Monroe County Property Appraiser Office
On January 1, 1995, Amendment 10 or “Save Our Homes (SOH)” went into effect. As provided in Florida Statute 193.155(1), beginning in 1995 or the year after the property receives homestead exemption, an annual increase in assessment shall not exceed the lower of the following:
The first year you apply and are granted the Homestead exemption, is your base year. In the base year, the Just (Market) Value equals the Assessed Value.
After the base year, the assessed value will not increase more than 3% or the CPI, whichever is less.
Your base year will usually be the first tax year you own your property whether you homestead or not, there are events that can trigger your value to reset and create a new base year. These events are:
If any of these events occur, the Assessed Value will reset to Just (Market) Value the following year and any Save Our Homes (SOH) benefit will be lost.
The accumulated difference between the Assessed Value and the Just (Market) Value is the Save Our Homes (SOH) benefit or cap. Even if the value of your home decreases, the Assessed Value may increase, but only by this limited amount. The Assessed Value will never be more than the Just (Market) Value of your home.
Example: In September of 2016, this home was purchased for $287,500. It had been homesteaded by the prior owner. Due to the purchase in 2016, the 2017 Assessed Value will reset to current market value and that becomes the new base year for the new owner. In the base year, there will be no SOH benefit. In 2018, the CPI was 3.2%, but since the Save Our Homes cap cannot be more than 3%, the cap used is 3%. The new Assessed Value for 2018 is calculated by taking the Assessed Value from 2017 ($250,000) and adding 3%. This is done for each year moving forward with the appropriate cap amount, as long as the homestead exemption stays in place. After the fifth year of ownership, the accumulated SOH benefit is $70, 130. This is important to a homeowner as this represents savings they may be able to port or transfer to a new homestead property. See Portability.
|
Year |
Just (Market) Value |
3% or CPI |
Assessed Value |
SOH Benefit |
|
2021 |
345,000 |
1.9% |
274,870 |
70,130 |
|
2020 |
301,000 |
2.22% |
269,745 |
31,255 |
|
2019 |
275,000 |
2.25% |
263,938 |
11,062 |
|
2018 |
268,000 |
3% |
257,500 |
10,500 |
|
2017 |
250,000 |
Base Year |
250,000 |
0 |
|
2016 |
212,000 |
1.8% |
150,743 |
61,257 |
If you make additions or improvements to your home, those improvements will be added to your Assessed Value at 100% of their market value. During the year in which these items are added, the Assessed Value will increase more than 3% or CPI, whichever is less. However, in the next year, those items will be protected under the SOH limitation.
If improvements, repairs or additions are made due to a calamity, the increase in Assessed Value may be limited. See Calamity.