What is Save Our Homes in Florida?
Save Our Homes caps how much a homesteaded home's assessed value can rise each year — 3% or inflation, whichever is lower (2.7% for 2026). It shields long-term owners from runaway tax bills, resets when the home sells, and its accrued benefit can move with you within Florida.
Save Our Homes is Florida's constitutional brake on property-tax growth for the home you live in: once you hold a homestead exemption, your assessed value can rise no more than 3% a year — or the inflation rate, whichever is lower. For 2026 the cap is 2.7% (state figures, verified August 2026).
What it does over time
In years when the market climbs faster than the cap, your assessed value falls behind market value on purpose — and your tax bill lags with it. The longer you own, the wider that protective gap typically grows. It's why two identical houses on one street can carry very different tax bills: one owner arrived twelve years ago, the other last spring.
The buyer's-side catch: the reset
The cap protects the owner, not the house. When a homesteaded home sells, the assessment generally resets toward market value for the new owner — so the seller's tax bill is history, not your forecast. Budgeting from it is the classic first-year surprise, covered in what buyers should know about Florida property taxes.
The mover's perk: portability
Moving within Florida? You may be able to transfer some of your accrued Save Our Homes benefit to your next homestead — worth raising with your county property appraiser before you sell, because it can meaningfully soften the reset on the next home.
The cap begins with the homestead exemption — file it, and Save Our Homes runs quietly in the background for as long as you live there. (Your county appraiser or a tax professional handles the specifics of your situation.)
This answer is general education, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Your situation is unique — let's talk through the specifics together.