You have owned your Florida home for years, and your tax bill has barely moved while your home's value soared. Now you want to sell and buy in St. Petersburg. The fear is simple: will your property taxes reset to full market value the moment you move?

Not if you use Save Our Homes portability. Florida lets you carry up to $500,000 of your built-up tax savings to your next homestead. By the end of this guide, you will know how the math works, how to file Form DR-501T, what changed in 2026, and five avoidable mistakes.

What Is Save Our Homes Portability?

Save Our Homes portability is a Florida rule that lets a homesteaded owner move up to $500,000 of their "assessment difference" (the gap between market value and assessed value) to a new Florida homestead. You must establish the new homestead within three years and file Form DR-501T with your county property appraiser by March 1.

Here is why that gap exists. Under Section 193.155(1), Florida Statutes, which carries out Article VII, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution, the assessed value of a homestead can rise by no more than 3% a year, or the change in inflation, whichever is lower. According to the Pinellas County Property Appraiser, that cap was 3.0% for 2024, 2.9% for 2025, and 2.7% for 2026.

Meanwhile, Pinellas home prices kept climbing. The Pinellas REALTOR Organization's July 2026 report shows a single-family median sale price of $469,000, up 7.8% from a year earlier. When market value grows faster than the cap, your savings grow every year. Statewide, the gap is enormous. The Legislature's Office of Economic and Demographic Research reports that 4.65 million Florida homestead parcels benefited from Save Our Homes and portability in 2025, and that the total gap between homestead market value and assessed value was about $900 billion, or 37.6% of homestead market value. Portability keeps your share of that from vanishing when you move.

How Florida Homestead Portability Is Calculated

The formula depends on whether you are buying a more expensive home or a less expensive one. Both use values from January 1 of the year you left your old homestead.

Upsizing (new home worth the same or more): full dollar difference transfers, up to $500,000. Statute: s. 193.155(8)(a).
Downsizing (new home worth less): your savings percentage transfers, still capped at $500,000. Statute: s. 193.155(8)(b).
Joint owners: the difference is divided by the number of owners who held the exemption (or by ownership shares if the deed lists them), never more than $500,000 in total. Statute: s. 193.155(8)(d).

Upsizing: Buying a Home Worth the Same or More

You subtract your full assessment difference (up to $500,000) from the new home's market value.

Illustrative example: Consider a couple selling a home in Tampa with a market value of $650,000 and an assessed value of $350,000. Their difference is $300,000. They buy a $1,200,000 home on a St. Pete waterfront street. Their new assessed value starts at $900,000, not $1,200,000.

At the 2025 Pinellas countywide average non-school rate of 12.2011 mills, the most recent average published by the Property Appraiser, that $300,000 reduction is worth about $3,660 a year in non-school taxes alone. The savings repeat every year they own the home, and the gap can keep growing under the annual cap.

Downsizing: Buying a Home Worth Less

You keep the same percentage of savings instead of the full dollar amount. The statute uses this formula: new market value divided by old market value, times old assessed value.

Illustrative example: A retiree's home is worth $900,000 and assessed at $450,000, so it is taxed at 50% of value. She buys a $600,000 condo near downtown St. Pete. Her new assessed value is 300,000(600,000 ÷ $900,000 × $450,000). She keeps her 50% ratio on the smaller home. The $500,000 limit applies here too: if the gap between the new market value and that result were larger than $500,000, the assessed value would be raised until the gap equals $500,000.

When the $500,000 Cap Kicks In

Long-time owners of high-end homes often have differences well above $500,000. If your old home was worth $2,000,000 and assessed at $800,000, your gap is $1,200,000. Only $500,000 transfers. The rest is lost. Budget around the $500,000 figure, not the full gap.

How to Transfer Your Homestead Exemption in Florida: 6 Steps

Here is the process from listing to approval. Most lost savings come from missed dates, so build your timeline first.

Confirm your current numbers. Pull your last TRIM notice or look up your parcel on your county property appraiser's site. Write down the "just" (market) value and the assessed value for January 1 of the year you will sell.
Close on your sale and your purchase. You can buy first or sell first. What counts is when you stop using the old home as your homestead and when you establish the new one.
Move in and make it your permanent residence by January 1. Florida homestead status is set as of January 1. If you close on a St. Pete home in October 2026 and live there, you qualify for the 2027 tax year.
Gather your documents. The Pinellas Property Appraiser's filing guide asks every owner and spouse for a Florida driver's license and vehicle registration, Pinellas voter registration (if registered), and Social Security numbers. A permanent resident card is required for non-U.S. citizens. For portability, also have the address and parcel ID of your old homestead.
File the homestead application and portability Form DR-501T by March 1. The Florida Department of Revenue's Form DR-501T, titled "Transfer of Homestead Assessment Difference," asks for your old address, county, parcel ID, the date you stopped using it as a homestead, and every co-owner. File it in the county where the new home sits.
Check your August TRIM notice. Your proposed assessed value should reflect the transfer. If it does not, call the appraiser right away. TRIM season is your window to fix errors before bills go out.

Filing in Pinellas County

Online: Use the E-File Homestead Exemption link at pcpao.gov. You need a Florida driver's license to file online.
In person in St. Pete: The South County office is at 2500 34th St N, 2nd Floor, St. Petersburg, FL 33713. Offices in Clearwater and Largo also accept applications, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
By phone: The Exemptions Department is at (727) 464-3207.
Seller's exemption still showing? That is normal. According to the Pinellas Property Appraiser, the prior owner's exemption is removed at the end of the year you buy. It does not carry over to you, so you still need to file your own.

Sample Timeline for a 2026 Move

By August 2026: Close the sale of the old homestead (it keeps its 2026 exemption for the rest of the year).
October 2026: Close on the St. Pete home and move in.
January 1, 2027: You are living in the new home, so it qualifies for the 2027 tax year.
By March 1, 2027: File the Pinellas homestead application and Form DR-501T.
August 2027: Your TRIM notice shows the reduced assessed value. Check it.
November 2027: Your first tax bill with portability applied arrives.

Missed the Portability Form DR-501T Deadline?

Missed March 1? According to the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser, you can still apply within the three-year window, but you lose the savings for any years that already passed. Prior taxes are not refunded.

Watch the window itself, too. The Pinellas Property Appraiser notes that the three tax years are counted from January 1 of the last year you held a homestead exemption, not from your sale date. Sell late in the year and your real window can shrink to about two years.

Pros and Cons of Using Portability

Pros

Big, recurring savings. A $300,000 transfer can cut thousands from every annual bill.
Works anywhere in Florida. Move from Orlando, Naples, or Tampa to St. Pete and the benefit comes with you.
Makes moving up affordable. Upsizers keep their full dollar savings, up to the cap.
Three-year window. Voters extended it from two years to three, effective 2021, per the Pinellas County Property Appraiser.
Sell without starting over. You collect today's market price on your old home and still keep your tax savings, up to the cap.

Cons

Hard $500,000 limit. Owners with larger gaps lose the excess.
Downsizers get a ratio, not a dollar amount. Your savings shrink along with the home price.
Nothing happens automatically. If you skip DR-501T, you get nothing.
Florida only. Portability does not follow you to another state or back.
Joint owners split it. When co-owners move to separate homes, the difference is divided among them, not doubled.

5 Portability Mistakes St. Pete Sellers Make

Assuming the new home inherits the seller's exemption. It does not. The seller's exemption covers the year you buy, then it is removed. If you have not filed your own homestead and DR-501T by March 1, your next year's bill can jump to full market value.
Moving in after January 1. Close and occupy before New Year's Day, or you wait a full extra year.
Forgetting co-owners. Every owner who held the old homestead must be listed on DR-501T.
Divorcing spouses using the wrong form. Spouses married when they left the home can split their shares with Form DR-501TS, according to Miami-Dade's portability guidance.
Budgeting off the listing's current tax bill. Use the Pinellas Property Appraiser's Tax Estimator, which accounts for portability, and run your full payment in our mortgage calculator.

What Changed in 2026, and What Is on the Ballot

Two updates matter right now.

First, the Legislature passed Chapter 2026-239, Laws of Florida. The Department of Revenue says it removes the requirement that the prior homestead be your "immediate" prior homestead, aligning the statute with the Florida Constitution. It took effect July 1, 2026 and first applies to the 2027 tax roll. If you owned more than one homestead in recent years, ask the appraiser how this applies to you.

Second, Amendment 3 is on the November 3, 2026 ballot. According to the Pinellas County Property Appraiser, it would raise the non-school homestead exemption to up to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 if 60% of voters approve it. The appraiser states the amendment does not change portability and does not eliminate Save Our Homes. Under the measure, people who become Florida residents on or after January 1, 2027 would start with a $50,000 non-school exemption and become eligible for the larger amount after four years of homestead exemption, so out-of-state buyers should factor that timing into their move.

The Bottom Line on Save Our Homes Portability

Save Our Homes portability can be worth thousands of dollars a year to a long-time Florida owner. Used correctly, it lets you sell at today's prices and still keep years of tax savings on your next St. Pete home. Used carelessly, it disappears with one missed deadline.

Planning a move? Start with our guide to selling your house in St. Petersburg, then contact Eagan Luxury to map your sale, purchase, and January 1 timeline so your tax savings make the trip with you.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can I transfer with Florida homestead portability?

You can transfer up to $500,000 of your assessment difference, which is the gap between your old home's market value and its assessed value as of January 1 of the year you left it. If you buy a less expensive home, the transfer is a percentage based on the price ratio instead of the full dollar amount.

What is the deadline to file Form DR-501T?

File Form DR-501T with your homestead application by March 1 of the first tax year you claim the new home. You must establish the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the last year you held the old exemption. Late filing within that window is allowed, but earlier years' savings are not refunded.

Can I transfer my homestead exemption from another state to Florida?

No. Portability only moves savings between two Florida homesteads. Buyers relocating from another state start fresh with a standard Florida homestead exemption, and their assessed value begins at market value. The Save Our Homes cap then limits future increases on the new home.

Does portability work if I buy my new home before I sell my old one?

Yes. What matters is when you stop using the old home as your homestead and when you establish the new one as your permanent residence on January 1. You cannot hold two homestead exemptions in the same year, so the old one must be given up.

Does Amendment 3 change Save Our Homes portability?

According to the Pinellas County Property Appraiser, no. Amendment 3 on the November 3, 2026 ballot would increase the homestead exemption amount, but the appraiser states it does not change portability. The Save Our Homes cap stays at the lesser of 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, which was 2.7% for 2026.

Do both spouses get $500,000 each?

No. A married couple leaving one jointly owned homestead shares one assessment difference, capped at $500,000 in total. If they move to separate homes, the difference is divided by the number of owners who held the exemption, or by ownership shares if the deed lists them. Spouses married when they left the home can designate their shares on Form DR-501TS.

Save Our Homes Portability | How to Move Your Florida Tax Cap to a New St. Pete Home

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