Moving Out of Florida: What Happens to Your Homestead

What happens to your Florida homestead exemption when you move out of state?

Most people ask about this backward. They want to know if they can take the Save Our Homes savings with them when they leave Florida. The honest answer is no. The moment Davie is no longer your permanent residence, the whole benefit ends, and the only real question is whether you exit cleanly or leave a tax problem behind you. Here is what I tell every client who is planning a move out of Florida.

You lose the exemption the moment Florida is no longer home

Your homestead break is tied to permanent residency, not to owning the house. Florida gives every permanent resident a homestead exemption of up to $50,000 off the assessed value, and you can read the eligibility rules straight from the Broward County Property Appraiser. The first $25,000 applies to all property taxes, and a second $25,000 applies to everything except school taxes, per the county appraiser.

The bigger benefit is the Save Our Homes cap. It limits how much your assessed value can rise each year, and the county appraiser applies that 3 percent annual limit only to a homestead property. After years in the same Davie single family home, that cap can hold your assessed value far below what the house would actually sell for. It feels permanent. It is not.

Permanent residency is decided as of January 1 each year, per Florida Statute 196.031. When you establish your primary home in another state, you are no longer a Florida permanent resident, and the exemption comes off. You do not get to keep the Florida break just because you still own the Davie house. This is the part that surprises people who assumed the savings belonged to the property.

Portability stops at the Florida state line

Florida does let you carry your Save Our Homes savings forward, but only inside the state. You can move up to $500,000 of that assessment benefit to your next home through a program the county calls portability, and you claim it by filing form DR-501T with your new homestead application. I walk through the mechanics in this guide to how portability works within Florida.

The catch is right there in the name of the rule. Portability is a Florida to Florida transfer. If you sell your Davie home and buy in another state, there is nothing to port, because your destination is not a Florida homestead. Selling in Davie and buying in Weston keeps the benefit in play, which is why owners weighing that kind of in state move should compare Davie and Weston property taxes before they decide. Cross a state line and the savings stop.

You also have a window if you stay in Florida. The law gives you up to three tax years to establish a new Florida homestead and still claim portability. Leave the state instead, and the window is irrelevant, because the benefit never leaves with you.

Keeping the Davie home as a rental changes the tax math

Many people leaving Florida want to hold the Davie house and rent it out. That is a reasonable plan, but understand what it does to the taxes. Renting the property once it is no longer your residence is treated as abandoning the homestead. Rent it for more than 30 days in a calendar year for two consecutive years and Florida law counts that as abandonment under Florida Statute 196.061, which ends the exemption on its own.

Once the home is no longer your homestead, it moves under the non homestead assessment cap, which the county sets at 10 percent a year instead of the tighter homestead limit. The property also gets reassessed toward full market value, so the low Save Our Homes number you enjoyed for years resets. Your tax bill can jump hard in the first year after the exemption comes off.

The dangerous version of this is the snowbird who keeps claiming the Florida exemption after establishing residency up north. If you take a residency based tax break in another state while still holding homestead in Davie, you have a problem. File somewhere else while still claiming the Florida break and you are looking at a lien for up to ten years of back taxes, a 50 percent penalty, and 15 percent interest, per the Broward County Property Appraiser. That is not a rounding error. It is one of the most expensive mistakes a departing owner can make.

What to do before you leave Florida

Leaving cleanly is mostly about timing and paperwork. Handle these steps and you avoid the lien entirely.

1. Tell the Broward County Property Appraiser that the Davie property is no longer your permanent residence, in writing, once you establish your new home. Do not wait for them to catch it.

2. Do not claim a residency based homestead or tax credit in your new state while you still hold the Florida exemption. Pick one state as your legal home and be consistent.

3. Plan the sale or the rental conversion around January 1, since that is the date the exemption status is set for the year.

4. If you are keeping the house as a rental, budget for the reassessment and the higher non homestead cap, and confirm the new number with the county tax records through Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury.

5. Run the full before and after tax picture with a professional who knows the Davie property tax rules, especially if the move overlaps with a sale.

Anthony Spitaleri, a Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker and a Davie native, builds this exit map for owners the same way it gets built for anyone retiring in Davie or relocating into the Town of Davie. The Town of Davie sits inside Broward County, so the county appraiser and county tax office are who you deal with on all of this, not the town.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I transfer my Save Our Homes benefit to another state?

No. Save Our Homes portability is a Florida to Florida transfer only. You can carry up to $500,000 of the assessment benefit to a new Florida homestead, but the moment your next home is in another state, there is nothing to transfer and the benefit ends.

Do I lose the homestead exemption if I keep my Davie house but move away?

Yes, once Davie is no longer your permanent residence. Owning the house is not enough. The exemption follows your primary residency, so establishing your legal home in another state removes the Florida homestead exemption from the property.

What happens to my property taxes if I rent out my former Davie home?

The home loses homestead status and moves under the non homestead assessment cap the county sets, and it gets reassessed toward full market value. Your assessed value resets off the low Save Our Homes number, so expect a meaningfully higher tax bill the first year after the exemption comes off.

What is the penalty for keeping a Florida homestead exemption I no longer qualify for?

It is severe. Improperly claiming the exemption can trigger a lien for up to ten years of back taxes, a 50 percent penalty, and 15 percent interest, per the county appraiser. Report the change promptly to avoid it.

When does my homestead status get decided each year?

January 1. Florida determines permanent residency as of January 1, per Florida Statute 196.031, so whatever your residency status is on that date sets your exemption for the whole year. Time your move and your paperwork with that date in mind.

Talk to a Davie Real Estate Expert

Anthony Spitaleri, Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker and a Davie native, maps the full tax picture for owners leaving Florida before they list or convert to a rental, not after the surprise bill lands. If you want to see exactly what your homestead exemption, Save Our Homes reset, and net proceeds look like for your specific Davie home, the next step is a direct conversation. Schedule a free 15-minute strategy call and leave the state with every number known.

Anthony Spitaleri

Living in Davie Florida

954-235-5783

Davie, Florida

livingindavieflorida.com

Written by Anthony Spitaleri, Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker and a Davie native. More about Anthony