Florida Homestead Exemption

What the homestead exemption actually does

The Florida homestead exemption is a constitutional benefit that reduces the assessed value of your primary residence by up to $50,000 before property taxes are calculated. The first $25,000 applies to all property taxes including school district taxes. The second $25,000 applies to non-school taxes only.

Beyond the dollar reduction, the exemption activates the Save Our Homes cap, which limits the annual increase in your assessed value to 3 percent or the change in CPI, whichever is lower. This is the more valuable long-term benefit. It is what keeps long-time Florida residents paying lower taxes than their newer neighbors.

Who qualifies

To qualify for the Florida homestead exemption, all of the following must be true on January 1 of the tax year:

• You own the home (deed in your name, individual or joint)
• The home is your permanent primary residence
• You are a Florida resident (driver license, voter registration, vehicle registration all updated)
• You are NOT claiming a residency-based exemption in another state

How to file in Brevard County

Brevard homeowners file with the Brevard County Property Appraiser (BCPAO). The process:

1. Close on your home and become a Florida resident
2. Gather documents: deed, Florida driver license, voter registration, vehicle registration, Social Security number
3. File online at bcpao.us, by mail, or in person at the BCPAO office in Titusville, Melbourne, or Palm Bay
4. Submit between January 1 and March 1 of the year you want the exemption
5. The exemption applies to that tax year and renews automatically as long as you continue to qualify

The Save Our Homes cap and why it matters

Once you have homestead, your assessed value can only rise 3 percent per year or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. Even if your market value rises 15 percent in a hot year, your assessed value (the figure your taxes are calculated on) only rises 3 percent.

Over a decade in a rising market, this gap can be tens of thousands of dollars in tax savings. It is why a longtime Brevard homeowner often pays significantly less in property taxes than their newer neighbor in an identical home.

Portability for Florida-to-Florida moves

If you already have homestead in Florida and you move within the state, you can carry your accumulated Save Our Homes savings with you. This is called portability.

You can transfer up to $500,000 of accumulated savings to your new homestead. Portability applies whether you upsize or downsize. You have three tax years to file the portability application after giving up your old homestead.

Common mistakes relocation buyers make

For more on how Florida property taxes work, see livingspacecoast.com/property-taxes-brevard-county/. For the broader financial picture of moving from a high-tax state, see livingspacecoast.com/no-state-income-tax-florida/.