Can I port my homestead savings from another Florida county?
Short Answer
Yes. Florida portability lets you move your Save Our Homes savings from your old homestead to a new one anywhere in the state, up to a cap set in the constitution. You have three tax years, counted from Jan. 1 of the year you left the old homestead. You must apply on the new homestead by March 1.
Can I port my homestead savings from another Florida county?
Yes. Portability works anywhere in Florida. If you had a homestead in Hillsborough or Pasco and buy a new homestead in Pinellas, you can move the Save Our Homes savings with you.
Those savings are the gap between your old home's market value and its capped assessed value. The constitution caps how much you can move.
How the time limit works
You have three tax years. The clock starts on Jan. 1 of the year you gave up the old homestead, not the day you sold. Pinellas gives this example: sell any time in 2026, and the window runs to Jan. 1, 2029. You must own and live in the new home by then and apply by March 1 of that year.
A late-year sale shortens the real window. Plan for it.
Bigger home or smaller home?
- Buying a home worth more: you can generally move the full savings, up to the cap.
- Buying a home worth less: the savings are scaled down in proportion.
The property appraiser does the math.
What this looks like in Pinellas
You apply with the Pinellas County Property Appraiser. You file the homestead application and the portability application together. The appraiser confirms your old savings with the other county.
Step by step
- Note the Jan. 1 date that starts your clock.
- Buy and move into the new Florida home within the window.
- Update your Florida license and vehicle registration.
- File for homestead and portability on the new home by March 1.
- Check the August notice to see the savings applied.
Portability at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Works between counties? | Yes, anywhere in Florida |
| Automatic? | No. You must apply |
| Time limit | Three tax years from Jan. 1 of the year you left |
| Deadline to apply | March 1 |
| Can I port from another state? | No. It's Florida to Florida only |
What you control and what you don't
You control your timing and filing. You don't control the cap or how the appraiser calculates a downsized benefit.
Common mistakes
- Counting the three years from the sale date.
- Filing homestead but not portability.
- Waiting too long and losing the window.
What portability moves
Under Save Our Homes, a homestead's assessed value grows slowly, so a gap builds between market value and assessed value. Portability lets you move much of that gap, up to a limit set in the state constitution, to a new Florida homestead. That works across county lines, so you can move from one county to Pinellas and carry savings with you.
The timing rule
You must have had a Florida homestead exemption as of January 1 in any of the three years before the January 1 your new homestead starts. Starting with the 2027 tax roll, that prior homestead doesn't have to be the one you lived in most recently. Miss that window and the benefit is gone. If you're between homes, track the dates.
How the amount is figured
If your new home's just value is equal to or higher than the old one's, you can generally carry the full benefit, up to the limit. If you downsize, the benefit is scaled to the new home's value compared with the old one. The Property Appraiser in the new county runs the math after checking with the old county.
How to apply
File the portability form along with your new homestead application in the new county, by the March 1 deadline. You'll list the address of the old home and the year you left it. The new county contacts the old county to confirm the numbers. Portability has its own late-filing window, the same 25 days after the TRIM notice, under section 193.155(8)(j).
Couples and portability
When spouses had separate homesteads, or split up and buy separate homes, each new homestead may receive a share. Rules depend on who owned what. Ask the Property Appraiser before you file.
Portability is not automatic
You must ask for it. If you file for homestead in Pinellas and skip the portability form, you may lose the transfer.
What portability doesn't move
It moves the assessed value difference. It doesn't move other exemptions. Exemptions like those for seniors or veterans have to be applied for in the new county.
How it shows on your notice
Your TRIM notice in August will show the portability benefit as a reduction in assessed value. Check that it's there.
Questions to ask
- What year did I leave my last homestead?
- Is the new home more or less valuable than the old one?
- Did I file the portability form with my application?
Selling one home before buying the next
Many owners sell first, rent for a while, and then buy. That can work as long as the new homestead is set by the deadline. Keep your old county's records, like the last tax bill and any notice of the exemption ending. They help if the new county has questions.
Moving within Pinellas
Portability also works within the same county. The process is the same: file the form with your new application.
What to do next
If you're selling one Florida home and buying another, I can help you plan the timing so you keep your savings. Book a consult, or read how property taxes work in Tampa Bay.