Florida voters appear to have approved Amendment 3 on November 3, 2026. The Division of Elections’ unofficial election night count, read November 4, 2026, has it at 61.98% against the 60% it needs, and the result stays unofficial until the state certifies it. If it stands, the changes take effect on January 1, 2027, which means the 2027 tax roll. Your 2026 bill does not change.
The amendment does three things for taxpayers: it makes the homestead exemption far larger for non-school taxes, it gives people who are not yet Florida residents a smaller version for their first years, and it tightens the assessment cap on rental homes, second homes and commercial property. For how Florida compares on other 2026 measures, see the November 2026 ballot results roundup.
What changes for a homestead owner
Today a Florida homestead carries two layers: $25,000 off every levy, plus a further $26,411 in 2026 off non-school levies only.
Under the amendment, a resident’s exemption works like this:
| Levy | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 onward |
|---|---|---|---|
| School district | $25,000 | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| Everything else (county, city, special districts) | $51,411 | $150,000 | $250,000, indexed to inflation from 2029 |
The $150,000 and $250,000 are the whole non-school exemption. They replace the old layers on those levies instead of stacking on them, and they never touch the school portion of your bill.
Worked example: a $300,000 homestead
Take a long-time Florida resident whose home is assessed at $300,000. A common reading adds everything up: $51,411 plus $150,000, leaving $98,589 taxable in 2027. That figure is wrong on both halves of the bill.
| Taxable value | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| School levies | $275,000 | $275,000 | $275,000 |
| Non-school levies | $248,589 | $150,000 | $50,000 |
The school line does not move. Millage differs in every county, so to size the change we assume a non-school rate of 10 mills, an illustrative figure for this example. At that rate the non-school tax falls by about $986 in 2027 and about $1,986 in 2028, compared with 2026. Multiply the drop in taxable value by your own non-school millage from your county’s TRIM (Truth in Millage) notice to get your number, then check your total bill with the property tax calculator.
A home assessed at $250,000 or less owes no non-school property tax in 2028. It still owes school tax on the value above $25,000, and the exemption has never covered assessments for special benefits.
If you move to Florida after 2026
The exemption depends on your position on December 31, 2026. A person who had not maintained a permanent residence in Florida by that date and who claims a homestead on or after January 1, 2027 gets $25,000 on school levies and $50,000 on non-school levies, an amount the bill analysis says is indexed to inflation from 2028. Beginning with the fifth year of that exemption, they move up to the full non-school amount.
On the same $300,000 home, a newcomer’s non-school taxable value is $250,000 through the first four years, against $50,000 for a neighbor who was already a Florida resident. If you are comparing Florida with your current state, run the estimate at the newcomer amount. Our guide to whether moving to a no-income-tax state is worth it covers the other costs. The Legislature still has to set uniform procedures for this rule, so details such as the evidence you need are not settled yet.
What changes for non-homestead owners
Non-homestead owners get no new exemption. The amendment lowers the cap on annual growth in assessed value from 10% to 5% from 2027, for non-school levies only. School levies have no such cap, and they follow just value.
Say a rental is assessed at $200,000 and its just value rises 12% in a year. Non-school assessed value could reach $220,000 under the old cap and $210,000 under the new one, while the school assessment moves to $224,000.
The cap ends at a sale. After a change of ownership or control, the property is assessed at just value on the next assessment date, so a buyer should price the tax on the just value and ignore the seller’s capped bill.
What is still open
The bill analysis lists no change to the Save Our Homes cap on homesteads, so that protection carries on. Three things remain to be settled by the Legislature or local governments:
- The Legislature must set a uniform procedure for certain local governments to exempt more assessed value than the statewide amounts.
- Counties and cities will face limits on what they may spend property tax revenue on, which may shape how they respond to the lost revenue.
- Rates are set locally each year. A larger exemption lowers your taxable value, and it does not freeze your millage.
Figures here come from the enrolled joint resolution, the House’s final bill analysis and the Division of Elections. We will replace the unofficial count once the certified result is published. For how exemptions compare in other states, see our property tax by state guide.