Downsizing without losing your tax savings.
Florida lets you take part of your homestead tax savings with you. Here's how much, and the paperwork that makes it happen.
Portability, in plain numbers
If you have had a homestead exemption on any of the last three January 1sts, Florida lets you move your Save Our Homes savings to your next homestead, up to $500,000 (Florida Statutes 193.155(8)). The savings is the gap between your home's market value and the capped value you've been taxed on.
When you downsize, the amount you carry shrinks in proportion to the new home's market value. Buy a home half as valuable as the one you sold and you carry about half the savings. You don't have to buy, either: a condo or second home you already own can become the new homestead.
The paperwork and the dates
File Form DR-501T with your homestead application at the Brevard County Property Appraiser by March 1. The new homestead has to be set up by January 1 of the third tax year after you leave the old one.
Miss March 1 and you can lose a year of savings. Put it on the calendar the day you close.
The November 2026 ballot question
Amendment 3 on the November 3, 2026 ballot needs 60% to pass. It would raise the non-school homestead exemption in 2027 and 2028. The property appraisers' association says portability itself would not change.
We won't guess how it affects your bill. If it passes, the Property Appraiser will publish the numbers.
If you are looking at a 55+ community
Under Florida Statutes 760.29(4), a 55+ community needs at least 80% of its occupied homes to have a resident who is 55 or older, and it has to publish its age policy. Ask for that policy before you tour.
In Viera, three communities have a 55+ rule stated in their own association rules or by their developer: Heritage Isle, the largest with 1,599 homes on the tax roll, Del Webb at Viera, the newest, and Bridgewater. Each has its own page on this site with the sales numbers.
General information, not tax advice. The Brevard County Property Appraiser and a tax professional can confirm how the rules apply to your home.
Questions we get.
How much homestead savings can I transfer when I downsize in Florida?
Up to $500,000 of Save Our Homes savings, reduced in proportion when the new home is worth less than the old one. File Form DR-501T by March 1.
Should I sell first or buy first?
It depends on your equity, your financing and how much you want to move once. Dana and Randy can price your current home first, which usually answers the question.
Know what your house brings before you shop.
Dana and Randy, RE/MAX Aerospace Realty.