Florida Amendment 3 Explained: Proposed Homestead Tax Changes and What They Mean for Homeowners
Amendment 3 is one of three proposed constitutional amendments Florida voters will consider this November and concerns Florida’s long-standing homestead property-tax exemption. The property-tax exemption is enshrined in the Florida Constitution, and the proposed changes raise important questions for current Florida homeowners, prospective residents, and those considering their property ownership and estate planning arrangements.
What Would Florida Amendment 3 Change?
The current Florida homestead property-tax exemption allows for the first $25,000 of one’s assessed property value to be exempt from all taxing authorities, including county, municipal, and school district taxes. An additional exemption of $25,000 applies only to non-school taxes on assessed value above $50,000. Amendment 3 would increase the non-school exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with annual inflation adjustments thereafter.
If approved, Amendment 3 would also lower the cap on annual increases in the assessed value of certain non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%. This change would limit how quickly the assessed value of covered properties rise from year to year.
Beyond these changes to exemptions and assessment limits, Florida Amendment 3 would limit the purposes for which counties and municipalities may use property-tax revenue. Instead of allowing counties, school districts, and municipalities to use taxes “for their respective purposes,” Amendment 3 requires such taxes to be used to:
- Provide for public safety, including law enforcement, fire services, and emergency medical services;
- Provide funding for education and public schools;
- Finance or refinance infrastructure;
- Finance or refinance natural resource projects, including flood control measures;
- Issue local bonds for uses consistent with this paragraph;
- Meet obligations for retirement benefits of local government employees; or
- Fund county and municipal operations and administration, including those of county officers and commissioners established under Article VIII, and expenditures approved by those officers or county or municipal governing bodies, unless prohibited by general law.
Although these categories remain broad, they would provide counties and municipalities with clearer guidance for allocating property-tax revenue compared to the current spending authority provided under current law.
How Does Amendment 3 Affect Existing and Future Florida Homeowners?
For existing homeowners, the practical effect would be a potential reduction in the annual cost of owning a qualifying primary residence. The tax savings would vary based on the home’s assessed value and local tax rates, so homeowners would not all receive the same dollar benefit. A larger exemption would also not necessarily eliminate the property-tax bill: school taxes and applicable special assessments would remain, and homes with assessed values exceeding the exemption would still be subject to non-school taxes on the remaining taxable value.
However, individuals who become Florida residents after December 31, 2026 would initially receive only the existing exemption upon qualifying for homestead. The expanded exemption would become available in their fifth year of receiving the homestead exemption. Because Florida residency is a fact-specific determination, records such as a Florida driver’s license, voter registration, tax returns, vehicle registration, employment information, and a declaration of domicile are important in establishing when residency began. Prospective buyers would therefore need to distinguish between purchasing a Florida home, establishing residency, and qualifying for the expanded exemption when estimating their ownership costs.
What Could Florida Amendment 3 Mean for Property Ownership, Homestead Planning, and Estate Planning?
If passed, Amendment 3 could make owning a qualifying primary residence more attractive than renting, maintaining a second home, or holding investment property. Amendment 3’s impact on any particular decision, however, would depend on other practical considerations, including insurance costs, financing, maintenance, and local market conditions.
Amendment 3 would primarily change the property-tax consequences of homestead planning; it would not alter Florida’s separate constitutional protections from forced sale or its restrictions on devising homestead when an owner is survived by a spouse or minor child. Therefore, wills, trusts, deeds, and marital agreements would still need to comply with existing Florida homestead rules, regardless of the size of the available tax exemption.
The larger exemption could increase the financial significance of how a residence passes at death. A beneficiary generally does not inherit the deceased owner’s homestead exemption or accumulated Save Our Homes benefit simply by inheriting the property. Instead, they may need to independently qualify and apply for homestead: limited exceptions may also apply for a surviving spouse or certain resident dependents. Accordingly, families should consider whether an intended beneficiary is likely to occupy the residence and qualify for Florida homestead when evaluating how the property should be transferred.
