A lot of snowbird couples spend a few winters here and then decide to make Florida home base. If that's you, two dates drive the money: the home you own and live in on January 1, and the March 1 filing deadline. Get them right and the homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes cap start working for you. Miss them and you wait another year. Here's the timeline in plain English.
If you own a home in Florida and it's your permanent residence, you can claim a homestead exemption with your county property appraiser. It takes up to roughly $50,000 off the taxable value of the home. The first $25,000 applies to every tax on your bill. The second part applies to the assessed value above $50,000 and doesn't touch school taxes, and it now adjusts with inflation each year.
The bigger long-term benefit is the Save Our Homes cap. Once you have homestead, the assessed value of your home can only rise 3% a year, or the rate of inflation if that's lower, no matter how fast the market moves. In a market like the Keys, that gap between market value and taxed value adds up year after year. A second home doesn't get either benefit. Its assessed value can rise up to 10% a year, and school taxes are figured on full market value.
January 1. Homestead for a given tax year is based on what you own and use as your permanent residence on January 1 of that year. If you close on a Florida home and move in by December 31, you can claim homestead for the coming year. Close in February and you wait until the following January.
March 1. That's the deadline to file your homestead application with the county property appraiser for the current year. Most counties let you file online. Late filing is possible in some cases, but don't count on it.
Put those together and the math is simple: a purchase usually takes 30 to 45 days to close, and coastal files with flood and wind insurance to place can take longer. If you want to own and live in your Florida home by January 1, a signed contract by mid-November keeps a December closing realistic.
Moving full time usually means a primary residence loan, which typically needs less down than a second home. Run your numbers, then we'll price flood and wind on the actual address.
Property appraisers want to see that Florida is truly your permanent home, not just where you spend the winter. These are the items they commonly look at:
Every county handles this a little differently, so call your county property appraiser's office and ask what they'll accept. They answer this question all winter.
One honest warning. Changing your domicile also changes things back home, including state income tax, your estate plan, and sometimes your health coverage. Some northern states are known to audit people who say they've left. Talk to a CPA in your home state before you file anything.
Carefully. Under Florida law, renting all or most of a homesteaded home can count as abandoning the homestead. There's a small cushion: renting for 30 days or less in a calendar year won't cost you the exemption, but going over 30 days two years in a row will. If your plan is to rent the Florida place for months while you travel, that's a second home or investment property, not a homestead, and it should be financed that way.
The loan follows how you'll really use the home. A primary residence loan usually prices better and needs less down than a second home loan, and both beat an investment property loan. If you're truly moving here, financing as a primary residence makes sense. If the Florida place stays a part-time home, it has to be financed as a second home or investment property. Our second home vs investment guide lays out where those lines are.
If you're selling a home up north to buy here, a bridge loan or a line of credit on the northern home can cover the Florida down payment so you're not stuck waiting on that sale. The order you buy and sell in matters, so map it out before you write an offer. Our bridge loan page explains how it works, and if you're living on retirement income, our retirement income guide covers how pensions, Social Security, and savings count.
You don't need a new loan just because you're moving down. If you already own the home and it becomes your permanent residence, you can file for homestead once you're living there as your permanent home on January 1. Your current mortgage stays in place. If rates or your plans make a refinance worth a look, we can run that separately, and a primary residence refinance usually prices better than the second home loan you started with.
When do I have to own my Florida home to get homestead?
Homestead for a tax year is based on what you own and use as your permanent residence on January 1 of that year. If you close and move in by December 31, you can claim homestead for the coming year.
What is the deadline to file for Florida homestead?
March 1 of the tax year, with your county property appraiser. Most counties accept online applications.
How much is the Florida homestead exemption?
Up to roughly $50,000 off the taxable value. The first $25,000 applies to all taxes. The second part applies to assessed value above $50,000, excludes school taxes, and adjusts with inflation each year.
What is the Save Our Homes cap?
Once a home has homestead, its assessed value can rise no more than 3% a year, or the rate of inflation if that is lower. Second homes and rentals do not get this cap. Their assessed value can rise up to 10% a year, excluding school taxes.
Can I rent my Florida homestead?
Renting all or most of a homestead can be treated as abandoning it. Renting for 30 days or less per calendar year will not cost you the exemption, but renting for more than 30 days in two consecutive years will.
Do I need a new mortgage if my Florida second home becomes my primary residence?
No. Your existing loan stays in place. You file for homestead once the home is your permanent residence on January 1. A refinance is optional and is a separate decision.
Coastal Florida mortgage specialist working with full-time residents, snowbirds, and second-home buyers across the Florida Keys, Naples, Sarasota, and Palm Beach. I run the tax, insurance, and payment math on every coastal file before you write an offer. Not a CPA or tax attorney. Confirm tax and residency questions with a tax professional and your county property appraiser. Licensed in Florida.
Send me the property and your timeline. I'll show you the payment as a primary residence, price the flood and wind insurance, and map the steps to close before January 1. 30 minutes.