TO BE PERFECTLY CLEAR
 
On Friday, EarlyBird warned readers about the March 3 deadline for filing for homestead exemption and applying for tax portability. The news blurb said: "Taxpayers who sold a homestead in 2007 and purchased a new home before Jan. 1, 2008, are eligible to apply some or all of their Save Our Homes tax benefits to the new home." While that statement is true, a Florida homeowner did not have to sell their homesteaded property in 2007 to take advantage of portability. He or she could, for example, have chosen to rent their original home rather than sell it; or move their homestead exemption from a primary home to a vacation home. In either case, property tax savings can be ported to a new home simply by declaring homestead effective Jan. 1, 2008, and completing the necessary paperwork. Once taxes have been ported, the taxes on the original home rise to the full assessed tax value. Questions? http://dor.myflorida.com/dor