Amendment 3 Passed. Here Is What It Does to Your Florida Property Tax Bill.
Florida voters approved Amendment 3 with 62 percent. The homestead exemption on non-school taxes rises to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. Who gets it, when, what it does not touch, and the one date that matters.
What passed
On November 3, 2026, Florida voters approved Amendment 3 with about 62 percent of the vote (it needed 60). It changes the part of the homestead exemption that applies to non-school property taxes: $150,000 of assessed value in 2027, $250,000 in 2028, and inflation adjustments from 2029 on.
The school portion of your bill, roughly 40 percent of the average bill, is not touched.
Who gets it, and when
- Permanent Florida residents as of December 31, 2026, on the home they live in, get the larger exemption starting with the 2027 tax year.
- People who become residents after that date start at the current $50,000 and reach the full amount in their fifth year of homestead. After 2030, local governments may shorten that wait.
- Rentals, vacation homes, and commercial property get no new exemption. What they do get: the annual cap on assessment growth for non-school taxes drops from 10 percent to 5 percent.
If you are moving to Florida, the December 31 date is the whole story. Close and establish residency in 2026 and the exemption is yours in 2027.
What it is worth
Florida TaxWatch ran the example at the statewide average non-school rate of 10.5 mills. A homesteaded home assessed above the exemption saves about $1,035 in 2027 and about $2,085 in 2028.
| Year | Non-school exemption | Example savings at 10.5 mills |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (today) | $50,000 | baseline |
| 2027 | $150,000 | about $1,035 |
| 2028 | $250,000 | about $2,085 |
To estimate your own bill: multiply your total non-school millage by $98.59 for 2027, or $198.59 for 2028. Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando all carry different rates, and special districts stack on top, so two neighbors in different cities get different numbers.
What it does not do
- It does not eliminate your property tax bill.
- It does not change school taxes.
- It does not change Save Our Homes (the 3 percent cap on assessed value) or portability. Those stay, and Amendment 3 adds to them.
- It does not stop cities and counties from adjusting millage rates or fees to replace lost revenue. Some of this may end up a tax shift rather than a tax cut. Tampa prepared two 2027 budgets for exactly that reason.
What to do now
- 1If you already have homestead, check your TRIM notice or your county property appraiser page. If the exemption shows, you are set. No new application has been announced for the increase.
- 2If you bought in 2026, apply for homestead with your county property appraiser by March 1, 2027. Miss it and you wait a year.
- 3If you are relocating, talk to me this month. Eight weeks is enough time to close with a pre-approval in hand. Text me and we will build the plan.
*Sources: Florida TaxWatch Property Tax Resource Center; unofficial results, Florida Division of Elections, November 3, 2026; Bay News 9 and NBC6 reporting, November 4, 2026. This is not tax or legal advice. Confirm your situation with your county property appraiser.*
Written by Shebastian Burley
Realtor with CENTURY 21 BE3 / Beggins Enterprises, working Tampa Bay from Pinellas to Hernando. Numbers come from Stellar MLS and the sources named in each post, never from a headline.
