Florida Amendment 3 Property Tax Calculator: What the $250,000 Homestead Exemption Would Save You

On November 3, 2026, Florida voters decide Amendment 3 — formally, “Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments” (HJR 1‑F). If 60% approve, the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes climbs from $50,000 today to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, indexed to inflation after that.

The Legislature’s Revenue Estimating Conference projects it would reduce local property taxes by roughly $45.8 billion over five years. That is the number in the headlines. The number that matters to you is smaller and more specific — and it depends almost entirely on one thing most coverage skips.

Amendment 3 Savings Calculator

Use the Amendment 3 calculator below to estimate your own savings. Enter your county and home value — the estimator runs on each county’s actual 2025 millage from the Florida Department of Revenue, split into its school and non-school components, and applies the new exemption only to the non-school portion. It covers all 67 Florida counties.

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What Amendment 3 Actually Does

If it passes, it takes effect January 1, 2027. Four things change:

• The non-school homestead exemption rises from $50,000 to $150,000 (2027), then $250,000 (2028), indexed for inflation from 2029.
• School taxes are untouched. The $25,000 school exemption stays exactly as it is.
• The non-homestead assessment cap drops from 10% to 5% per year — affecting second homes, rentals, and commercial property.
• Cities and counties could raise the exemption further under a process the Legislature would have to create; special districts could do it by referendum.

What does not change: Save Our Homes and its 3% assessment cap, portability, and the existing veteran, senior, and widow/widower exemptions all remain in place. Second homes, rentals, and commercial property are not eligible for the increased homestead exemption at all.

The December 31, 2026 Deadline

This is the provision most coverage skips, and for anyone moving to Florida it is the whole ballgame.

Amendment 3 carries a residency requirement. If you are a Florida permanent resident on December 31, 2026, you qualify for the larger exemption as it phases in. If you become a Florida resident after that date, you start with the existing $50,000 exemption and reach the full amount in your fifth year of homestead. Counties and cities may shorten that five-year wait for a critical need, but not before January 1, 2030.

If you are already under contract on a Florida home, this is worth a conversation with your CPA about the timing of your closing and your residency filing. Establishing Florida residency involves more than closing on a house — it generally includes filing a declaration of domicile, changing your driver’s license and voter registration, and filing for homestead by March 1.

Why the School Millage Split Matters

Here is where most quick estimates go wrong. They take the extra $200,000 of exemption and multiply it by the county’s total millage rate. But the exemption does not apply to school levies at all, and school taxes are roughly 40% of a typical Florida bill.

Palm Beach County is a clean example. Total millage is 17.4918. But 6.3210 of that is school board millage, which Amendment 3 does not touch. Only 11.1708 mills are non-school — and that is the number that drives your savings:

• Wrong: $200,000 × 17.4918 ÷ 1,000 = $3,498/yr
• Right: $200,000 × 11.1708 ÷ 1,000 = $2,234/yr

That is a 36% overstatement on one county. The calculator above splits every county correctly.

Savings by County

Full annual savings at the 2028 exemption level, for a homestead property assessed at or above $250,000. The counties that save the most are the ones carrying the most non-school millage — not necessarily the ones with the highest total tax bills.

Millage source: Florida Department of Revenue, 2025 data extract (November 2025). Non-school millage = total millage less school board operating and school board debt service. Five-year local revenue impact figures are from Florida TaxWatch, using Office of Economic and Demographic Research, Revenue Estimating Conference, July 2026.

What It Means If You’re Buying or Selling

If you’re buying a Florida home as your primary residence: your first-year tax bill is based on a reassessment to market value on the January 1 after you close, so the calculator above is a reasonable proxy for what you would pay. If the amendment passes and you are a resident by December 31, 2026, your 2027 bill reflects the $150,000 exemption.

If you’re relocating from out of state: the residency date is the single biggest variable in your carrying cost. Closing in November versus February is potentially a five-year difference in when the full exemption starts.

If you’re buying an investment property or second home: the homestead increase does not apply to you. But the reduction in the non-homestead assessment cap from 10% to 5% would slow how fast your assessed value can climb.

If you’re selling: a lower projected tax bill is a real affordability argument for buyers, particularly at price points where the full $250,000 exemption wipes out most non-school tax. Worth knowing what your listing would look like under the new math.

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What Supporters and Opponents Each Say

Most coverage of Amendment 3 argues one side. Because we handle closings for buyers and sellers on both sides of this, here is the case each way — and you should weigh it yourself before voting.

The case for it. Florida homeowners have absorbed steep assessment increases since 2020, and the $50,000 exemption has not kept pace. Raising it to $250,000 on non-school taxes is a direct, permanent cut for permanent residents, and indexing it to inflation stops the value eroding again. For a homesteaded owner in a high-millage county, the annual saving is real money.

The case against it. Florida’s Revenue Estimating Conference put the recurring cost at roughly $12 billion a year. That revenue funds county and municipal services — sheriffs, fire rescue, roads, parks — and the amendment does not replace it. Local governments would have to cut services, raise millage rates, or lean harder on non-homestead property. Critics also note the benefit is largest for owners of higher-value homes, and that renters receive nothing directly while potentially absorbing costs if landlords face the 5% non-homestead cap alongside reduced local revenue.

Why it matters at a closing. Whichever way you vote, the practical consequence for a transaction is the same: the tax line on a Florida closing is about to become less predictable from one year to the next. Estimating next year’s taxes from the seller’s current bill was already a common and expensive mistake. If Amendment 3 passes, it becomes a worse one.

When It Takes Effect, and the Deadline That Actually Binds

Amendment 3 needs 60% voter approval — a supermajority, not a simple majority. Florida has rejected amendments that won more than half the vote but fell short of 60%, so passage is not a formality.

If it passes on November 3, 2026, the effective date is January 1, 2027. You would not see it on a tax bill immediately: it would first appear on the August 2027 TRIM notice and the tax bill mailed in November 2027. Anyone expecting a lower bill in 2026 will be disappointed — the 2026 bill arriving this November is unaffected either way.

The date that actually binds is December 31, 2026. You must be a permanent Florida resident as of that date to receive the full increased exemption in 2027. Establish residency on January 2, 2027 and you have missed it by two days.

If You Are Moving to Florida or Buying a Second Home

This is the provision most out-of-state buyers miss, and it is the one we field the most questions about.

New residents face a five-year ramp. If you become a permanent Florida resident after December 31, 2026, you start with the current $50,000 exemption and phase up to the full $250,000 over five years. Two buyers on the same street, in identical houses, can pay materially different taxes for half a decade based on which side of one date they established residency.

If you are already planning a Florida move for 2027, the residency timing is worth a conversation with your accountant now rather than in December. Homestead applications are filed with your county property appraiser by March 1 of the year you claim it.

Snowbirds and second homes get no homestead benefit at all — homestead requires permanent residency, and a winter home does not qualify. What second homes and rentals would gain is the non-homestead assessment cap dropping from 10% to 5% a year, which limits how fast the assessed value can climb. For a long-held rental in an appreciating market, that cap change can be worth more over time than the exemption is to a homesteaded neighbor.

Paying your bill: Florida tax bills mail November 1, and paying that month earns a 4% discount, stepping down to 1% by February. See the Florida property tax discount schedule.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do opponents of Amendment 3 say?

The main objection is cost: Florida’s Revenue Estimating Conference put the recurring fiscal impact at roughly $12 billion a year, which funds county and city services such as law enforcement, fire rescue and roads. The amendment does not replace that revenue, so local governments would need to cut services, raise millage, or shift the burden toward non-homestead property. Critics also note that larger benefits go to higher-value homes and that renters receive no direct benefit.

How many votes does Amendment 3 need to pass?

60% of votes cast — a supermajority required for all Florida constitutional amendments. A simple majority is not enough, and Florida amendments have failed with more than 50% support.

When would Amendment 3 take effect?

January 1, 2027 if approved on November 3, 2026. It would first appear on the August 2027 TRIM notice and the tax bill mailed in November 2027. Your 2026 tax bill is unaffected either way.

I am moving to Florida in 2027 — do I get the full exemption?

Not immediately. Permanent residents established after December 31, 2026 begin at the current $50,000 exemption and phase up to the full amount over five years. Residency as of December 31, 2026 is what secures the full increased exemption for 2027.

Does Amendment 3 help snowbirds or second homes?

Not through the homestead exemption, which requires permanent Florida residency. Second homes, rentals and commercial property would instead benefit from the non-homestead annual assessment cap dropping from 10% to 5%, limiting how quickly assessed value can rise.

What is Florida Amendment 3?

A proposed constitutional amendment on the November 3, 2026 ballot (HJR 1-F) that would raise the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, indexed for inflation thereafter. It would also lower the annual assessment cap on non-homestead property from 10% to 5%. It requires 60% voter approval to pass.

How much would I save under Amendment 3?

It depends on your county’s non-school millage rate. At the full 2028 exemption, annual savings range from about $978 in Walton County to about $3,052 in St. Lucie County for a homestead assessed at or above $250,000. In Palm Beach County it is roughly $2,234 per year. Use the calculator on this page for your county.

Is there a Florida Amendment 3 calculator?

Yes — the Amendment 3 property tax calculator on this page covers all 67 Florida counties. Enter your county and home value and it estimates your annual property tax today, in 2027 at the $150,000 exemption, and in 2028 at the $250,000 exemption, along with your projected annual and five-year savings.

How do I estimate my Amendment 3 savings?

Take your county's non-school millage rate, multiply by the additional exemption amount, and divide by 1,000. For the full 2028 exemption that is an extra $200,000 of exempt value. In Palm Beach County, with 11.1708 non-school mills, that is $200,000 × 11.1708 ÷ 1,000 = $2,234 per year. The estimator above does this for every county automatically, and correctly excludes school millage.

Does Amendment 3 lower my school taxes?

No. The increased exemption applies only to non-school levies. The $25,000 school exemption is unchanged. School taxes are roughly 40% of a typical Florida property tax bill, which is why the savings are smaller than the headline exemption amount suggests.

What is the December 31, 2026 deadline?

If you are a Florida permanent resident on December 31, 2026, you qualify for the larger exemption as it phases in. If you establish residency after that date, you receive the existing $50,000 exemption first and become eligible for the full amount in your fifth year of homestead. Counties and cities may reduce that five-year requirement for a critical need, but not before January 1, 2030.

Does it apply to second homes or rental property?

No. The increased homestead exemption applies only to a primary residence. Second homes, rental property, and commercial property are not eligible. Those properties would, however, benefit from the reduction in the annual assessment cap from 10% to 5%.

Would Save Our Homes or portability change?

No. Amendment 3 does not affect existing Save Our Homes savings, the 3% assessment cap, portability, or the veteran, senior, and widow/widower exemptions. Those all remain in place.

Could my local government raise the millage rate to offset the lost revenue?

Nothing in Amendment 3 prohibits local governments from raising millage rates or creating or increasing fees to make up lost property tax revenue. There is also no state reimbursement to fiscally constrained counties, as has been provided with some prior property tax amendments.