What Is the Save Our Homes Cap?

Short answer

Save Our Homes is the Florida constitutional rule that limits how much the assessed value of a homesteaded property can rise each year: no more than 3% or the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower (Florida Statutes 193.155, as of October 2026). Over time, longtime owners pay taxes on a value far below market. When you sell and buy another Florida homestead, portability lets you transfer up to $500,000 of that accumulated difference.

Definition

The Save Our Homes (SOH) cap limits annual increases in assessed value for homestead property, regardless of how fast market value rises. The gap between market (just) value and capped assessed value is the SOH benefit, which resets when the property sells.

Worked example

A Coral Gables owner bought in 2016 and the home was assessed at $600,000. With a 3% cap each year, after 10 years the assessed value is at most $600,000 x 1.03^10 = about $806,000. Market value in 2026 is $1,400,000. SOH benefit = $1,400,000 - $806,000 = $594,000, but portability is capped at $500,000. She sells and buys a $1,200,000 home in Pinecrest. Her new assessed value starts at $1,200,000 - $500,000 = $700,000 instead of $1,200,000. At an illustrative 1.9% total millage, that is about $9,500 a year in tax savings. The buyer of her Coral Gables house starts fresh at $1,400,000.

How the cap works

• Applies only to property with a homestead exemption; non-homestead property has a separate, higher cap.
• Each January 1 the assessed value rises by the lower of 3% or the CPI change (Florida Statutes 193.155(1)).
• Additions and improvements are added at full value in the year completed.
• When the property sells or the homestead is abandoned, assessed value resets to just (market) value the following January 1.

Portability

Portability moves your SOH benefit to a new Florida homestead, up to $500,000 (Florida Statutes 193.155(8)). Moving to a more expensive home transfers the full dollar benefit; moving to a less expensive home transfers a proportional share. File form DR-501T with your new homestead application. The savings reduce your taxes and therefore your PITI after the first year.

In South Florida

South Florida's price run-up made Save Our Homes one of the biggest financial facts in a Miami purchase. The seller's tax bill on the listing can be a third of what you will pay, because their cap ends at sale and your assessment resets to roughly the purchase price. Lenders who estimate escrow from the seller's bill set buyers up for a shortage. Moving within Florida? Portability can be worth thousands a year, and it must be applied for with your new homestead application (within three tax years of leaving the old homestead).