Florida homestead: the exemption, the protection, and the rules on who inherits

How to apply for the exemption

1. 1

   Own and live in the home on January 1

   Title in your name or your revocable trust, and the home is your permanent residence on that date. A home bought on January 2 qualifies the following year.

2. 2

   Gather proof of residency

   Florida driver's license, vehicle registration, voter registration, and Social Security numbers for the owners who live there.

3. 3

   File with your county property appraiser by March 1

   Most counties take applications online. If you are moving from another Florida homestead, apply for portability at the same time.

4. 4

   Then leave it alone, correctly

   The exemption renews automatically. Tell the property appraiser if you stop living there, rent it out, or claim a residency-based tax benefit anywhere else.

1. The property tax exemption

For 2026, the exemption takes the first $25,000 of assessed value off every tax, including school taxes, and an additional $26,411 (on assessed value above $50,000) off every tax except school taxes, for a total reduction of $51,411 against non-school taxes. The additional amount is adjusted for inflation each year.

Save Our Homes then caps how much your assessed value can rise each year: 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. Over years the gap between market value and assessed value can become large, and you can take up to $500,000 of it with you to a new Florida home.

2. Protection from creditors

Florida's constitution protects a homestead from forced sale by most creditors, with no dollar limit. The protection covers up to half an acre inside a city or town and up to 160 acres outside one. The exceptions are taxes and assessments on the property, debts for buying, improving, or repairing the home (such as the purchase mortgage), and debts for labor performed on it.

Bankruptcy has its own federal rule: equity added within roughly 1,215 days before filing can be capped. That rule applies only in bankruptcy.

3. Who can inherit it

If you are survived by a spouse or a minor child, Florida's constitution limits who can receive your homestead, even if it is in a revocable trust. A plan written in another state can leave the house to someone Florida will not let take it.

When the tax benefit ends

Selling the home, moving out, renting it for more than 30 days a year for 2 consecutive years, or claiming a residency-based tax break in another state ends the exemption. If your home passes to children who do not live in it, the assessed value generally resets to market value the following year, and the tax bill can jump.

Common questions

When is the deadline to apply for the Florida homestead exemption?

March 1 of the tax year, with your county property appraiser. You must have owned and lived in the home on January 1 of that year.

I bought my Florida home in June. When can I get homestead?

The following January 1, if you own and live in it then. Apply by March 1 of that year.

Do I have to reapply every year?

No. It renews automatically. You must tell the property appraiser if anything changes that affects your eligibility.

Will putting my home in a living trust cost me the homestead exemption?

Not if it is done correctly. A home held in your revocable trust qualifies when you are a beneficiary who lives there as your permanent residence.

Can I have a homestead exemption in Florida and another state?

No. Florida denies its exemption to anyone receiving or claiming a property tax benefit in another state that requires permanent residency there.

How much is the Florida homestead exemption?

For 2026, a total of $51,411 off assessed value for non-school taxes and $25,000 for school taxes, plus the Save Our Homes cap on future increases.

Other sources

• Florida Department of Revenue, property tax exemptions