For the November 3, 2026, general election, among the candidates and issues there are 3 amendments on the Florida ballot. I will try my best to give a non-partisan explanation of this amendment and a brief history of property taxes and property tax exemptions.
Taxing real estate has been happening for thousands of years. Even back to ancient Egypt there are records of direct property taxes being levied by Pharaoh. In the United States by the 1790s most states were taxing land in one way or another. The first property tax levies in Florida began in 1830 (before Florida even became a state). In 1885, the Florida constitution created a uniform system of assessments and millage rates similar to what we have today.
The first homestead exemption was created in 1934 and provided for a $5,000 exemption. In 1980, an amendment raised that number to $25,000. In 1992, “Save Our Homes” capped the annual assessment increase for homesteads to 3% per year or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. In 2008, there was a major amendment that increased the homestead exemption to $50,000 (except for school taxes), allowed for portability of your homestead exemption to another Florida property, and capped non-homestead (rentals and commercial) property tax increases to 10% per year (except for school taxes). Additionally, there are also exemptions for widow, disability, agriculture, and several other categories that I am not going to detail today. That brings us to 2026.
Amendment 3 was passed by the Florida legislature in June 2026 as House Joint Resolution 1 and placed on the November ballot. And just as a disclaimer, I am not an attorney so consult with your own legal counsel if you have detailed questions about any of this. If 60% of Florida voters vote “yes” for this amendment on November 3, these would be the new changes:
- 1) The homestead exemption (except for school taxes) would increase to $150,000 for 2027 and to $250,000 for 2028. In 2029 and subsequent years, the number would be indexed to inflation.
- 2) Anyone not residing in Florida on December 31, 2026 would not receive this new exemption until they have lived in the state a full 5 years. (They would still receive the current lower exemptions.)
- 3) Non-homestead properties would have their assessment increases limited to 5% per year (except for school taxes).
- 4) Cities and counties would be limited to only spending property tax dollars on public safety, education, infrastructure, natural resource projects, local bonds, and several other specifically described services.
- 5) “Save Our Homes”, “Portability”, and other exemptions for the most part would not be affected by this amendment.
The pros and cons if this amendment passes are debated all over the news and internet. As a basic summary, the obvious positive for Florida residents are large property tax savings on homestead properties and a reduced cap on annual tax increases on non-homestead properties. The negative is that cities and counties will have significant revenue cut from their budgets. The resulting consequences could involve reduced services from cities and counties, reduced response times, layoffs of government workers, new fees and non-ad valorem assessments, and increased millage rates. Certainly, there could be other unforeseen consequences as well.
Here are some direct links with more details about this proposed amendment.
The actual language directly from House Joint Resolution 1: https://flhouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h0001Fer.docx&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=1&Session=2026F
Florida Realtors: https://www.floridarealtors.org/news-media/news-articles/2026/08/breaking_news_florida-realtors-supports-property-tax-reform
Florida Tax Watch: https://floridataxwatch.org/research/florida-property-tax-resource-center/
Orange County Government: https://ocfl.net/OpenGovernment/PropertyTaxAmendment3.aspx
Osceola County Government: https://www.property-appraiser.org/faq-tax-amendment/
Seminole County Government: https://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/departments-services/county-managers-office/proposed-property-tax-amendment
Volusia County Government: https://vcpa.vcgov.org/info/amendment3
Comments(1)