What a homestead really protects

Florida 'homestead' refers to three completely separate legal concepts that most people lump together. They have different rules, different applications, and different implications for your estate plan.

Getting them straight matters because the strongest protection — constitutional homestead — has rules about who can inherit it that override what your will says. Florida is one of the only states where you genuinely cannot leave your home to whoever you want, in some circumstances.

1. The property tax exemption

The homestead property tax exemption is the everyday one. If your Florida residence is your primary home, you can apply with the county property appraiser by March 1 and get up to $50,000 off your assessed value for school and non-school taxes.

• $25,000 off all taxes including school taxes.
• Additional $25,000 off non-school taxes for value between $50k and $75k of assessment.
• Annual savings: roughly $750–$1,000 depending on your county's millage.
• Apply once with the property appraiser; renews automatically as long as you maintain the home as primary residence.

You can have only one homestead exemption in Florida. Snowbirds who claim residency in another state cannot also claim Florida homestead. Married couples can have only one homestead between them (the 'one homestead per family' rule).

2. Save Our Homes — the assessment cap

Once your home is homesteaded, Florida's Save Our Homes amendment caps how much its assessed value can increase each year — at 3% or the CPI, whichever is lower. This is the rule that's saving long-time Florida homeowners thousands of dollars per year as market values have soared.

• Cap kicks in the year after you establish homestead.
• Resets when you sell — but portability lets you take up to $500k of accumulated savings to your next Florida homestead.
• Real example: a Sarasota home homesteaded in 2010 at $300k market value might be assessed at $380k today even if its actual market value is $700k. The taxable value is locked at $380k.
• Average accumulated SOH savings on long-held FL homes: $20,000–$60,000 of property tax savings, capitalized over the years.

3. Constitutional homestead — creditor protection

This is the big one. Florida's constitution provides unlimited dollar value of creditor protection on homestead real estate — protected from forced sale by most creditors. It's why people fleeing financial trouble in other states sometimes 'move to Florida' and buy a mansion.

• Up to 160 acres of contiguous land if outside a municipality.
• Up to 0.5 acres if inside city limits (the value can be unlimited).
• Protected from: most general unsecured creditors, civil judgments, business debts.
• NOT protected from: federal tax liens, mortgages on the property itself, mechanic's liens, certain spousal claims, child support, certain HOA liens.
• Survives death: the homestead protection passes through to qualifying heirs (spouse, children) — the home cannot be forced to sale to pay general creditors of the estate.

This protection is one of the strongest in any U.S. state. It's also why Florida has specific homestead-descent rules that override your will (next section).

Homestead descent — the rule that overrides your will

If you die owning Florida homestead and you have a surviving spouse or minor child, you cannot leave the homestead to whoever you want. Florida statutes 732.401 and 732.4015 dictate the result, and they trump anything to the contrary in your will.

• Surviving spouse + minor child: spouse gets a life estate, with the remainder to the descendants. Or, the spouse can elect to take a 50% tenant-in-common share with the descendants.
• Surviving spouse, no minor child, no descendants from prior relationship: spouse can inherit fee simple if you leave it to them.
• Surviving spouse, no minor child, BUT descendants from prior relationship: spouse gets a life estate (or 50% TIC election) — you can't disinherit them from the homestead.
• No surviving spouse, no minor child: you can leave the homestead to anyone you want via will or trust.

The practical effect: if you have a blended family, your will may say 'I leave the home to my new spouse' or 'I leave the home to my children from first marriage' — but the homestead-descent rules may produce a different outcome that you didn't intend. We catch this at the planning stage and design around it.

Homestead and trusts — the trap

Putting your homestead into a revocable living trust is a double-edged sword. It avoids probate (good). But it can affect homestead protections (potentially bad).

The current rule: a homestead held in a properly drafted revocable living trust can usually preserve the property tax exemption and SOH cap, but constitutional creditor protection becomes more nuanced — and case law is still evolving. Some Florida appellate courts have upheld creditor protection for homestead in revocable trusts; others have created exceptions.

Our practice: we typically use a Lady Bird deed for the homestead (transfers at death without probate, preserves all homestead protections during life) and use the revocable trust for everything else. Cleaner, safer, cheaper.

Common homestead mistakes

• Forgetting to apply for the property tax exemption. You must apply with the property appraiser by March 1 of the year you want it; it doesn't apply automatically.
• Renting out your homestead for more than 30 days in two consecutive years — this can disqualify you. Snowbirds who rent the FL home in summer need to be careful.
• Letting both spouses claim homestead in different states. This is fraud and gets caught regularly. One homestead per family.
• Putting the homestead in an LLC or corporation. Generally destroys all three homestead protections. Don't do this without specific advice.
• Trying to leave homestead to a non-spouse / non-descendant when you have a surviving spouse or minor child. The will provision is void; statute controls.
• Not applying for portability when you sell and rebuy. Up to $500k of SOH accumulated savings can transfer with you. File the DR-501T form within 3 years of selling.

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