Florida's homestead exemption reduces the taxable value of your primary residence by up to $50,000 and activates the Save Our Homes cap, which limits future assessed value increases to 3% per year (or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower). To qualify, you must be a Florida resident as of January 1 and apply with the Lee County Property Appraiser by March 1. Buyers moving from another Florida property can also transfer accumulated tax savings to the new home through portability. Without these protections, your property taxes in Bonita Springs can run significantly higher than the previous owner's — sometimes double or more.
One of the most common surprises for buyers moving to Bonita Springs — especially from Ohio, Michigan, New York, or New Jersey — is the tax bill that arrives the following November. Not because taxes are outrageous, but because Florida's protections belong to the seller, not the house. When you buy, the clock resets, and it's on you to apply before the deadline.
The property tax reset: why your bill is higher than the seller's
When a homesteaded property sells, assessed value resets to full market value as of the following January 1 — whatever cap the previous owner accumulated, possibly over decades, disappears at the moment of sale. A home bought 15 years ago for $350,000 that's now worth $650,000 might have had an assessed value of only $480,000 under the 3% cap. Your first bill is calculated on the full $650,000. The good news: you can apply for the same protections the previous owner had — you just have to do it yourself, in the right window.
This is where the real-world surprise lands. Buyers commonly close in the fall, their lender sets up escrow based on the seller's current — and much lower — tax bill, and everything looks reasonable. Then the following November, the real notice arrives at the new, reassessed value, the lender flags an escrow shortage, and the monthly payment jumps by $300, $500, sometimes more. The sellers weren't hiding anything; their tax bill simply reflected a protection that never transfers to the buyer.
New construction buyers can see an even sharper version of this. In year one, a newly built home may be assessed mostly on land value if it wasn't substantially complete by January 1 — in year two, once it's assessed at full improved value, the jump can be dramatic. Florida requires sellers to provide a Property Tax Disclosure Summary at or before contract signing (Fla. Stat. 689.261) explaining that your taxes will likely differ from the seller's — but it often gets buried in the closing stack. Worth asking your agent to walk through it before you're under contract, not after.
What the homestead exemption actually does
It reduces taxable value by up to $50,000, in two layers: the first $25,000 applies to all property taxes including school levies; the second $25,000 applies to non-school taxes on assessed values between $50,000 and $75,000. Thanks to Amendment 5 (passed November 2024), that second $25,000 is now inflation-adjusted — currently around $51,411, growing a bit each year. In Lee County, the effective property tax rate runs roughly 1.19% — on a $600,000 home, a $50,000 reduction saves approximately $595–$750 per year. The real power, though, is what it unlocks next.
Save Our Homes: the cap that does the heavy lifting long-term
Once homestead is approved, annual assessed-value increases are capped at whichever is lower: 3%, or the CPI change. There's no cap protection in year one; it kicks in year two and compounds every year after — in a market like Bonita Springs where values have historically outpaced inflation, this is where the real savings accumulate. Long-term Southwest Florida owners often have assessed values 20–30%+ below current market value, purely from years of capped increases.
The exemption doesn't transfer automatically — even if the home had a homestead exemption under the previous owner, you must apply fresh as the new owner.
How to apply in Lee County
The deadline is March 1, every year. Close before March 1 as a Florida resident and you can file for that tax year immediately; close after, and you apply for the following year with your first year reflecting full market value and no cap. You'll need a Florida driver's license or ID showing your new address, Social Security number, your recorded deed, proof of primary residence (utility bills, vehicle registration, voter registration), and U.S. citizenship for all owners on the application. Apply free online at leepa.org, by email to exemptions@leepa.org, or in person — never pay a third party to file for you.
Portability: if you're moving from another Florida home
If you already own or recently sold a homesteaded Florida property, you may transfer your accumulated Save Our Homes benefit — up to $500,000 — to your new home. The "portability amount" is the gap between your prior home's market and assessed value. Say your prior home was worth $450,000 with a $310,000 assessed value: that's a $140,000 portability benefit, which could lower your new $700,000 home's starting assessed value to $560,000. File Form DR-501T alongside your homestead application — it's separate and not automatic, and many owners miss it. You must establish your new homestead within three calendar years of abandoning the previous one.
Moving from out of state? Here's what's different
Portability is Florida-to-Florida only — if you're relocating from outside Florida, you're starting fresh, though you can still apply for the standard exemption and cap once you establish primary residence. Don't assume your taxes will match what the previous owner paid, especially if they were a long-term resident with years of cap accumulation — run your estimate from the home's current market value instead. See our guide on what homeownership really costs in Southwest Florida for the fuller picture including insurance and CDD fees.
A few other things worth knowing
The exemption covers your primary residence only — investment and vacation properties don't qualify, and you can only claim one at a time. CDD fees, if applicable, are a separate assessment on your tax bill, unaffected by homestead or the cap — see our CDD fees guide. Lee County taxes are paid in arrears with early-payment discounts: 4% in November, 3% in December, 2% in January, 1% in February, none in March — most buyers who pay attention pay in November. And since parts of Bonita Springs straddle the Lee/Collier line, verify which county your parcel falls in before applying.