Florida Amendment 3 Passed: What the Bigger Homestead Exemption Means for Property Owners

Florida voters approved Amendment 3 on Election Day, November 3, with nearly 62 percent of the vote in early returns against the 60 percent a constitutional amendment needs. For property owners, it is the biggest rewrite of the state’s property tax rules in years. The headline is easy to remember: the slice of your home’s value shielded from most local taxes roughly triples next year, then grows to about five times what it is today. The fine print decides whether you save a little, a lot, or nothing.

What Florida Amendment 3 Changes About the Homestead Exemption

Today a homestead can exempt up to $51,411 of assessed value from non-school property taxes: the first $25,000, which applies to every tax on the bill, plus a second, inflation-indexed exemption that applies only to non-school taxes. Amendment 3 raises the non-school exemption to $150,000 on January 1, 2027, then to $250,000 on January 1, 2028, and adjusts it for inflation after that.

Only county, city, and special district taxes are affected. School property taxes do not change, and the $25,000 exemption that applies to them stays exactly where it is. On most bills, school taxes are a large share of the total, so even a homeowner who owes nothing to the county will still get a bill.

How Much Could Amendment 3 Save a Florida Homeowner?

The math is simple: every $1,000 of exempt value saves $1 for each mill of tax. Say the non-school millage on your bill (county, city, and special districts combined) adds up to 10.5 mills. Going from $51,411 to $150,000 exempts another $98,589, which saves about $1,035 in 2027. Going to $250,000 exempts $198,589 more than today, about $2,085 a year in 2028. That is roughly $86 a month in year one and $174 a month in year two.

Because the exemption removes a fixed amount of value, the dollar savings are the same whether the home is assessed a little over the threshold or far above it. A modest home and a much pricier one in the same city save the same amount.

There is also a zero-bill zone. If your assessed value is $150,000 or less in 2027, or $250,000 or less in 2028, you pay nothing to your county, city, or special districts and owe only school taxes. Your own number will differ, because millage rates vary widely across Miami-Dade, Broward, and the rest of the state. Pull the non-school rates off your last tax bill and run the calculation above.

Who Gets Less From Amendment 3: Newcomers, Second Homes, and Rentals

The benefit is not universal.

New residents wait. People who were not Florida residents as of December 31, 2026 must wait until their fifth year of qualifying for homestead before receiving the larger exemption. Until then they get the existing exemption. According to the Florida Chamber’s summary, a county or city can shorten that wait for its own taxes by a two-thirds vote.

Second homes, rentals, and commercial property get a different kind of relief. They do not qualify for the bigger homestead exemption, but starting in 2027 the annual cap on assessed value increases for non-homestead property drops from 10 percent to 5 percent for non-school taxes. That slows how fast their taxable value climbs rather than cutting the bill outright. For rental owners, that slower growth is worth modeling into long-term cash flow, alongside strategies like the ones in our post on the short-term rental tax strategy.

Your Save Our Homes protection stays. The existing cap on homestead assessment growth and portability of that savings to a new Florida home continue to apply. If you are weighing a sale, the federal side matters too; see what Miami sellers need to know about basis and the home sale exclusion.

The Trade-Off: Local Budgets, Fees, and Millage Rates

Supporters see overdue relief for households dealing with Florida’s rising cost of living. Opponents point to what local governments lose. The state’s Revenue Estimating Conference projected a statewide cut in local revenue of about $4.9 billion in the 2027-28 fiscal year, about $8.7 billion in 2028-29, and a recurring loss of nearly $12 billion once fully phased in. Miami-Dade County estimates its own loss at about $386 million starting in October 2027, growing to about $697 million in October 2028, at current tax rates.

Here is the part that matters for your wallet. The amendment does not stop local governments from raising millage rates or increasing fees, and it provides no new state funding to replace the lost revenue. Your savings could be partly offset if your city or county raises rates or adds fees. Renters and landlords may feel it too, since lost revenue has to come from somewhere; we break that down in what Amendment 3 means for renters.

What Property Owners Should Do Next

• Do not expect a change this November. Your 2026 bill covers the 2026 tax year and is not affected by this vote.
• Confirm your homestead exemption is in place. The larger exemption only helps if your primary residence is properly filed with the property appraiser.
• Watch your 2027 TRIM notice and local budgets. Compare proposed millage rates and new fees against the savings you expected.
• Planning a move to Florida? The December 31, 2026 residency date now carries real money consequences.
• Expect more detail. Implementing legislation could affect how the amendment is applied, and final certified results are still to come from the Division of Elections.

The Bottom Line on Florida Amendment 3

Amendment 3 is a genuine tax cut for long-term Florida homeowners, a slower-growth cap for second-home, rental, and commercial owners, and a delayed benefit for newcomers. Whether the savings stick depends on how local governments respond when they set next year’s budgets. This post is general information, not tax advice; if you want to know what the new exemption means for your own property, the numbers are worth running before your 2027 notice arrives.