Save Our Homes caps assessed value, not your tax bill

The cap begins the year after the home first receives a homestead exemption. Each year’s limit is the lower of 3% or the annual change in the Consumer Price Index; Florida Revenue’s table gives the figure for 2026 and earlier years.

For example, suppose a continuing homestead had a $250,000 assessed value in 2025 and a $340,000 just (market) value in 2026. With no ownership change, new construction, or other adjustment, the 2.7% cap limits its 2026 assessed value to $256,750: $250,000 plus $6,750. The $83,250 gap below market value is the accumulated Save Our Homes benefit, not a tax credit or a dollar reduction in the bill.

Exemptions are then subtracted to find taxable value, and the applicable tax rates determine the value-based taxes. Non-ad valorem assessments pay for services or improvements on a basis other than property value. Those separate calculations mean the total bill can rise by more than 2.7%, even when the assessed value stays within the cap. The property-tax guide walks through the bill’s different numbers.

A sale or other ownership change generally resets the assessment to just value on the following January 1, although certain transfers, including between spouses, are exceptions. Eligible owners moving to another Florida homestead may be able to transfer part or all of their assessment difference through portability. Revenue’s Save Our Homes brochure explains those limits and the separate application.

Use the county property appraiser’s record to compare just, assessed, and taxable value, then use the tax collector’s bill for the amount due. The cap protects one step in that calculation; it does not fix every number that follows.