Florida Portability Calculator

This Florida portability calculator shows Florida homeowners how much of their Save Our Homes benefit they can carry to a new homestead in 2026, the new home's assessed value and the yearly tax it saves. It follows the upsizing and downsizing formulas in section 193.155(8) of the Florida Statutes, which set the portability rules for a Florida homestead moving to a new home, and the guidance in the Florida Department of Revenue's PT-112 guide. Figures checked October 2026.

Quick answer: Subtract the old home's assessed value from its just value to get your benefit, capped at $500,000. A Florida portability calculator then takes the full benefit off a pricier new home, so $215,000 on a $620,000 home gives $405,000. When downsizing, the new assessed value is new value ÷ old value × old assessed value.

What Is Save Our Homes Portability?

Save Our Homes portability is the right to move the gap between a Florida homestead's just value and its capped assessed value to a new Florida homestead, up to $500,000. The gap builds because, after the first year of homestead, the assessed value can rise each year by only 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower.

The formula in plain words: benefit = old just value minus old assessed value, both as of 1 January of the year you left. If the new home's just value is the same or higher, its assessed value is its just value minus the benefit. If it is lower, the new assessed value is the new just value divided by the old just value, multiplied by the old assessed value. Either way the amount ported cannot pass $500,000.

How to Use the Florida Portability Calculator

Step 1: Enter Your Old Home

Enter the just value and assessed value of the home you left, as of 1 January of the year you moved out, from your TRIM notice or the property appraiser's website. If you owned it with someone other than your spouse, enter your share, because each owner takes their part of the benefit. Then add the year you left.

Step 2: Enter the New Home's Just Value

Use the just value the property appraiser sets on 1 January of the first year you claim homestead on the new home. If you have not had a notice yet, the purchase price is a reasonable stand in, though the appraiser's figure is often lower.

Step 3: Enter the Millage Rate

Each mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of taxable value. The 18 mills default is an example, so copy the total rate for your new address from the TRIM notice or the county tax collector to see a closer saving.

Step 4: Read Your Results

You see the benefit ported, the new assessed value, the yearly tax saving at your millage rate and the latest 1 January by which you need the new homestead exemption. The table shows each step, including whether the downsizing ratio or the $500,000 cap was used.

How Is Florida Homestead Portability Calculated?

Florida homestead portability is calculated by taking the old home's just value minus its assessed value, capped at $500,000, and subtracting it in full from a new home worth the same or more, or in proportion from a cheaper one. The table uses an old home worth $480,000 and assessed at $265,000, a $215,000 benefit.

New home just value	Rule used	Benefit ported	New assessed value
$300,000	Downsizing (300 ÷ 480)	$134,375	$165,625
$400,000	Downsizing (400 ÷ 480)	$179,167	$220,833
$480,000	Same value	$215,000	$265,000
$620,000	Upsizing	$215,000	$405,000
$900,000	Upsizing	$215,000	$685,000

Worked example: the Reyes family sell their Orlando home in May 2026. On 1 January 2026 it had a just value of $480,000 and an assessed value of $265,000, so their benefit is $215,000. They buy a $620,000 home in Sarasota and claim homestead for 2027. Because they are upsizing, the new assessed value is $620,000 minus $215,000 = $405,000. At an example 18 mills, that saves about $3,870 a year compared with being assessed at full value.

What Happens to Portability When You Downsize?

When you downsize, you keep the same percentage discount rather than the same dollar amount. Moving from the $480,000 home to a $300,000 condo, the new assessed value is $300,000 ÷ $480,000 × $265,000 = $165,625, so $134,375 of benefit comes with you. Buyers moving in from another state get no benefit to port, which is one reason the Florida doc stamp calculator and the first year tax bill both matter when budgeting a purchase.

How Long Do You Have to Transfer Portability in Florida?

You have until 1 January of the third year after the year you left your old homestead to establish a homestead exemption on the new home. Leave in 2026 and the new home needs the exemption by 1 January 2029. The clock runs from the year you stopped living there, not the sale date. File Form DR-501T with your homestead application, Form DR-501, by 1 March of the year you claim, and if two owners each bring a benefit to one new home, only the higher one counts, still capped at $500,000.

Property tax rules can change: a property tax amendment, Amendment 3, is on the 3 November 2026 ballot, so check with your county property appraiser whether anything changes for 2027 before you rely on these figures. Homeowners comparing states can see how California treats a move with the California Prop 19 calculator, which carries the old base value to a new home in a similar way. Until then, the calculator applies the current law in section 193.155(8).

Florida property taxes you pay may be deductible on your federal return if you itemise, as the IRS guide for homeowners explains, within the federal limit on state and local taxes. Treat this Florida portability calculator as an estimate and confirm the ported amount with the property appraiser in the county you are moving to.

Florida Portability Terms You Should Know

These terms explain the values and rules the Florida portability calculator uses, so you can follow how your Save Our Homes benefit moves to a new homestead.

Just value

The market value a Florida county property appraiser assigns to a property as of January 1 each year. It is the starting point for assessment, and the gap between it and the capped assessed value forms the portable benefit.

Assessed value

The value used for property tax after statutory limits are applied to just value. For a homestead, Save Our Homes restricts how fast it can rise, so in a rising market it falls well below the just value over time.

Save Our Homes cap

A Florida constitutional limit on annual increases in the assessed value of a homestead. Each year's increase is held to the lower of a fixed percentage or the change in the Consumer Price Index, protecting long-term owners from steep reassessments.

Homestead exemption

A Florida property tax benefit for a permanent residence owned and occupied by the applicant as of January 1. Qualifying for it on the new home is a precondition for transferring a Save Our Homes benefit from the old one.

TRIM notice

The Truth in Millage notice mailed to Florida property owners each year, listing just value, assessed value, exemptions and proposed millage rates for every taxing authority. It is the main source for the figures this calculation needs.

Millage rate

The property tax rate expressed in mills, where one mill equals one dollar of tax per thousand dollars of taxable value. Combined rates from county, school board and other authorities make up the total millage for an address.

Frequently Asked Questions