When Does Your Florida Portability Window Close?
Program and regulatory figures verified September 19, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
One year and two values will tell you when your window closes and roughly what is riding on it.
When does your Florida portability window close?
The clock runs from the tax year your old homestead lapsed, not from your closing date. Enter the last tax year you held the homestead exemption on the home you are leaving.
Illustration only. Your county property appraiser determines eligibility and the assessed value, and this is not tax advice or a loan commitment.
What the answer means
The date is the one most Florida buyers are given incorrectly. Section 193.155(8) requires that you received a homestead exemption as of January 1 of any of the 3 immediately preceding years, and the Department of Revenue phrases it as establishing the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you abandoned the old one, adding that this is not three years after the sale.
So the deadline is tied to the tax year your old homestead lapsed. If you are buying before selling, you have more influence over that than you might think, and it is worth knowing before rather than after.
On the amount
The second figure is an illustration of the upsizing case, where the new homestead's just value is at or above the old one's. If you are buying a less expensive home the transfer is proportional instead: the new assessed value equals the new just value divided by the old just value, multiplied by the old assessed value. That produces a smaller dollar benefit, by design. Worked through on the portability page.
What it deliberately leaves out
Eligibility. Whether you held a qualifying homestead, whether a spouse or other family member holds one elsewhere, and whether you receive a residency-based exemption in another state all bear on whether any transfer is available. Your county property appraiser determines that, and your CPA or a Florida attorney is the right person to plan it with.
Also whether you qualify for the mortgage. That is an income and debt question this cannot see, and it is the one that decides the transaction. We run it properly on a first call.
Homestead eligibility, portability claims and landlord notice requirements are legal and tax questions. Your CPA, a Florida attorney, and your county property appraiser own those answers. We flag them because they change the numbers we underwrite.
Frequently asked questions
When is the deadline to claim Florida portability?
You must be approved for homestead on the new Florida home by January 1 of the third year following the year the old homestead was abandoned. The statute requires that you received a homestead exemption as of January 1 of any of the 3 immediately preceding years, and the forms are due by March 1.
How do I calculate my portable Save Our Homes benefit?
Subtract your old home's assessed value from its just value. That difference is your accumulated assessment benefit, and portability transfers the lesser of that figure or $500,000 when you buy a home of equal or greater just value. Downsizing prorates the transfer instead.
Does this calculator determine whether I qualify?
No. It shows a deadline and an illustrative amount. Eligibility depends on your homestead history, your family unit's exemptions, and whether you receive a residency-based exemption in another state. Your county property appraiser makes that determination.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. Homestead eligibility, portability, and landlord-tenant rules change and depend on your facts; your county property appraiser, your CPA or a Florida attorney, and your real estate agent each handle their own part. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.