Amendment 3 Explained: What Florida’s Property Tax Amendment Would Mean for Homeowners, Buyers, and Investors

Property taxes are one of the first numbers a buyer asks about and one of the last we finalize on a closing statement, and a buyer’s own bill often looks very different from the seller’s once the property is reassessed after the sale. Amendment 3, which appears on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot, would change that math for a large share of Florida property owners. The proposal would raise the amount of a homestead’s assessed value shielded from county, city, and special district taxes from about $50,000 today to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, hold yearly growth in the assessed value of rentals, second homes, and commercial property for those same taxes to 5 percent rather than 10 percent, and make people who become Florida residents after this year wait until their fifth year of exemption for the larger amount.

1. How Florida Property Taxes Work Today

Today, the first $25,000 of a homestead’s assessed value is exempt from all property taxes, and a second exemption of roughly $25,000, now adjusted annually for inflation, applies to assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000 for non-school taxes only. For most homeowners, that means about $50,000 off the value used for county, city, and special district taxes and $25,000 off the value used for school taxes. The Save Our Homes cap limits annual increases in a homestead’s assessed value to the lesser of 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index. Rental homes, second homes, and commercial property receive no homestead exemption, and their assessed value for non-school taxes can rise by up to 10 percent a year. When a property sells, these caps generally fall away and the property is reassessed at market value as of the following January 1.

2. What Amendment 3 Would Change

For homeowners who are Florida permanent residents as of December 31, 2026, the amendment would raise the non-school homestead exemption to the first $150,000 of assessed value in 2027 and the first $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments beginning in 2029. School taxes would keep the existing $25,000 exemption. A homestead assessed at $300,000, for example, now pays county, city, and special district taxes on roughly $250,000 of value; at the same assessment, it would pay those taxes on $150,000 in 2027 and $50,000 in 2028, while its school taxes would still be calculated on $275,000.

For non-homestead property, the cap on annual increases in assessed value for non-school taxes would drop from 10 percent to 5 percent beginning in 2027, so a rental home assessed at $400,000 could rise by no more than $20,000 in a year instead of $40,000. Non-homestead owners would receive no new exemption.

The Legislature would also have to adopt a single statewide method by which a county or city may exempt more of a homestead’s value from its own taxes, up to the entire assessed value, and a special district could do likewise if its voters approve in a referendum. At the same time, counties and cities could use property tax dollars only for a defined set of functions, among them public safety, schools, roads and stormwater, flood control, existing debt, local employee retirement costs, and the cost of running local government, although other spending would still be permitted where state law does not forbid it. Voters will see the measure on the ballot as “Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments.” It needs 60 percent of the vote and would take effect January 1, 2027.

3. The Newcomer Rule, and Why December 31, 2026 Matters

Someone who establishes Florida permanent residency on or after January 1, 2027 would start with a $50,000 exemption from non-school taxes, indexed to inflation from 2028 on, and would not qualify for the larger amount until the fifth year of the exemption. From 2030, a county or city could relax that waiting period if two-thirds of its governing body votes to do so on a finding of critical local need, and the ballot summary adds that the waiting period applies only to the extent the United States Constitution allows, which suggests it could be challenged in court. If the amendment passes, the date a relocating buyer becomes a Florida permanent resident could mean the difference between a $150,000 or $250,000 exemption and a $50,000 exemption for four years. How property appraisers would confirm residency as of December 31, 2026 for buyers who arrive late in the year remains to be seen, so relocating buyers should check with their own tax advisor and the county property appraiser.

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4. Who Would Benefit, and the Debate Over the Cost

The largest benefit would go to homeowners who are Florida residents by the end of 2026, and it grows with assessed value up to the $250,000 level. Renters would receive no exemption. The state’s Revenue Estimating Conference projected that local non-school property tax revenue would fall by about $4.95 billion in the 2027-28 fiscal year, $8.78 billion in 2028-29, and $11.86 billion a year once fully in place. Supporters, including Florida Realtors and the legislative majorities that passed the amendment 75-26 in the House and 30-9 in the Senate, describe it as relief for homeowners, protection for businesses against sharp tax increases, and a way to keep property tax dollars focused on core public services. Governor DeSantis has said he supports it but will not campaign for it. Opponents, including the Florida League of Cities and statewide sheriff, police, and firefighter organizations, warn that a loss of that size would squeeze local budgets for public safety and disaster response and that renters, businesses, and owners of non-homestead property would end up carrying a larger share of the cost.

5. What It Would Mean at the Closing Table

The standard Florida Realtors and Florida Bar residential contracts prorate taxes on the current year’s bill when it is available, on the current year’s assessment at the prior year’s tax rate when only the assessment is out, and otherwise on the prior year’s taxes, with an estimated proration subject to readjustment at either party’s request. A homesteaded property that closes in 2027 before that year’s assessments come out would therefore ordinarily be prorated on 2026 figures that do not reflect the larger exemption. For buyers, the seller’s tax bill would become an even weaker guide, since a long-time Florida resident and a buyer who moves here in 2027 could pay the same price for the same house and receive very different bills for four years. Investors would see slower growth in the assessments on property they already own, but we do not read the amendment as changing the rule that resets the non-homestead cap when a property changes ownership or control, so a newly acquired rental or commercial property should still be reassessed at market value as of the January 1 after the purchase.

6. What Happens Next

If the amendment is approved, the Legislature would need to adopt implementing legislation, likely during its 2027 session, and the new exemptions would first appear on the tax bills mailed in November 2027. Buyers who close before year-end and plan to claim a homestead exemption should remember that eligibility is determined as of January 1 and that applications are due to the county property appraiser by March 1. If the amendment fails, the current exemptions and caps remain in place, although a separate law passed in June already tightens the limits on how far counties and cities can raise property tax rates. Our title and closing team prorates taxes on every transaction we close, and we are glad to walk buyers, sellers, and agents through how taxes are being handled on a particular deal.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal or tax advice. It reflects the amendment as it appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot and may not reflect later legislation, court decisions, or the outcome of the election. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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