reach $51,411 [5].

The value between $25,000 and $50,000 is taxed in full. So a home assessed at $40,000 gets $25,000 off; a home assessed at $100,000 gets the full two layers off non-school taxes but only $25,000 off school taxes.

Who qualifies, and the March 1 deadline

You must hold title and make the home your permanent residence (or your dependent’s) by January 1 of the tax year, then file Form DR-501 with your county property appraiser by March 1 [3]. Many counties take applications online. Expect to show proof of Florida residency, such as a Florida driver license, vehicle registration or voter registration.

You lose the exemption if you rent the home out as a residence, stop living there permanently, or stop being a Florida resident [3]. Florida has other exemptions too, for some seniors, veterans, people with disabilities and surviving spouses; your property appraiser can tell you which ones you can stack.

Save Our Homes: the cap on increases

Once your home has a homestead exemption, its assessed value can rise each year by no more than 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less [2][4]. The cap starts the year after the home is first assessed with the exemption.

The cap limits the assessed value, not your tax rate. Local governments still set millage rates each year, so your bill can go up even when the assessed value barely moves.

Portability: taking your savings with you

If you sell one Florida homestead and buy another, you can usually move, or “port,” your Save Our Homes savings to the new home, up to $500,000 [2][4].

• Buying a more valuable home: the full difference between market value and assessed value on the old home (up to $500,000) comes off the new home’s market value.
• Downsizing: you get a proportional share of the old savings.
• Timing: you must establish the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you left the old one (not three years after the sale), and file Form DR-501T with your homestead application by March 1 [4].

Paying the bill: discounts and due dates

Property tax bills are due November 1 [8]. Paying early earns a discount [7]:

Unpaid taxes become delinquent on April 1 (or 60 days after the bill was mailed, if that’s later) [8]. If you pay through a mortgage escrow account, check with your lender about when it pays; the discount depends on the month the payment is made.

On the November 3, 2026 ballot

Voters will decide Amendment 3 on November 3, 2026. If at least 60% approve, the non-school homestead exemption would rise to up to $150,000 in 2027 and up to $250,000 in 2028. The $25,000 school-tax exemption, Save Our Homes and portability would stay as they are, and people who become Florida residents on or after January 1, 2027 would start with a smaller exemption. It would first show up on November 2027 bills. Until then, the 2026 rules above apply [5]. We’ll update this guide after the election.