Moving to Florida from another state: Florida's lack of a personal income tax, the declaration of domicile under Florida Statutes 222.17 and what it does not prove, the homestead exemption and Save Our Homes cap with the 1 January and 1 March dates, driver licence and vehicle registration time limits, and a move checklist. Routes the old-state residency question to ny-residency-leaving-new-york and us-multi-state-residency-and-allocation.
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| Item | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Source | all figures below | http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0196/Sections/0196.031.html |
| First exemption, all taxes including school | USD 25,000 | "up to the assessed valuation of $25,000 on the residence and contiguous real property" (196.031(1)(a)) |
| Additional exemption, base amount, non-school levies only, indexed each 1 January | USD 25,000 | "an additional exemption of up to $25,000 on the assessed valuation greater than $50,000 for all levies other than school district levies" (196.031(1)(b)) |
| Assessed value above which the additional exemption starts | USD 50,000 | same sentence as the row above |
Figures are for tax year 2026. This Guide is for a person moving their permanent home to Florida from another US state, usually a state with an income tax, and for their adviser. It covers what Florida itself offers and asks for: no state tax on an individual's income, the sworn declaration of domicile, the homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes assessment limit, and the driver licence and vehicle registration time limits. It does not decide whether you have left your old state. That question is decided by the old state under its own law, and the sibling Guides named below cover it. Official sources were read on 3 October 2026. This is a working paper for an adviser, not a filing.
ny-residency-leaving-new-york; California and every other state under that state's own residency rules, so refer the California question to an adviser who works with California law; and the general method for part-year returns and income allocation in us-multi-state-residency-and-allocation. Nothing Florida issues decides that question.Article VII, section 5(a) of the Florida Constitution reads: "No tax upon estates or inheritances or upon the income of natural persons who are residents or citizens of the state shall be levied by the state, or under its authority, in excess of the aggregate of amounts which may be allowed to be credited upon or deducted from any similar tax levied by the United States or any state." The Department of Revenue states: "The State of Florida does not have a personal income tax."
Who this covers: natural persons who are residents or citizens of Florida. Who it does not cover: corporations and other non-natural persons. Section 5(b) allows a tax on their income, and Florida has a corporate income tax. A business owner whose company owes it should use fl-corporate-income-tax. This Guide does not cover it.
What this does not do: it does not stop another state taxing you. Income sourced in another state, and all income up to the date your old state accepts you have left, stay with that state's rules (step 3).
What it says. A person who has established a domicile in Florida "may manifest and evidence the same" by filing a sworn statement with the clerk of the circuit court for the county where they reside. The statement says they reside in and maintain a place of abode in that county which they recognize and intend to maintain as their permanent home (subsection 1).
If they also keep a home in another state. Subsection 2 lets a person who has established a Florida domicile, but keeps another place of abode elsewhere, file a sworn statement that the Florida home is their "predominant and principal home" and that they intend to continue it permanently as such.
What the statement must contain (subsection 3): a declaration that the person is, at the time of signing, a bona fide resident of Florida; the place of residence in Florida; the city, county and state where they formerly resided; and any other places where they keep a place of abode.
How it is filed (subsection 5): signed under oath before an official authorized to take affidavits, then filed with the clerk of the circuit court, who records it. The clerk charges a service charge under section 28.24. This Guide does not state the amount; ask the clerk. The Department of Legal Affairs prescribes the form (subsection 6).
The reverse filing. Subsection 4 lets a person who is domiciled in another state, and has a Florida home or acts in Florida that might look like a move, file a sworn statement that their domicile stays in the other state. A seasonal resident who has not moved uses this, not the declaration of Florida domicile.
What it proves, and what it does not.
ny-residency-leaving-new-york; for California, refer to an adviser who works with California's residency rules.Who qualifies. A person who, on 1 January, has the legal title or beneficial title in equity to real property in Florida and who in good faith makes it their permanent residence, or the permanent residence of others legally or naturally dependent on them (196.031(1)(a)). Both conditions must hold on 1 January: title AND permanent residence. A buyer who closes or moves in after 1 January waits for the next 1 January. The deed must be recorded in the county before the exemption is granted.
Who does not qualify. "A person who is receiving or claiming the benefit of an ad valorem tax exemption or a tax credit in another state where permanent residency is required as a basis for the granting of that ad valorem tax exemption or tax credit is not entitled to the homestead exemption" (196.031(6)). The exception: an owner who keeps the Florida property as the permanent residence of a legally or naturally dependent person. Also out: a home that is no longer the owner's permanent home (PT-113). Renting it out: under Florida Statutes 196.061(1), "The rental of all or substantially all of a dwelling previously claimed to be a homestead for tax purposes shall constitute the abandonment of such dwelling as a homestead, and the abandonment continues until the dwelling is physically occupied by the owner. However, such abandonment of the homestead after January 1 of any year does not affect the homestead exemption for tax purposes for that particular year unless the property is rented for more than 30 days per calendar year for 2 consecutive years." Chapter 2026-239 amended this section retroactively to 1 January 2026, so this is the 2026 wording; the 2026 roll is the first it applies to.
The amounts. The base amounts are in the table below. The first amount applies to all property taxes, including school district taxes. The additional amount applies only to assessed value above the threshold in the table, and only to levies other than school district levies. The additional amount is adjusted each 1 January for inflation when the consumer price index change is positive, so the 2026 additional amount can be higher than the base. No allowed page printed the 2026 indexed amount; the county property appraiser applies it.
| Item | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Source | all figures below | http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0196/Sections/0196.031.html |
| First exemption, all taxes including school | USD 25,000 | "up to the assessed valuation of $25,000 on the residence and contiguous real property" (196.031(1)(a)) |
| Additional exemption, base amount, non-school levies only, indexed each 1 January | USD 25,000 | "an additional exemption of up to $25,000 on the assessed valuation greater than $50,000 for all levies other than school district levies" (196.031(1)(b)) |
| Assessed value above which the additional exemption starts | USD 50,000 | same sentence as the row above |
The deadline. The application goes to the county property appraiser "on or before March 1 of each year". Missing it "shall constitute a waiver of the exemption privilege for that year", except under subsections 8 and 9 (196.011(1)(a)). The form needs the Social Security numbers of the applicant and spouse; a timely application without them is incomplete and may be completed by 1 April after the appraiser makes contact (196.011(1)(b)). After the first approval, the appraiser mails a renewal each year (196.011(7)).
A late applicant. Subsection 8: the value adjustment board grants the exemption if the applicant clearly documents that the late filing was due to postal error. Subsection 9: a qualified applicant who missed 1 March must apply on or before the 25th day after the appraiser mails the notices under section 194.011(1); the appraiser may grant it on evidence that the applicant could not apply in time or of extenuating circumstances, and if not, the applicant may petition the value adjustment board within the same period. Subsection 8 is mandatory once postal error is clearly documented ("shall grant"); subsection 9 is at the appraiser's or the board's discretion ("may grant"). Neither is a second deadline to plan around.
What the appraiser looks at. Intention to establish a permanent residence is a factual determination made in the first instance by the property appraiser. The relevant factors listed in 196.015, none conclusive on its own: a recorded declaration of domicile; where dependent children are registered for school; place of employment; the previous permanent residency outside Florida and the date it ended; Florida voter registration matching the homestead address; a Florida driver licence or ID card and evidence of giving up other states' licences; a Florida licence tag; the address on federal income tax returns; where bank statements and checking accounts are registered; and proof of paying utilities at the property. The statute's note says chapter 2026-239 amended section 196.015 retroactively to 1 January 2026, first applying to the 2026 roll, so this is the list in force for 2026.
The Department's own example. PT-113 prints examples of how the exemption applies. This one is the Department's example, not a client figure, and it does not depend on the inflation adjustment:
| Item | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Source | all figures below | https://floridarevenue.com/property/Documents/pt113.pdf |
| Assessed value in the example | USD 65,000 | "If the Assessed Value is $65,000" |
| Exempt from all property tax | USD 25,000 | "The first $25,000 of value is exempt from all property tax." |
| Remaining value exempt from non-school taxes only | USD 15,000 | "The remaining $15,000 of value is exempt from non-school taxes." |
In that example the next slice of value above the first exemption, up to the threshold, is taxable, as PT-113 states.
A home that receives the homestead exemption is assessed at just value as of 1 January of the year it first receives the exemption. From the following year it is reassessed each 1 January, and the change "shall not exceed the lower of" the two limits in the table below (193.155(1)). If the capped value would exceed just value, it is lowered to just value (193.155(2)).
| Item | Limit | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Source | all limits below | http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0193/Sections/0193.155.html |
| Limit (a) | three percent of the prior year's assessed value | "Three percent of the assessed value of the property for the prior year" |
| Limit (b) | the CPI change for the preceding calendar year | "The percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers" |
What ends it. A change of ownership (any sale, foreclosure, or transfer of legal title or beneficial title in equity to any person) resets the home to just value on the following 1 January, except for the listed transfers such as between spouses and certain transfers on death (193.155(3)). Losing homestead also triggers reassessment (PT-112).
Portability is for Florida-to-Florida moves only. PT-112 describes moving the accumulated benefit "from a previous Florida homestead to a new homestead in Florida". A person arriving from another state has no Florida benefit to carry. The cap starts building only from the first Florida homestead year.
These limits are written for a nonresident who takes a job, engages in a trade, profession or occupation in Florida, or enrols children in Florida public schools. They are the two Florida time limits printed on an allowed page for the nonresident path; this Guide does not state any other.
A retiree with no job in Florida and no children in Florida public schools is not caught by either of these two nonresident triggers. But the two chapters define who is a resident. Florida Statutes 322.01(36) reads: "'Resident' means a person who has his or her principal place of domicile in this state for a period of more than 6 consecutive months, has registered to vote, has made a statement of domicile pursuant to s. 222.17, or has filed for homestead tax exemption on property in this state." 320.01(34) is to the same effect. So filing the declaration in step 4, or the homestead application in step 5, makes the mover a resident for licence and registration purposes, and the nonresident rules above no longer describe them. For a resident, 322.03(1)(a) says "Except as otherwise authorized in this chapter, a person may not drive any motor vehicle upon a highway in this state unless such person has a valid driver license issued under this chapter", and 320.02(1) says "Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, every owner or person in charge of a motor vehicle that is operated or driven on the roads of this state shall register the vehicle in this state." Neither section prints a day count for this path, and this Guide states none. Both the licence and the tag are also factors in 196.015.
Voter registration: Florida voter registration matching the homestead address is a homestead factor under 196.015. This Guide states no deadline for it, because no allowed page read for this Guide prints one.
The Department of Revenue states: "A federal change eliminated Florida's estate tax on people who died after December 31, 2004." Since 1 July 2023, personal representatives do not have to file the Affidavit of No Florida Estate Tax Due (Form DR-312) or Form DR-313 (Department of Revenue, Florida Estate Tax). Federal estate and gift tax still applies; see us-estate-gift-706-709. A state the decedent did not fully leave may still claim an estate tax; that is the old state's question.
| When | Action | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Before the move | Decide the move date; plan the exit from the old state with its own Guide | old state's rules |
| After establishing the Florida domicile | File the declaration of domicile with the county clerk (optional evidence) | 222.17 |
| Within 30 days after starting Florida work or enrolling children in public school | Florida driver licence for the driver, spouse and dependent children who drive | 322.031 |
| Within 10 days after starting Florida work or enrolling children in public school | Register vehicles in Florida | 320.38 |
| Before 1 January | Hold legal or beneficial title and live in the home as the permanent residence; record the deed before the appraiser grants the exemption; stop any old-state residency-based property tax benefit | 196.031 |
| 1 January | Title and permanent residence tested on this date | 196.031 |
| By 1 March | File Form DR-501 with the county property appraiser | 196.011 |
| Any time | File Form 8822 with the IRS for the new home address | IRS |
ny-residency-leaving-new-york for New York, to the general method in step 3 for other states, and California movers to an adviser who works with California's residency rules.fl-corporate-income-tax. Do not answer sales tax, surtax or rental tax questions from this Guide.Pasting this into your AI section by section is slow and easy to get wrong. Add to your AI and it loads the whole Guide automatically — with dependency resolution and conservative defaults, every figure cited to its source.
Other Florida computations in the OpenAccountants Tax Library.
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