Florida Amendment 3 (2026): What the Property Tax Measure Means When You Sell or Buy

What Amendment 3 is and how it reached the ballot

Amendment 3 is a change to the Florida Constitution proposed by the Legislature, not by petition. Lawmakers passed it as CS/HJR 1F on June 2, 2026, during a special session, 75 to 26 in the House and 30 to 9 in the Senate, and filed it with the Secretary of State on June 16 (bill history). The governor cannot veto a joint resolution, and the amendment passes only if at least 60% of those voting on it approve (House staff analysis).

The ballot wording is not the Legislature's original, which was titled "Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes." A court found deficiencies in that statement in Save Our Voters From Misleading Ballot Language, Inc. v. Byrd. After the state declined further appeals, the Attorney General submitted the revised title and summary below on Aug. 13, 2026 (letter; Division of Elections).

What would change, and what would not

Here is how the amendment's text compares with current law.

The senior, widow and widower, veteran and disability exemptions do not change, and the homestead exemption does not reduce non-ad valorem assessments on the tax bill (Pinellas County Property Appraiser).

Savings depend on assessed value and on tax rates, which local governments set each year. For a home receiving the full exemption, the Pinellas County Property Appraiser estimates about $1,203 in 2027 and $2,423 in 2028 at the 2025 countywide average non-school rate of 12.2011 mills. Florida TaxWatch estimates about $1,035 and $2,085 at a statewide average of 10.5 mills; its shortcut is your total non-school millage rate times $98.59 for 2027 or $198.59 for 2028. Homes assessed below the full exemption would save less.

When it would take effect

Even if voters approve it, nothing changes before Jan. 1, 2027, and 2026 tax bills are figured under current law.

1. Nov. 3, 2026: election day. Approval takes at least 60% of the votes cast on the amendment.
2. Jan. 1, 2027: the amendment takes effect. Assessments and homestead status are set as of each Jan. 1.
3. March 1, 2027: the usual deadline to apply for a 2027 homestead exemption (s. 196.011, Florida Statutes).
4. August and November 2027: TRIM notices of proposed taxes, then tax bills, would first show the change, according to the Pinellas County Property Appraiser.
5. Jan. 1, 2028: the exemption rises to $250,000, and the $50,000 new-resident amount starts adjusting for inflation.
6. Jan. 1, 2029: the $250,000 starts adjusting for inflation in years when prices rise.
7. Jan. 1, 2030: a county or city may, by a two-thirds vote of its governing body, shorten the new-resident wait for a "critical local need."

If the amendment fails, today's exemptions and the 10% cap stay in place.

What happens to the exemption when a home sells

Homestead status is set once a year: a person who owns a home on Jan. 1 and makes it a permanent residence can claim that year's exemption (s. 196.031, Florida Statutes) by applying by March 1. After a sale, the home is reassessed at just value, which is market value, on the next Jan. 1 (s. 193.155(3), Florida Statutes). Amendment 3 keeps that reset.

The seller's exemption and Save Our Homes benefit stay on the home for the rest of the calendar year. After that, the bill reflects the buyer's own assessment and exemptions, which is why the Department of Revenue notes that many first-time Florida owners are surprised to pay more than the previous owner (PT-107).

Taxes are billed after the year they cover: bills go out in late October or November and are due by the following March 31 (PT-107; s. 197.333, Florida Statutes). Sale contracts typically prorate the year's taxes between seller and buyer by the closing date, and the method depends on your contract. A 2026 closing splits 2026 taxes under current law. If the amendment passes, the 2027 bill would carry the exemptions of whoever owned and lived in the home on Jan. 1, 2027, possibly including a seller's larger exemption, and it is not issued until about November 2027. For a closing before then, ask your closing agent how the estimate is made and whether it is adjusted later.

Buyers moving to Florida from another state

The new-resident rule turns on one date. An owner who "had not maintained a permanent residence in this state as of December 31, 2026" would get $25,000 off school taxes and $50,000 off other taxes, the $50,000 adjusted for inflation from 2028, with the larger amount "beginning with the fifth year of exemption" (CS/HJR 1F). The Pinellas County Property Appraiser reads that as four years at the lower amount, although the amendment's local-option clause calls it a "five-year requirement."

For example, a family that moves here and buys a home in March 2027 could first claim homestead on Jan. 1, 2028. Under the text, its non-school exemption would be the adjusted $50,000 for 2028 through 2031 and the larger amount from 2032, unless a local government shortens the wait. Save Our Homes would apply as it does to any homestead.

The test is a permanent Florida residence on that date, not owning a home. The Revenue Estimating Conference read the text to cover anyone with a permanent Florida residence on Dec. 31, 2026, but wrote that it is unclear how property appraisers will determine who was a resident then (estimate). Procedures are left to a future law, and the ballot summary says the rule applies "to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution." Treat both points as unsettled as of October 2026.

For sellers, two buyers of the same house could get different exemptions for several years, depending on where each lived at the end of 2026. The county property appraiser decides who qualifies. This guide does not predict how the rule would affect demand or prices.

Moving within Florida, rentals and second homes

Portability stays. An owner moving between Florida homesteads can transfer up to $500,000 of Save Our Homes difference if the new homestead is established within three years of Jan. 1 of the year the old one was given up, not three years after the sale, by filing Form DR-501T with the homestead application by March 1 (s. 193.155(8); PT-112). An owner with a permanent Florida residence on Dec. 31, 2026 would also get the larger exemption on the next Florida homestead.

Rentals, second homes, residential lots and commercial property get no homestead exemption. For them, the cap on yearly increases in assessed value for non-school taxes would fall from 10% to 5% starting with 2027 assessments, while school taxes stay uncapped. As the Pinellas County Property Appraiser puts it, a lower cap "affects assessed value increases, not tax rates."

A sale still resets these properties to just value on the next Jan. 1: residential property of nine or fewer units (s. 193.1554(5)), and commercial property and residential property of 10 or more units, which also reset after a qualifying improvement (s. 193.1555(5)). So for a buyer, the cap limits increases only after that reassessment. A homeowner who moves out and rents the house loses the homestead exemption and Save Our Homes benefit, which triggers a reassessment (PT-112).

Estimated effect on local budgets

Because the changes apply only to non-school taxes, the state's estimate shows no change for school districts. If the amendment passes, the state's Revenue Estimating Conference estimated on July 10, 2026 that local non-school property tax revenue would fall by about $4.93 billion in fiscal year 2027-28, $8.71 billion in 2028-29 and $11.83 billion a year once fully in place. An earlier June 12 estimate, cited in the House staff analysis, was slightly higher.

The estimate leaves out any future steps toward a full exemption, which the conference said depend on future legislative action, and local choices such as special district referendums. Orange County separately estimates its county revenue would drop about $165 million in 2027 and $275 million in 2028.

Arguments for and against

As of October 2026, the Florida Phoenix voter guide lists the Republican Party of Florida, the governor and Florida Realtors among supporters, and the Florida Democratic Party, public safety and law enforcement groups, and city and county governments among opponents. Each side's main arguments, in its own published words, follow.

Supporters say:

• Florida Realtors, whose board voted to support it on Aug. 23, 2026, says it "offers voters an opportunity to provide meaningful property tax relief while strengthening Florida's commitment to attainable homeownership." Its 2026 president, Chuck Bonfiglio Jr., added that "buying the home is only half the challenge" (Florida Realtors).
• A one-page summary of Gov. Ron DeSantis's Save Our Homes proposal, on a state website, says local property tax revenue "has nearly doubled in the past seven years (from $32 billion to $60 billion)" and is expected to reach $83 billion by 2032. "Floridians can't afford it. Taxpayers need relief," it says (summary).
• The Vote Yes on 3 campaign says a lower cap on rental and other non-homestead property could "potentially reduce some of the pressure that rising property taxes can place on rents," and that uncertainty about local budgets "should not prevent Florida from addressing a known problem: the rising cost of owning a home" (campaign FAQ).

Opponents say:

• The Florida Fire Chiefs' Association said on July 9, 2026 that the amendment "creates substantial uncertainty regarding the future funding of fire protection, emergency medical services, and disaster response without identifying a sustainable replacement revenue source," and that it "cannot support the amendment in its current form" (position statement).
• The Florida League of Cities says "Amendment 3 is not a tax cut, it's a tax shift," because public safety, stormwater systems and road repairs remain in the budget and their cost would be "shifted onto renters, businesses, and the neighbors who didn't get the break" (League of Cities).
• The Florida Association of Counties says public safety is "the largest expenditure category in 55 of Florida's 67 counties," and that "the original trust fund was eliminated from the final legislation, leaving no safety net for fiscally constrained counties or lapsed critical services" (association alert).

As of October 2026, the Florida Chamber of Commerce's Amendment 3 page offers educational material without endorsing or opposing the measure. This guide takes no position either.

What is still uncertain, and steps to take

As of October 2026, these questions are open:

• How residence on Dec. 31, 2026 would be shown; a future law sets the procedures.
• How the four years are counted if a new resident moves to another Florida home; the text does not say.
• When, or whether, a full exemption would come; the amendment sets no deadline.
• How each county, city and special district would respond; rates, fees and services are set locally, and the amendment provides no replacement revenue.

Steps that follow from these rules:

1. Look up the home on the county property appraiser's website: just value, assessed value, exemptions and Save Our Homes difference.
2. Buyers: estimate a new owner's taxes instead of relying on the seller's bill. Some property appraisers offer estimators, and Florida TaxWatch has a calculator.
3. Owners moving within Florida: file the homestead application and Form DR-501T by March 1 of the first year you qualify.
4. Owners moving to Florida: property appraisers already ask for proof of residency, such as a Florida driver license, vehicle registration or voter registration (PT-113). If the amendment passes, your residency date could matter.
5. Sellers and buyers: ask your closing agent how taxes will be prorated.

This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice; your county property appraiser decides exemptions. A direct as-is sale is one option alongside listing or keeping the house; see selling a house as is. House Buying Solutions buys houses directly for cash and as is across Florida. Asking for an offer creates no obligation, and every purchase depends on a signed agreement, property access and clear title.

Common questions