Florida Save Our Homes Property Tax Cap: How the 3% Assessed Value Limit Works in 2026

The florida save our homes property tax cap is most valuable exactly when home appreciation outpaces 3 percent per year, which has been the norm in Miami-Dade for the past two decades and especially since 2020. The cap limits annual increases in assessed value to the lesser of 3 percent or CPI, regardless of how much the market value (just value) increases. So when Miami home values rise 15 or 20 percent in a single year, the homestead owner’s assessed value only rises by the capped amount. The market value catches up immediately on the tax roll for non-homestead properties, but homestead properties protected by the cap see only the modest 3 percent or CPI increase. The gap between just value and assessed value grows year after year, and that gap is the tax savings.

Working through a concrete example: a homeowner buys a Coconut Grove property in 2010 for $700,000, takes homestead immediately, and the assessed value is reset to $700,000. By 2026, the just value has risen to $2,200,000 driven by post-pandemic Miami market dynamics. The assessed value has grown at the capped rate over those 16 years, averaging approximately 2.7 percent per year (CPI averaged below 3 percent in some years, hit 3 percent in others). The assessed value in 2026 is roughly $1,080,000. The SOH differential is $2,200,000 minus $1,080,000 equals $1,120,000. At the Miami-Dade combined millage rate of approximately 19 mills, the cap is saving the homeowner roughly $21,000 per year in property tax compared to a non-homestead owner of the same property.

The florida save our homes property tax cap math compounds over time, which is why long-tenured homeowners see the biggest savings. The differential grows roughly with the difference between market appreciation and the cap rate, applied to the underlying base. A homeowner with a 20-year tenure on a Miami homestead can easily see SOH differentials exceeding $1 million on properties that started at $500,000 to $800,000 purchase prices. Some longest-tenured Miami Beach homestead owners have differentials exceeding $3 million on oceanfront properties. The tax savings from those differentials runs $50,000 to $80,000 per year, which is substantial recurring after-tax wealth.

The other side of the math is that the cap does nothing if just value falls below assessed value. In a market downturn (like 2008-2010 in Miami), if just value drops below assessed value, the assessed value is adjusted down to match just value. The cap then resets, and future increases on the now-lower base are capped at 3 percent again. This is the recapture provision, where the assessed value catches up to just value over time in a recovering market, often rising faster than 3 percent in the recovery years. The recapture is the legitimate cost of the cap protection — homeowners get the downside relief but lose some of the previously accumulated SOH differential. Miami-Dade saw this play out for several years after 2008 before just values recovered.

The CPI piece of the cap matters in inflationary years. In 2021, CPI for the prior calendar year was 7.0 percent, but the cap held at 3 percent because the rule is the lesser of CPI or 3 percent. In 2009, CPI was 0.1 percent, so the cap that year was 0.1 percent and homestead assessments barely moved. The cap operates as a ceiling, not a floor. In low-inflation years, the cap is below 3 percent and homestead owners get an even better deal. In high-inflation years, the cap is held at 3 percent and homestead owners get protection from full inflation indexing. The structure produces consistent multi-year savings regardless of the macroeconomic environment.

The florida save our homes property tax cap applies on a per-property-owner basis, not per-property. If a married couple jointly owns a homestead, they get one cap, not two. If they own two properties (say a Miami Beach condo and a Coral Gables house), they can only homestead one of them at a time. The choice of which property to homestead matters significantly for tax planning. The higher-value property generally produces more cap savings over time, but the lower-value property may be the genuine permanent residence required by §196.031. The right answer depends on the facts of the family’s life pattern and the long-term tenure plan. We have done many of these analyses for HNW Miami clients with multiple Florida properties.

Investment properties, rental properties, vacation homes, and any non-homestead property do not get the cap. The Save Our Homes protection is specifically tied to homestead status. A rental condo in Brickell that the owner uses as a rental investment is assessed at full just value each year and the tax bill rises with the market. This is one of the reasons why long-tenured homestead owners often pay less property tax than their neighbors who bought identical units 5 years later: the long-tenured owner has the cap, and the recent buyer does not. The recent buyer gets the cap going forward from their purchase date, but starts at the higher just value baseline.

Refinancing the property does not affect the homestead or the cap. Many homeowners worry that a refinance or HELOC will reset the assessment. It does not. The cap follows the homestead status, not the lien situation. As long as the owner remains the same and the property remains a homestead, the cap continues without interruption regardless of mortgage activity. The cap does reset when ownership changes (sale, transfer, gift), with limited exceptions for spousal transfers and certain family transfers under §193.155 and related provisions. We get this question regularly from clients considering refinancing and the answer is always that the refinance has no property tax impact.

The Reed Corporation works with HNW Miami homeowners to verify cap protection, plan around homestead changes, improve portability when relocating within Florida, and defend the homestead on audit. The florida save our homes property tax cap is one of the most valuable recurring tax benefits in any state, and the difference between properly maintained homestead status and lost homestead status can run $20,000 to $80,000 per year for a typical Miami HNW property. For property values north of $5 million, the cap savings can easily exceed $100,000 per year. The compliance burden is light — file the DR-501 once at purchase, avoid the disqualifying activities, and the cap accrues automatically year after year. The audit risk is manageable with proper documentation of permanent residence. The cap is worth holding onto.

The florida save our homes property tax cap portability under §193.155(8) lets a homestead owner transfer up to $500,000 of accumulated SOH differential from an old Florida homestead to a new Florida homestead, within two years of abandoning the old homestead. The portability rule was added by constitutional amendment in 2008 (Amendment 1) and refined by subsequent legislative changes. Without portability, the cap savings from a long-tenured homestead would be lost when the homeowner moved. With portability, the cap effectively follows the homeowner across Florida, preserving the long-term tax benefits even when the family upgrades, downsizes, or relocates within the state.

Portability splits into two scenarios with slightly different math. For an upsize move (new home worth more than the old home), the portability transfer equals the lesser of (a) the SOH differential on the old home, or (b) the $500,000 cap. The transferred differential reduces the new home’s assessed value from its just value at the time of purchase. For a downsize move (new home worth less than the old home), the portability transfer is proportional, calculated as (old assessed value divided by old just value) times new just value. The downsize formula produces a smaller dollar amount of cap protection than upsizing, which is one of the structural disadvantages of downsizing for long-tenured Florida homeowners.

Upsize example: a homeowner sells a Coral Gables home with $1.4 million just value and $700,000 assessed value (SOH differential of $700,000) and purchases a Pinecrest home with $2.2 million just value. The portability transfer is capped at $500,000 (the statutory maximum, less than the full $700,000 differential). The new Pinecrest home’s assessed value is $2.2 million minus $500,000 equals $1.7 million. At a Pinecrest millage of approximately 19 mills, the portability saves the new owner $500,000 times 1.9 percent equals $9,500 per year in property tax. The new home’s assessed value then begins to be capped at 3 percent or CPI per year from that base.

Downsize example: a retired homeowner sells a Coconut Grove home with $1.8 million just value and $700,000 assessed value (assessment ratio of 38.9 percent) and purchases a Brickell condo with $900,000 just value. The portability transfer is calculated as 38.9 percent times $900,000 equals $350,000 of differential. The Brickell condo’s assessed value becomes $900,000 minus $350,000 equals $550,000. At a Brickell millage of approximately 21 mills, the portability saves the new owner $350,000 times 2.1 percent equals $7,350 per year in property tax. The downsize math intentionally limits the transfer to maintain the original assessment-to-just-value ratio, preventing homeowners from using portability to artificially low assessment ratios on small downsized properties.

The florida save our homes property tax cap portability is not automatic. The new owner must file Form DR-501T with the new county’s property appraiser within two years of abandoning the old homestead. The clock starts at abandonment (typically the date of moving out or filing for homestead on the new property), not the date of selling the old property. Owners who delay the new homestead filing risk missing the two-year window. We have seen owners lose six-figure portability transfers because they took longer than three years to settle into the new home and file the paperwork. The two-year window is strict and is not extended for personal reasons absent unusual circumstances.

If the old homestead and the new homestead are in different Florida counties, the new county’s property appraiser needs a portability certification from the old county confirming the SOH differential amount. The old county issues this on Form DR-501RVSH, which the owner requests from the old county appraiser and submits to the new county. The certification confirms the just value, assessed value, and SOH differential on the abandonment date. Same-county portability does not require the certification because the new appraiser already has the underlying data.

Joint ownership creates portability splitting issues. If a married couple jointly owns a homestead and divorces, each spouse can claim a portion of the SOH differential proportional to their ownership interest, up to the $500,000 cap. The portion transferred to each new homestead reduces the original differential. This is one of the more contested issues in Florida divorce settlements involving long-tenured homestead property, because the cap value can exceed the equity in the property and the allocation has long-term tax consequences. Counsel often coordinates with property tax planning to improve the post-divorce outcome.

Florida save our homes property tax cap portability does not work across state lines. Moving from Florida to Texas (or any other state) terminates the homestead and the cap; the differential is lost permanently. Returning to Florida later allows establishing a new homestead, but the SOH differential from the prior Florida homestead does not transfer back because the two-year abandonment window has passed (assuming the out-of-state stay was longer than two years). Owners who relocate temporarily out of Florida should consider keeping the Florida homestead if it is genuinely intended as the future permanent residence, which preserves the cap.

The Reed Corporation handles portability planning for Miami clients moving within Florida, particularly for HNW clients with substantial SOH differentials. The portability filings are mechanical but the underlying tax planning around timing of abandonment, timing of purchase, and timing of homestead filing on the new property can significantly affect the long-term tax outcome. The florida save our homes property tax cap portability is one of the most valuable Florida property tax planning tools, and the $500,000 cap was actually expanded from $500,000 to the current level by Amendment 5 in 2020 to better protect homeowners moving between Florida properties. For HNW clients moving within Miami-Dade or to neighboring counties, getting the portability filing right is often worth $5,000 to $15,000 per year in recurring property tax savings on the new homestead. The cumulative value over a 20-year ownership period of the new property easily exceeds $100,000 in real after-tax dollars, which compounds further when the cap on the new property grows the differential year over year on top of the initial transferred amount. For clients moving up significantly in property value, the upsize formula plus the full $500,000 transfer often represents the single largest property tax savings event in the household’s financial life.

The florida save our homes property tax cap resets in several specific scenarios, and understanding when the cap is lost is essential for HNW Miami homeowners who often have substantial accumulated differentials. The cap is permanent only as long as homestead status is maintained continuously by the same owner (or qualifying transferee). Loss of homestead status, change of ownership, or certain qualifying events resets the cap and the assessed value snaps back up to just value the following year. The reset is brutal because the SOH differential that accumulated over many years is simply gone.

Sale or transfer of the property to a new unrelated owner resets the cap. The new owner establishes a new homestead at the new just value baseline. The cap protection starts over from year zero. This is the most common reset scenario and the one that produces dramatic differences in property tax bills between long-tenured owners and recent buyers of identical neighboring properties. A Coral Gables homeowner who bought in 2005 may pay $8,000 in property tax while the neighbor who bought the same model home in 2024 pays $32,000, even though the homes are otherwise identical. The cap is the entire difference.

Failure to maintain Florida residency or permanent residence resets the cap. The owner must continuously occupy the property as the permanent residence under §196.031. Moving the permanent residence to another state, even temporarily, can result in loss of homestead. Renting out the property for more than 30 days per calendar year violates §196.061 and disqualifies the homestead for that year, with the assessed value reverting to just value the following year and the cap lost. Vacant property (no occupant for the entire year) can also lose homestead under interpretation of permanent residence.

The florida save our homes property tax cap is lost when ownership changes structure in a way that disqualifies homestead. Transferring the property to a corporation generally disqualifies the homestead because corporations are not eligible for homestead under Florida case law. Transferring to certain trusts (irrevocable trusts in many configurations) can disqualify the homestead. Transferring to a multi-member LLC where the residing owner is one of several members can disqualify. Most well-drafted estate planning structures preserve homestead, but unsophisticated structures can blow it up. We see this regularly with clients who set up trusts or LLCs for asset protection without coordinating with property tax planning.

Death of the homestead owner is a transfer event. If the property passes to a surviving spouse who continues to occupy as permanent residence, the homestead and the cap continue uninterrupted. The spouse essentially steps into the deceased’s homestead position. If the property passes to children or other heirs, those heirs need to establish their own homestead in their own right (file DR-501, qualify on residency, occupy as permanent residence) to preserve any cap protection. If the heirs do not occupy the property, homestead is lost and the assessed value resets to just value the following year. The SOH differential accumulated under the prior owner is lost.

Divorce can split or lose the cap. If a divorcing couple’s property is awarded to one spouse who continues to occupy as permanent residence, that spouse retains homestead and the cap. If the property is sold as part of the divorce settlement, the cap is lost (sale resets). If the property is awarded to the other spouse who moves out, the new owner-occupant typically reapplies for homestead at the existing assessed value (since they were a co-owner all along and the property has remained homestead throughout the marriage). The mechanics depend on title structure and the specific divorce decree terms, which is why divorce attorneys handling Florida real estate often coordinate with property tax counsel.

The florida save our homes property tax cap can be lost retroactively if the Property Appraiser audits and finds the homestead was claimed improperly. §196.161 allows retroactive removal for up to 10 years if the owner intentionally claimed an unauthorized homestead exemption, with a 50 percent penalty under §196.131 and 15 percent interest per year. The 10-year lookback is severe and produces six-figure back-tax bills on substantial properties. Audit triggers include claiming homestead in two states simultaneously, claiming homestead while a known non-Florida residence is the actual permanent home, and renting out the property while claiming homestead. The Miami-Dade Property Appraiser cross-references with other states’ tax databases and pursues this aggressively.

Voluntary abandonment of homestead is sometimes intentional. Owners considering a sale or rental might want to abandon homestead deliberately to avoid issues during the rental period. The abandonment is filed via a written declaration to the Property Appraiser. The assessed value resets to just value the following year. The SOH differential is lost. This is a tax-planning move only in narrow circumstances — most owners benefit from keeping homestead intact, even at the cost of avoiding rental income, because the cap savings on a long-tenured property typically exceed potential rental profit.

The Reed Corporation works with HNW Miami clients to preserve the cap across life events. The key planning moves include maintaining clean documentation of Florida residency, avoiding short-term rental of the homestead property, structuring trusts and LLCs in ways that preserve homestead (using Florida-specific homestead-friendly structures), coordinating estate planning with property tax considerations, and timing portability moves to make the most of cap transfer when relocating within Florida. The florida save our homes property tax cap is one of the most valuable Florida tax benefits, and getting careless with the qualification rules is one of the most expensive mistakes a Miami homeowner can make. For owners with multi-million-dollar differentials, the cost of losing the cap can exceed the annual income tax savings from being a Florida resident in the first place. We routinely run pre-transaction reviews before clients sell, refinance, transfer to trust, or move within Florida specifically to identify any actions that would inadvertently break the cap, and the upfront review almost always identifies at least one structural issue worth resolving before the underlying transaction closes. A few hours of review work has prevented six-figure cap losses for many of our long-tenured Miami homestead clients over the years, which is why we treat pre-transaction property tax review as standard intake protocol for any client with an active Florida homestead.

The florida save our homes property tax cap does not apply to second homes, vacation properties, or rental property. The cap is tied specifically to homestead property under §196.031, which requires the property to be the owner’s permanent residence and the owner to be a Florida resident. Non-homestead property is assessed at full just value each year, with the assessed value moving up or down with the market. There is a separate 10 percent annual cap on non-homestead property assessment increases (under Article VII, Section 4(d)(5) added in 2008), but the 10 percent cap is much less protective than the 3 percent / CPI homestead cap.

The non-homestead 10 percent cap applies only to non-school taxes and only to non-homestead residential property and certain commercial property. It limits annual increases in assessed value to 10 percent. In a hot Miami market with 20 to 30 percent annual appreciation, the 10 percent cap provides meaningful but limited protection compared to the 3 percent homestead cap. Over a decade of strong appreciation, the non-homestead cap saves perhaps 30 to 50 percent of what the homestead cap saves on a comparable property. For a high-end Miami second home, the difference can still be tens of thousands of dollars per year.

Second homes and vacation properties in Florida generally cannot be both rentals and homesteads. The homestead requires permanent residence, which by definition excludes a property used as a part-time vacation home. Owners often try to claim homestead on a Florida property while spending most of the year at another residence, which can succeed if the Florida property is genuinely the permanent residence (not just the address claimed for tax purposes). The Property Appraiser audits this aggressively for owners with high-value Florida second homes whose life pattern points elsewhere.

Florida save our homes property tax cap does not apply to investment property even if the owner is a Florida resident. A Brickell condo held purely as a rental investment is not a homestead and gets no SOH protection. The 10 percent non-homestead cap applies, but the underlying assessment moves with the market subject to that cap. Investment property owners often improve by switching the homestead designation between properties over time, but this requires actually changing the permanent residence, which is a real life change rather than a paper move. The Property Appraiser scrutinizes these designations.

Mixed-use properties (a property where the owner lives in part of it and rents out part of it) have specific treatment. The homestead portion (the part the owner occupies as permanent residence) qualifies for the cap. The rental portion does not. The allocation between homestead and non-homestead is based on the property’s use and is determined by the Property Appraiser. Duplexes, multi-unit buildings, and properties with separate guest houses or in-law units commonly have mixed allocations. The math gets technical, and getting the allocation right matters for both the cap calculation and the underlying tax bill.

Vacation rental properties (Airbnb, VRBO, traditional vacation rentals) are non-homestead by definition because the owner does not occupy as permanent residence. Florida has been increasing tax enforcement on vacation rental property in recent years. Miami-Dade short-term rental properties are subject to local registration requirements, transient rentals tax under §212.03, sales tax, and full just-value property tax assessment. The florida save our homes property tax cap is not available to vacation rental owners. Trying to claim homestead on a property that is actively rented can trigger audit and retroactive penalty exposure under §196.161.

Snowbirds who spend 6 months in Florida and 6 months elsewhere face a tricky homestead determination. Florida law requires the property to be the owner’s permanent residence and the owner to be a Florida resident. A snowbird who maintains a primary residence in New York and spends winters in Miami probably does not qualify for Florida homestead, because the permanent residence is in New York. Some snowbirds successfully claim Florida residency and homestead by changing voter registration, driver’s license, and life patterns toward Florida, but the burden of proof rests on the homeowner. The Property Appraiser cross-references with other states’ records to identify owners claiming homestead-equivalent benefits in two places simultaneously.

Trusts holding homestead property need careful structuring. A revocable trust where the grantor lives in the property generally preserves homestead. An irrevocable trust depends on the specific terms — whether the grantor retains a right to occupy the property, whether the beneficiary occupies as permanent residence, and similar facts. We have done many homestead-preserving trust restructurings for Miami clients whose original trust documents were drafted without considering Florida homestead rules. The right trust structure preserves homestead and the cap; the wrong structure forfeits both.

The Reed Corporation works with Miami clients across all of these scenarios: single homestead savings, multi-property family ownership planning, mixed-use property allocations, vacation rental tax planning, snowbird residency planning, and trust restructuring for homestead preservation. The florida save our homes property tax cap is property-specific and rules-specific, and the savings can be substantial for owners who structure correctly. For Miami HNW clients with multiple Florida properties, choosing which property to homestead and maintaining that choice over time is often one of the most consequential property tax planning decisions, with recurring annual savings in the $30,000 to $100,000 range over multi-decade ownership periods. The structural decision is worth the upfront analysis and ongoing maintenance. Families with three or four Florida properties (a Miami homestead, a Keys vacation home, a Naples second home, an investment condo) often have an optimal allocation that differs from what they currently have in place, and a one-time analysis can identify the right configuration before market changes or family transitions make restructuring more difficult. The right answer often involves designating the highest-appreciation-potential property as the long-term homestead, even if that requires changing the family’s day-to-day living pattern slightly to support the residency claim. The compounding nature of the Save Our Homes cap means even small initial differences in homestead choice can translate to seven-figure differences in cumulative cap value across multi-decade ownership periods, which is why HNW Miami families often retain us specifically for multi-property homestead savings rather than treating it as a one-time decision.

The florida save our homes property tax cap is one of several Florida property tax benefits that stack with each other on homestead property. The base $25,000 homestead exemption under Article VII, Section 6 reduces taxable assessed value. The additional $25,000 exemption (applicable to non-school taxes on assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000) further reduces taxable value. The senior exemption under §196.075 adds protection for qualifying owners 65 and older with limited household income. Veteran exemptions add further reductions. Each benefit applies independently and the SOH cap then governs how assessed value moves year over year.

The math of stacking goes like this. The property appraiser first determines just value (market value) for the property. Then the SOH cap is applied to compute assessed value (the lesser of prior assessed value increased by the capped percentage, or current just value). Then the base $25,000 homestead exemption is subtracted to compute taxable value. Then the additional $25,000 exemption is subtracted (against non-school taxable value only, for assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000). Then any senior, veteran, or disabled exemptions are applied. The result is taxable value, multiplied by the millage rate to compute tax owed.

Concrete example for a 70-year-old Miami homeowner with a homestead in Westchester. The property’s just value is $600,000, assessed value (under the cap) is $300,000 from 20 years of homestead tenure. The base $25,000 homestead exemption reduces taxable value to $275,000 for school purposes and to $250,000 for non-school purposes (because the additional $25,000 applies to assessed value $50,000 to $75,000, which is fully reduced). If the owner qualifies for the senior exemption under §196.075 (income below the limit, which is roughly $35,000 for 2026 indexed for inflation), an additional $50,000 reduction applies for non-school purposes. Non-school taxable value drops to $200,000. School taxable value remains $275,000. At blended Miami-Dade millage of approximately 19 mills, the tax bill is roughly $4,700 to $4,900 per year on a $600,000 property. Without the SOH cap, the property would be assessed at $600,000 with the same exemptions, producing taxable values closer to $525,000 and a tax bill of roughly $10,000.

The florida save our homes property tax cap and the base $25,000 homestead exemption are conceptually different but practically intertwined. The cap limits year-over-year assessed value increases. The base exemption is a flat dollar reduction off taxable value. Both require homestead status, but they apply at different stages of the calculation. The cap operates on the assessed value side (limiting how fast it grows); the exemption operates on the deduction side (subtracting from assessed value to get taxable value). Together they produce the dramatic low tax bills that long-tenured Miami homestead owners enjoy.

Senior exemption under §196.075 has two components. The first is an additional $50,000 homestead exemption for qualifying seniors, which applies to county and municipal taxes (not school taxes). The second is a long-term resident senior exemption for seniors who have lived in the same homestead for 25 years or more, which exempts the entire amount of any non-school taxes on certain property under specific value limits. The 25-year exemption is particularly valuable for tenured Miami homeowners. Income limits for the basic senior exemption are around $35,000 for 2026 (indexed annually). For the 25-year exemption, additional value and income limits apply.

Veteran exemptions add another layer. A disabled veteran with a 10 percent or higher service-connected disability gets an additional $5,000 exemption under §196.24. A totally and permanently disabled veteran gets a full exemption from property tax on homestead property under §196.081. A surviving spouse of a veteran killed in service can get full exemption under §196.081. These exemptions stack with the homestead exemption and the SOH cap, producing minimal tax liability for many veteran-owned Miami homesteads.

Disability exemptions for non-veterans are also available. A totally and permanently disabled person, blind, or permanently using a wheelchair can qualify for additional exemptions under §196.101 and §196.202. These exemptions vary in amount and application but stack with the homestead exemption and the SOH cap. The disability documentation typically requires a physician’s certification submitted with the application to the Property Appraiser.

Florida save our homes property tax cap interacts with millage adjustments at the local level. Miami-Dade County, the City of Miami, the City of Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Pinecrest, Doral, and other municipalities each set their own millage rates. School millage is set by the school district. Fire/rescue, transit, water management district, and other special districts add millage as well. The combined millage rate (typically 19 to 22 mills in most Miami-Dade municipalities) is multiplied by taxable value to produce the property tax bill. The SOH cap protects the assessed value piece; the exemptions reduce taxable value; the millage rate is set by local government.

The Reed Corporation works with Miami homeowners to verify that all applicable exemptions are claimed and that the cap is properly applied. The most common oversight we see is failure to claim the senior exemption or 25-year senior exemption when the owner becomes eligible. The application is straightforward (Form DR-501 with a senior addendum) but easy to forget. The savings from the senior exemptions can be $1,500 to $4,000 per year, recurring for the rest of the owner’s life. Combined with the florida save our homes property tax cap and the base exemptions, the total Miami-Dade property tax bill for a long-tenured senior homeowner on a high-value property can be remarkably low — sometimes under $5,000 per year on a $1 million home. The structural benefits of Florida homestead status for long-term residents are substantial, and the planning to maintain and improve them across life stages is worth the effort. Most clients we work with on these exemptions are surprised at how much cumulative tax savings the layered benefits produce once the math is run, and the recurring nature of the savings makes a one-time application effort produce decades of after-tax benefits. For a typical long-tenured Miami senior homeowner, the combined cap and exemption savings over a 25-year ownership period easily exceed $400,000 to $700,000 in real after-tax dollars.