Florida Amendment 3 (2026): What the Homestead Exemption Increase Would Do

Amendment 3 — Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments

In plain English: A homestead exemption removes part of a home’s value from property tax. Owners who live in their home now get about $50,000 off its taxable value for non-school taxes. Amendment 3 would:

• Raise the exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then adjust it for inflation. School taxes are not changed.
• Let cities and counties go further, up to a home’s full value. Special districts could do so with voter approval.
• Lower the assessment cap on other property. An assessment cap limits how much a property’s taxable value can rise each year. For non-homestead property (rentals, commercial property, second homes), the cap would fall from 10% to 5%.
• Limit what counties and cities can spend property tax money on to listed categories.

Chart: Estimated yearly revenue loss to Florida local governments. Sources: Florida Trend.

Chart: Three estimates of Amendment 3’s cost to Miami-Dade. Sources: WLRN; Biscayne Times.

Chart: One poll’s support for Amendment 3 vs. the 60% needed. Sources: NBC6/Telemundo 51 poll.

If YES / If NO:

• If YES: the changes above start January 1, 2027. People who were not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 get the current exemption first and the higher one starting in their fifth year of exemption, to the extent the U.S. Constitution allows.
• If NO: the current exemptions and the 10% non-homestead cap stay.

Where it stands: The Legislature voted to put it on the ballot. Only voters can change the state Constitution, so it takes effect only if 60% of voters approve. In one NBC6/Telemundo 51 poll (Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, 625 registered voters), 55% statewide and 48% in Southeast Florida said yes.

Who is affected and how:

• Homeowners with a homestead exemption would pay less, by an amount that depends on home value and the local millage rate (the tax per $1,000 of taxable value). In Palm Beach County, on a hypothetical $250,000 assessed home, the extra exemption would erase a $455 city bill in Juno Beach and $2,475 in Mangonia Park (Florida Trend).
• Renters get no direct relief. If local governments raise rates to replace lost revenue, the Florida Housing Coalition (via Manhattan Miami) estimates about $406 more per apartment and $1,081 more per single-family rental in 2028.
• Non-homestead owners get no new exemption. The lower cap slows assessment growth, but millage rates are not capped (Florida Policy Institute, FPI).
• Local governments would lose revenue. The state Revenue Estimating Conference projects $4.9 billion in 2027, $8.7 billion in 2028 and $11.8 billion a year by 2031–32, if rates stay the same (Florida Trend). FPI says about $12 billion a year.
• Miami-Dade estimates a $359 million loss in the first year (WLRN). Other estimates, such as FPI’s at least $1.41 billion a year for the county and its cities and districts, cover different scopes and years.

Arguments for:

• Relief for homeowners. Florida TaxWatch reports property tax levies rose nearly 40% in three years (Florida Trend). Supporters say homeowners need relief. Rep. Toby Overdorf (R-Palm City) says local budgets have “swelled” and can be trimmed, and CFO Blaise Ingoglia says local governments use scare tactics.
• Services can be kept. Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomás Regalado, Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez and Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz support it, and the sheriff said it will not affect public safety (WLRN). Gov. DeSantis and Byron Donalds say they will vote yes, and Florida Realtors endorses it (Florida Trend).

Arguments against:

• A tax shift, not a tax cut. The Florida League of Cities says costs move to renters, businesses and other homeowners. The Florida Policy Institute (FPI) says the measure does not fix housing costs.
• Risk to services. FPI says services like emergency response and hospitals would be at risk. The Florida Sheriffs Association, professional firefighters, fire chiefs and the Fraternal Order of Police oppose it (Florida Trend, WLRN).
• Cost shift to businesses and renters. Associated Industries of Florida and the Florida Chamber say costs could move to businesses and renters, and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy calls it popular but poorly targeted at housing costs (WUSF).

Background and context

Current law: Save Our Homes already caps homestead assessment growth at the lesser of 3% or inflation. FPI says homestead assessments average 50.3% below market value.

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Other states:

• Texas: voters approved raising the school-tax homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 (Proposition 13, Nov. 2025). A 2023 Tax Foundation analysis argued such exemptions shift tax to commercial owners, including multi-unit rentals, so “much of the economic incidence is borne by the lessee in the form of higher rent.”
• Montana: its 2025 law taxes primary residences at lower rates, with an estimated average saving of $500-$600 a year. The burden shifted toward second homes and commercial property. Anecdotally, commercial buildings rose about 25 percent in Missoula and 38 percent in Kalispell from 2024 to 2025 (NBC Montana).

Why it matters: Of the three state amendments, this one involves the most money and affects the most people. Savings go mainly to homeowners. Local governments could make up lost revenue through higher millage, other taxes, fees or service cuts (Florida Trend).

The exact ballot wording

This is the question as printed on the ballot.

№3 Constitutional Amendment, Article VII, Sections 4, 6, and 9, Article XII Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments This amendment increases the homestead exemption, for all non-school taxes, to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and adjusts for inflation thereafter. It requires the Legislature to prescribe a uniform procedure for counties and municipalities, for their respective levies, to increase the homestead exemption up to full assessed value, and allows special districts, subject to referendum approval, to do the same.

Persons who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026, will receive the existing homestead exemption upon qualifying for a homestead exemption, with the increased homestead exemption beginning with the fifth year of exemption, to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution.

This amendment reduces the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%.

This amendment requires counties and municipalities to use property taxes solely for public safety, education and schools, infrastructure, natural resources, bond debt service, retirement benefits for employees, and operations and administration. Other expenditures may be approved by county officers or county or municipal governing bodies unless prohibited by general law, notwithstanding Article VII, Section 9(a) of the Florida Constitution, which allows counties and municipalities to levy property taxes for their respective purposes.

This amendment takes effect January 1, 2027.

Sources:

• Florida Trend, Taxing question (Oct 10, 2026)
• Florida Policy Institute, Florida Property Tax Amendment: Ballot Language Summary
• Florida League of Cities, Property Taxes
• WLRN, Florida’s proposed property tax amendment will require trade-offs (Jul 31, 2026)
• WLRN, Miami-Dade Amendment 3 (Sep 28, 2026)
• WUSF, Amendment 3 passage would cost local governments $12 billion a year (Sep 30, 2026)
• WCTV, Impact of Amendment 3: REC projections (Jul 20, 2026)