How does Save Our Homes portability work when you move up in Miami-Dade?
Florida's Save Our Homes portability lets you transfer up to $500,000 of accumulated property tax savings from your current homesteaded home to your next one. If you're buying a more expensive home in Miami-Dade, you can move your full benefit, which directly lowers the assessed value of the new property. You must establish your new homestead by January 1 of the third tax year after leaving the old one, and file with the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser between January 1 and March 1. Miss the window and the savings are gone.
By Giovanni Altamiranda | July 24, 2026
Here's a number that stops people cold. Reporting on Miami property taxes this year highlighted a new owner paying $10,024 a year while a longtime neighbor pays $3,166 for a comparable house on the same block.
That's not an error. That's how Florida property tax works, and if you're planning a move-up purchase in Coral Gables, Pinecrest, Coconut Grove, Palmetto Bay, or Key Biscayne, it's the single most misunderstood line item in your future budget.
The good news: if you already own a homesteaded home in Florida, you've been quietly building a tax benefit for years, and you can take a large piece of it with you. Most of my move-up clients have never run this math before we sit down. Let's run it now.
Why your tax bill won't look like the seller's tax bill
When you buy a home in Florida, the county resets the assessed value to market value, essentially your purchase price, on the January 1 after you close. The seller's tax bill tells you almost nothing about yours.
That seller may have owned the home for 15 years. Florida's Save Our Homes rule caps how fast a homesteaded property's assessed value can rise each year, at 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. For 2026, that cap is 2.7%. After a decade of Miami appreciation, the gap between what a home is worth and what it's assessed at can be enormous.
So the seller was paying taxes on a number far below what you're about to pay for the house. The day the assessment resets, that gap closes, and you're the one standing on the other side of it.
This is also where the year-two escrow surprise comes from. If you're financing, your lender sets your initial escrow using the seller's current tax bill. Then the county reassesses at your purchase price, the real bill arrives in November, and your lender sends a shortage notice and raises your monthly payment. National reporting in May 2026 flagged rising escrow shortages across the country, and Florida buyers are heavily represented in that story. If you're one of the many cash buyers in this market, you skip the escrow machinery, but the tax bill itself lands just the same. Budget for it directly.
If you'd like the fuller picture of everything owed at the closing table, I've broken that down in my guide to closing costs for Miami buyers.
How portability works, with real numbers
Save Our Homes portability is the move-up buyer's counterweight. It lets you transfer the accumulated difference between your current home's market value and its capped assessed value, up to $500,000, onto your next homestead.
Because you're buying up, the rule is friendly: when the new home's market value is equal to or higher than the old home's, you transfer the full benefit, capped at $500,000.
Here's what that looks like for a typical move-up scenario in the neighborhoods I work in:
- Your current home: a Coral Gables house you bought years ago, now worth $1.6M on the market, assessed at $900K thanks to the cap. Your Save Our Homes benefit is $700K, but portability caps it at $500,000.
- Your next home: a $2.8M house in Pinecrest.
- Without portability: you're assessed at roughly $2.8M. At Miami-Dade's combined millage rates, which run roughly 18 to 21 mills depending on the municipality as of 2026, call it 19 mills, that's about $53,200 a year before exemptions.
- With portability: your assessed value starts at $2.3M instead. Same 19 mills puts you near $43,700 a year before exemptions.
That's roughly $9,500 a year, every year, and the benefit compounds. Once you're homesteaded, the 2026 cap of 2.7% applies to your new, lower assessed base while the market does whatever Miami's market does.
Stack the homestead exemption on top. For 2026, Miami-Dade's homestead exemption totals $51,411 off assessed value, with a portion not applying to school taxes. It's smaller than the portability benefit for buyers at this price point, but you file for both on the same timeline, so there's no reason to leave it on the table.
One more wrinkle worth knowing: your portability amount is based on the Property Appraiser's market value for your current home, not your sale price. I've seen owners discover their county market value was understated, which quietly shrinks the benefit they can port. It's worth reviewing your current assessment before you list, and this is one of the first things I check when a client starts planning a move.
Exact millage depends on which municipality you land in. Effective rates run from around 1.6% in Key Biscayne to over 2.5% in some Miami-Dade municipalities as of 2026, so the same $2.8M purchase carries a meaningfully different bill in different neighborhoods. Local customs and local rates both matter here, and this is exactly the kind of math I walk clients through before we start touring homes.
The deadlines that decide whether you keep the savings
Portability is generous, but it's unforgiving about timing. Three dates control everything:
- January 1, ownership and residency. You must own and occupy the new home as your permanent residence on January 1 to qualify for that tax year. Close on December 28 and you qualify for the coming year. Close on January 3 and you wait a full extra year for the exemption and the reassessment timing that comes with it. One week can carry a five-figure cost at move-up price points.
- March 1, filing deadline. You file your homestead exemption and the portability transfer (form DR-501T) with the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser between January 1 and March 1. This isn't automatic. Nobody files it for you.
- The three-year window. You must establish your new homestead by January 1 of the third tax year after abandoning the old one. Sell in 2026 and you have until January 1, 2029. If you sold within the last three years and never claimed portability, you may still be able to apply retroactively.
That three-year window matters for buy-before-you-sell moves too, which many of my clients are weighing in this market. If that's your situation, my guide to buying in Miami-Dade before selling your current home covers the financing side, and the portability clock runs alongside it.
And keep this on your radar: Florida's proposed 2026 property tax amendment could reshape parts of this system going forward. I covered what's actually on the ballot, and the timing traps inside it, in what Florida's 2026 property tax amendment means for Miami buyers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of my Save Our Homes benefit can I transfer in Miami-Dade?
Up to $500,000. If your new home's market value is equal to or higher than your old home's, you transfer your full accumulated benefit up to that cap. If you downsize to a less expensive home, you transfer a proportional share instead.
How long do I have to use portability after I sell?
You must establish your new Florida homestead by January 1 of the third tax year after abandoning the previous one. Sell in 2026 and your deadline is January 1, 2029. Claims can be made retroactively within that window if you missed filing.
Why did my property taxes jump so much after buying in Miami?
Florida resets a property's assessed value to market value on the January 1 after a sale. The previous owner's bill reflected years of capped assessments under Save Our Homes, and that cap doesn't transfer with the deed. Your bill is based on what you paid, minus any exemptions and portability you file for.
Does portability apply if I'm relocating to Miami from another state?
No. Portability only transfers between Florida homesteads. If you're moving from New York, New Jersey, or California, plan your budget on the full purchase price assessment, then file for the homestead exemption by March 1 so the 2026 cap of 2.7% starts protecting you going forward.
Can I keep my Save Our Homes cap if I buy my next home before selling my current one?
Yes, with planning. Your cap stays with your current homestead until you abandon it, and you can port the benefit once you make the new home your permanent residence. The sequencing affects which tax year the transfer lands in, so map the January 1 dates before you close.
The bottom line
Your property tax bill on a move-up purchase in Miami-Dade is knowable in advance. It's your purchase price, minus your ported Save Our Homes benefit, minus the homestead exemption, times your municipality's millage. Buyers who run that math before making an offer negotiate with a real monthly number. Buyers who don't find out in November.
I'm both a Miami-native advisor and a licensed loan officer, so when my clients model a move-up purchase, the tax line and the financing line get built together, before we ever tour a home. If you're thinking through this for your own situation, I'm happy to walk you through it. No pitch, just a straight conversation. Schedule a free consultation at moveupmiami.com.
About Giovanni Altamiranda
Giovanni Altamiranda is a Miami-native real estate advisor at LUXE Properties, a team that closes over $1 billion in annual sales volume, and a licensed loan officer with Columbus Capital. With 11 years of experience and designations including SRS, ABR, and RENE, Gio specializes in the southern Miami suburbs: Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest, South Miami, Palmetto Bay, Key Biscayne, and surrounding neighborhoods. He works exclusively with move-up buyers and relocating families in the $1M–$5M range, and is recognized as a top agent on Zillow. Rather than pushing a transaction, Gio's approach is advisory, helping buyers and families work through the real tradeoffs so they can make the decision that's right for them, not just right now. Born and raised in Miami, he brings firsthand knowledge of the neighborhoods, commutes, and market dynamics that out-of-town agents can't replicate. His dual license as both advisor and loan officer means clients get a cleaner, faster transaction with no surprises at the closing table.
Giovanni Altamiranda, NMLS# LO52044, Licensed Mortgage Loan Officer, Columbus Capital. This is not a commitment to lend. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualifications. Rates and program guidelines subject to change without notice.
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Consult a licensed professional for guidance specific to your situation.