The $50,000 exemption that reduces your taxable value, the Save Our Homes cap that protects it permanently, the senior exemption that can double the savings, and the step-by-step filing process for all four Orlando-area counties.
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Talk to a Specialist →Florida’s homestead exemption is a property tax reduction available to Florida residents who own their primary home. It reduces the assessed value of your home by $50,000 for property tax calculation purposes. On a $500,000 home, it reduces taxable value to $450,000 — saving $425–$475/year depending on your county’s effective rate.
But the exemption itself is only the beginning. The homestead designation also triggers the Save Our Homes (SOH) cap — which limits annual increases in your home’s assessed value to 3% or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. In a rising market, this cap compounds into enormous long-term tax savings.
1. Standard Homestead Exemption: $50,000 reduction in assessed value. Saves $425–$475/year depending on county. Applied every year automatically once filed.
2. Save Our Homes Cap: Limits annual assessment increases to 3% or CPI. Triggered the year after you file homestead. Does not require annual filing. Compounds over time — after 10–20 years, your taxable value is typically far below market value.
3. Additional Senior Exemption (income-tested): An additional $50,000 exemption for homeowners 65+ with household income below approximately $35,167 (2025 limit, adjusted annually). Not all counties offer this — check with your specific county property appraiser.
| Home Value | Lake Co. (0.85%) | Orange Co. (0.87%) | Osceola Co. (0.93%) | Polk Co. (0.95%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $300,000 | $425/yr · $35/mo | $435/yr · $36/mo | $465/yr · $39/mo | $475/yr · $40/mo |
| $400,000 | $425/yr · $35/mo | $435/yr · $36/mo | $465/yr · $39/mo | $475/yr · $40/mo |
| $500,000 | $425/yr · $35/mo | $435/yr · $36/mo | $465/yr · $39/mo | $475/yr · $40/mo |
| With Senior Exemption (if eligible) | $850/yr · $71/mo | $870/yr · $73/mo | $930/yr · $78/mo | $950/yr · $79/mo |
Standard exemption saves the same dollar amount regardless of home value because it is a flat $50,000 assessed value reduction. Senior exemption assumes both $50K exemptions stack ($100K total reduction). Savings are the same whether your home is $300K or $700K — the $50K reduction saves $50K × rate.
The Save Our Homes cap is worth far more than the exemption over time. In a market where homes appreciate 4–6% per year, the SOH cap (limiting assessment growth to 3% or CPI) prevents your tax bill from tracking market value. After 10 years on a $500K home growing at 5% annually, the market value is approximately $814K, but your taxable assessment under SOH might be only $620K — saving approximately $1,500–$1,700/year in annual taxes that compounds permanently. The exemption saves $425–$475/year; the SOH cap can save many times that over a long retirement.
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Filing homestead requires genuine Florida domicile — and some states audit leavers aggressively. New York and New Jersey in particular have sophisticated programs to identify residents who claim Florida domicile while maintaining significant ties to their home state. To establish clean Florida domicile: change your driver’s license within 30 days of establishing Florida residence, register to vote in Florida, file a Declaration of Domicile with your county clerk, update your estate documents to Florida, and reduce your time in your former state to well under 183 days/year. Consult a tax attorney if you have high income or significant ties to your former state.
You cannot claim homestead on more than one property. If you owned a homestead in another state, cancel that exemption before or immediately after filing your Florida homestead. Some buyers delay this step, which can create complications with both states. Cancel the prior state exemption first, then file Florida.
The exemption does not transfer. If you sell your Florida home and buy another in Florida, you must re-file homestead on the new property by the following March 1. However, Florida offers a “portability” provision that allows you to transfer up to $500,000 of your accumulated Save Our Homes benefit to your new Florida home, protecting some of the long-term savings you have built up.
Every year you delay filing homestead is a year the Save Our Homes cap is not protecting you. In a rising market, each uncapped year allows the county to reassess your property at full market value — meaning your tax bill grows proportional to appreciation rather than capped at 3%/CPI.
Example: Buy a $500K home in 2026. Home appreciates 5%/year. If you file homestead immediately: by 2036, taxable value ~$620K. If you wait 3 years to file: by 2036, taxable value ~$735K. Annual tax difference: approximately $975–$1,100. Cumulative 3-year delay impact over the remaining 7 years: $6,825–$7,700. Over a 20-year retirement from year of purchase: tens of thousands of dollars in additional taxes paid unnecessarily.
File the day after closing, not months later. The March 1 deadline applies annually — if you close in October, you have until March 1 to file for the following year. Do not leave this on the to-do list. It takes 20 minutes online and the benefits start immediately the following tax year.
We can walk you through the filing process for any Orlando-area county and help you model the 20-year tax savings at your purchase price.
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