Florida’s second homestead exemption would jump to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 under a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot, and the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference says the change would reduce local government revenue from non-school property taxes by $11.83 billion a year once it is fully phased in. The conference put the recurring figure at $11,834.7 million, all of it borne by cities, counties and other local taxing bodies rather than school districts. The measure is a ballot proposal, not law, and it takes approval from at least 60 percent of voters to pass.
For a homeowner, the question is whether that would show up as a lower bill. It would if the home is a homestead and the owner was a Florida permanent resident on Dec. 31, 2026, and only on the non-school portion of the tax bill. The school portion would not change. An owner who moves in after that date would receive a much smaller exemption for years, and the Chamber notes that rental and investment properties generally do not qualify for the increased homestead exemption.
Amendment 3 changes nothing for a Florida homeowner unless voters approve it, and the relief programs that lower a bill today do not wait for a ballot. The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit lays out the 5 kinds of property-tax relief and keeps an application log and renewal calendar for each one.
Map the 5 kinds of property-tax relief in the Home-Cost Relief Kit before Nov. 3 →
What the amendment would change
The joint resolution, CS/HJR 1F, is sponsored by Rep. Overdorf, according to the state’s estimate. Under current law, a first $25,000 exemption applies to both school and non-school taxes, and a second exemption applies to non-school taxes on assessed value above $50,000, up to an inflation-adjusted maximum of $76,411 in 2026.
The amendment would limit the first exemption to school taxes and replace the second with a much larger one. For residents as of Dec. 31, 2026, the non-school exemption would be $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then adjust with inflation beginning in 2029. The same measure would cut the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead, non-agricultural property from 10 percent to 5 percent, which affects rental and commercial owners rather than homesteads.
The Florida Chamber of Commerce’s guide to the amendment shows the same numbers in the ballot summary, which says the measure "increases the homestead exemption, for all non-school taxes, to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028." The Chamber says amendments need approval from at least 60 percent of voters voting on the measure.
How the $11.83 billion phases in
The estimating conference reviewed the measure on June 12 and again on July 10, 2026, and said the first impact would come on the 2027 tax roll beginning Jan. 1, 2027. The conference put the cash impact in the 2026-27 fiscal year at zero, then projected losses of $4,929.5 million in fiscal 2027-28, $8,714.5 million in 2028-29, $9,647.9 million in 2029-30 and $10,710.2 million in 2030-31, reaching the recurring $11,834.7 million level in the sixth year.
Three large counties show where the dollars sit. The conference’s county breakdown has Miami-Dade losing $1,392.6 million a year, Broward $1,193.2 million and Palm Beach $1,070.1 million at the recurring level. Those figures are revenue local governments would stop collecting, not savings in any particular owner’s pocket.
Residents, newcomers and the lower exemption
The exemption schedule depends on when someone became a Florida resident. Residents as of Dec. 31, 2026 get the full $150,000 and $250,000 steps. People who are not residents on that date would receive a $50,000 exemption in 2027, adjusted for inflation from 2028, for four years, and the larger inflation-adjusted $250,000 amount in the fifth year. Children living in Florida on Dec. 31, 2026 may qualify, but those born after that date do not qualify immediately, according to the conference.
A county or city could shorten the five-year period for newcomers by a two-thirds vote of its governing body if it is "warranted for a critical local need." Special districts could raise the exemption up to all remaining homestead value by voter referendum, and the Legislature would have to set a uniform procedure for counties and municipalities that want to fully exempt homesteads. The conference said local votes and referendums are not in its estimate.
The fight over the 60 percent
The Florida Chamber’s own page records some of the doubt. Mark Wilson, the Chamber’s president and CEO, is quoted there as saying, "I think it’s going to be pretty hard to get to 60% once all the voices come out on that." Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is quoted as warning, "In its current form, I fear the proposal will devastate counties’ and cities’ ability to deliver vital services."
The estimating conference treated the ballot measure as indeterminate in its formal finding because it is a joint resolution headed to voters, and noted that the homestead and assessment provisions would take effect on their own if approved. If the amendment fails, it said, the impact is zero.
Reading a Florida tax bill before and after Nov. 3
Nothing in the amendment would change a 2026 bill. Homeowners can read the state’s impact sheet for the exact language on the exemption schedule and the residency date, and compare it with the non-school lines on their own notice of proposed taxes. The school portion is the part the amendment would leave alone.
Two checks matter before the vote. The first is whether the property is already a homestead, because the larger exemption would go only to homesteaded property. The second is the residency date: a household that becomes resident after Dec. 31, 2026 falls on the lower-exemption side of the line the estimate draws.
Everything the conference estimated is conditional on voters. The fiscal figures, the $150,000 and $250,000 steps and the phase-in all depend on at least 60 percent approval on Nov. 3, and the conference’s own sheet is the source for each number.
Amendment 3 may fail; bill relief does not wait
A homeowner who plans around a 60 percent vote ends up with no change on the 2026 bill if it falls short. The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit shows the 5 kinds of property-tax relief and the circuit-breaker credit that includes renters, then tracks each application in its log and renewal calendar. That puts the programs already on the books in front of the household before Nov. 3, whichever way the vote goes.
Log your property-tax relief applications and renewals with the Home-Cost Relief Kit →
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Financial Wire’s editorial team.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
