10 minute read
AT A GLANCE
Florida Amendment 3 is on the November 3, 2026 ballot, and it would raise the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes from about $51,411 today to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, indexed for inflation after that. It also cuts the annual assessment increase cap on non-homestead property from 10 percent to 5 percent, which reaches second-home owners, snowbirds, and small landlords. The piece almost nobody is talking about is the grandfather clause. Anyone who is a permanent Florida resident on December 31, 2026 gets the full expanded exemption starting January 1, 2027. Anyone who establishes residency on January 1, 2027 or later starts with a $50,000 exemption and waits four full tax years before the expanded exemption applies in year five. The Pinellas County Property Appraiser's illustrative math puts the grandfathered savings at roughly $1,203 in 2027 and $2,423 in 2028. It takes 60 percent of Florida voters to pass. Kim and I are voting yes, and this post walks through what the amendment does, how it lands for each type of SWFL owner and buyer, the honest con case, and the second path for a northern buyer whose purchase cannot be pulled forward.
There is a Florida constitutional amendment on the November 3, 2026 ballot that would substantially reduce property taxes on primary residences across the state. It is called Amendment 3, formally titled "Save our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes." The Florida Legislature placed it on the ballot on June 2, 2026 via HJR 1, a joint resolution passed in a special session. If 60 percent of Florida voters approve it in November, it becomes part of the Florida Constitution effective January 1, 2027.
I am in favor of Amendment 3, and I will explain why below. First, the cliff notes, because the amendment has a lot of moving pieces, and every SWFL homeowner and buyer needs a clean summary before anything else.
Cliff notes brief
What it does. Raises the Florida homestead exemption on non-school property taxes from about $51,411 today to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, indexed for inflation after that.
What it also does. Lowers the annual assessment increase cap on non-homestead property (second homes, rentals, commercial) from 10 percent to 5 percent, non-school only.
The grandfather clause nobody is talking about. Anyone who is a permanent Florida resident on December 31, 2026 gets the full expanded exemption starting January 1, 2027. Anyone who establishes Florida residency on January 1, 2027 or later starts with a smaller $50,000 exemption and has to hold a Florida homestead for four full tax years before qualifying for the expanded exemption in year five.
What it does not do. Does not eliminate property taxes. Does not change school-district property taxes. Does not change Save Our Homes, portability, senior exemptions, veteran exemptions, or disability exemptions.
Passage threshold. 60 percent of Florida voters must approve on November 3, 2026 for the amendment to take effect.
Estimated annual savings if passed. Approximately $1,203 in year one (2027) and $2,423 in year two (2028), per the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's official illustrative math. Lee County and Collier County savings will vary based on local non-school millage rates.
Short analysis
Florida's homestead exemption has not meaningfully kept pace with Florida property values. The current combined exemption of about $51,411 (on non-school levies, after CPI adjustments) was set at a time when a Bonita Springs single-family median was in the mid-$200,000s. Today the Bonita median is $680,000 and the Naples median is $790,000. The current exemption covers about 6 to 7 percent of a median home's assessed value in these markets. That is not meaningful protection.
Amendment 3 resets that. A $150,000 exemption in 2027, rising to $250,000 in 2028, restores the exemption to a proportion of a median SWFL home that makes it functionally the tax relief it was originally designed to be. For long-time homesteaders with heavily suppressed assessed values thanks to Save Our Homes, the expanded exemption often covers the entire remaining non-school assessed value, effectively zeroing out that portion of the tax bill. For recent buyers whose assessed values are still close to market, the expanded exemption produces a real, dollarable annual savings.
The residency provision is where the amendment gets pointed. Amendment 3 treats the December 31, 2026 residency date as the grandfathering line. Everyone who is a Florida resident on that date is in the "before" group and gets the full new exemption starting 2027. Everyone who arrives after that date is in the "after" group, gets a much smaller exemption for four years, and only qualifies for the full new exemption in their fifth year of holding a Florida homestead. That is not a small distinction. Over the first four tax years, the "before" resident collects a real financial advantage that the "after" resident does not.
Here is the exemption path side by side.
| Tax year | Florida resident on or before Dec 31, 2026 | Residency established Jan 1, 2027 or later |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | $150,000 exemption | $50,000 exemption |
| 2028 | $250,000 exemption | $50,000 exemption |
| 2029 | $250,000 plus inflation indexing | $50,000 exemption |
| 2030 | $250,000 plus inflation indexing | $50,000 exemption |
| 2031 (year five) | $250,000 plus inflation indexing | Full expanded exemption applies |
Exemption amounts apply to non-school levies only. The $25,000 school-taxable portion of the homestead is unchanged. Year-five timing assumes a Florida homestead held continuously for four full tax years beginning in 2027.
How this applies to you
Kim and I are walking every SWFL client through this piece of paperwork based on their specific ownership situation. Here is how it lands for each of the buyer types we work with.
If you are a current Florida homesteader who has owned for ten years or more. Save Our Homes has kept your assessed value well below market for a decade. If your home is worth $600,000 but assessed at $250,000, the expanded $150,000 exemption in 2027 wipes out $150,000 of your remaining non-school assessed value. In 2028, the $250,000 exemption may cover your entire remaining non-school assessed value. Your non-school property tax bill could drop to near zero. School taxes stay the same because the amendment does not touch school millage.
The Complete Bonita Springs 55+ Community GuideIf you are a recent Florida homesteader who bought in 2022 through 2025. Your assessed value is closer to market value, so the delta is bigger in absolute dollars. Using the Pinellas illustration, a homestead property receiving the full expanded exemption would save approximately $1,203 in 2027 and $2,423 in 2028 in annual non-school property taxes. In Lee or Collier County, the local millage rate produces a similar order of magnitude. Over five years, this is $10,000 to $15,000 of real money staying in your budget.
If you are a Florida resident planning to buy a first Florida home in 2026 or early 2027. Close on the home and file for homestead by the standard March 1, 2027 deadline (with permanent residency established as of January 1, 2027). You are in the grandfathered group. Get the full expanded exemption starting on your 2027 tax bill.
If you are a snowbird who owns a Florida second home but has not homesteaded. The expanded exemption does not apply to a second home. However, the non-homestead assessment cap drops from 10 percent to 5 percent, so your second home's annual assessment increases are cut in half. Additionally, if you have been thinking about establishing Florida as your primary residence to escape a high-tax northern state, the December 31, 2026 deadline is a strong reason to accelerate that decision. Talk to your CPA about the northern-state exit and the Florida homestead qualification path.
The SWFL Snowbird Buyer's Fall 2026 PlaybookIf you are a landlord or investor who owns SWFL rental property. The expanded homestead exemption does not apply to rentals. The 10-to-5 percent non-homestead assessment cap does. Your rental property's assessed value increases will be limited to 5 percent per year going forward, non-school only. That is a meaningful protection against the sharp assessed value jumps that hit non-homestead property during price booms.
If you are a northern buyer planning to relocate to SWFL in 2027 or later. The residency date matters. If you can close on a SWFL home and establish Florida residency (driver's license, voter registration, Declaration of Domicile, physical presence, primary residence intent) before December 31, 2026, you are in the grandfathered group. If you cannot, you get the smaller $50,000 exemption for four years before the larger exemption applies in year five. The chart below shows what that delta looks like in the Pinellas illustration.
If you are a northern buyer whose 2027 purchase cannot be pulled forward for financing or inventory reasons. There is a second path. Per the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's official FAQ: "Those who establish Florida residency by December 31, 2026, would be eligible for the higher exemption amount when they do choose to purchase a residential property and apply for homestead." A buyer who cannot close by December 31 but can establish Florida residency independently still gets grandfathered status as long as residency itself is established by year-end. Renting a place, staying with family, or occupying an existing second home all count. That is a meaningful workaround worth naming.
The pro case for voting yes
Here is why I support Amendment 3.
Florida homesteaders have been carrying a rising real property tax burden for years. Assessed values have climbed alongside market values on newer purchases, and the fixed-dollar exemption has not kept pace with inflation or property appreciation. Amendment 3 corrects that by moving the exemption to a scale that actually matters at 2026 SWFL price levels.
The amendment protects the Save Our Homes 3 percent cap and portability. These are the two mechanisms that keep long-time homesteaders from being taxed out of their homes when neighborhoods appreciate. Amendment 3 does not touch either. It layers on top.
Non-homestead property owners get real protection too. The 10 percent annual assessment cap dropping to 5 percent means second-home owners, snowbirds, and small landlords get half the annual increase risk they carry today. That is a broadly popular provision that reaches beyond the primary-residence owner.
School funding is unaffected. The $25,000 school-taxable portion of the homestead is unchanged. Public education revenue does not take a hit under Amendment 3.
The transparency argument. Property taxes are among the most transparent taxes in America. Every homeowner sees their bill twice a year, knows exactly what they are paying, and can compute what a millage change does to their wallet. Amendment 3 reduces the burden on a tax that homeowners actually see, rather than adding an equivalent burden to a tax they see less clearly. That is a shift toward accountability, not away from it.
The competitive argument. Florida has been the number one destination state for domestic relocation for several years running, and property taxes are consistently in the top three concerns cited by incoming residents. Amendment 3 sharpens Florida's competitive position at exactly the moment when other high-tax states are pushing residents south.
The con case, and where the opposition has a point
The strongest opposition case comes from the Tax Foundation, whose June 2026 analysis is worth reading in full. Two objections deserve a fair hearing.
Objection one: local government revenue loss. Legislative fiscal analysis estimates $4.6 billion in first-year revenue loss and $8.4 billion in second-year loss for local governments statewide. Critics warn this forces cuts to public safety, infrastructure, and other local services, or forces higher sales taxes or higher millage rates on non-homestead property.
Here is why I think the objection is overstated. First, the amendment expressly requires the Legislature to provide implementing detail on how the revenue transition is handled. This is not a cut without a follow-on plan. Second, most Florida counties and municipalities came through the 2021-2024 property boom with significantly expanded reserves and multiple years of ad valorem revenue growth well ahead of inflation. There is real capacity to absorb a portion of the shift. Third, the alternative to reducing homesteader taxes is continuing to raise them on the same fixed base year after year. That is not sustainable either.
Objection two: the new-resident waiting period is unfair. The four-year waiting period before the full exemption applies has been criticized as penalizing legitimate new Florida residents who chose to make Florida home.
Here is my honest read on this one. The waiting period exists to prevent the amendment from becoming a magnet for people who move to Florida specifically to shelter income from a northern state's tax authority without genuinely committing to Florida residency. The four-year holding requirement is short enough that a legitimate new resident does not lose the benefit, just delays it. It is long enough to filter out gaming. I would prefer a two-year period, but four is defensible.
Bonita Springs Housing Market Update for July 2026My recommendation
Vote yes on Amendment 3 on November 3, 2026.
For current Florida homesteaders, the exemption expansion is overdue tax relief that keeps you in a home you have already been paying rising taxes on for years. For SWFL buyers currently in contract or planning to close before year-end, the December 31 deadline is a real financial advantage worth timing your purchase around. For northern buyers whose SWFL move is on the 12-to-24 month horizon, the residency date creates a genuine planning opportunity that a good CPA and a good real estate team can help you capture.
Kim and I are Florida homesteaders. This is our home and our business. We are voting yes.
What Kim and I are telling clients about the December 31, 2026 timing
If your SWFL purchase is on your 12-to-18 month horizon anyway and you can pull it forward without forcing a bad transaction, the November 3 vote is a legitimate reason to accelerate. The savings math is meaningful over the first four years.
If you cannot pull the purchase forward but can establish Florida residency before December 31 through the second path (rental, family stay, or existing second home occupancy), that is a fully legitimate route and it protects the grandfathered status regardless of when the actual home purchase closes.
If you are already a Florida resident with a second home you have not homesteaded, the December 31 deadline is a reason to have a serious conversation with your CPA about shifting your primary residence to your Florida property. Depending on your northern-state tax picture, this could be a meaningful net-positive move.
If you are already a Florida homesteader, no action is required. You are automatically in the grandfathered group. The expanded exemption shows up on your 2027 tax bill assuming Amendment 3 passes.
Want the actual Amendment 3 math on your specific property?
Send us the address of the property you are considering and we will run the actual math on Lee or Collier millage. Call Kim at 239-420-9027 or text me at 239-355-4040. Bring your CPA and your real estate attorney into the conversation early. This decision lives at the intersection of real estate timing, state residency planning, and tax strategy, and no one professional should be handling it alone.
The next SWFL market update on the calendar is Estero on Monday.
Sources
Proposed 2026 Florida Property Tax Amendment 3 (CS/HJR 1F) FAQs, Pinellas County Property Appraiser
Florida Property Tax Update: The Amendment Now Headed to Your November 2026 Ballot, Barnes Walker
Florida House HJR 1F, primary source text
This post is our opinion on a ballot question, not legal or tax advice. Savings figures are illustrative and come from the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's published example. Your actual result depends on your assessed value and your local non-school millage rate. Talk to your CPA and your attorney before making a residency or purchase timing decision.
