Amendment 3

What Amendment 3 Means for Your Property Taxes

This page explains what Amendment 3 would change, what would stay the same, and when. We’ve also included a video guide to help you understand how property taxes work. Click a button below to jump straight to the topic you’re looking for.

Where Things Stand Right Now?

Amendment 3 is a proposed change to the Florida Constitution. Here’s how it got on the ballot, and what’s happened so far.

• June 2026: During a legislative special session, the Florida Legislature voted to place Amendment 3 (“Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes,” HJR 1F) on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot.
• August 4, 2026: A Leon County circuit judge ruled that the ballot title and summary were biased and misleading, and ordered them rewritten. The amendment itself stayed on the ballot.
• August 13, 2026: The Attorney General released a rewritten ballot summary. The new title is: “Increased Homestead Exemption, Lower Cap on Increases in Non‑Homestead Property Assessments.”
• Right now: Your 2026 property taxes are not affected, even if the amendment passes in November. Florida collects property taxes in arrears, so your November 2026 bill reflects the 2026 tax year.

In short: the litigation to date has been about the wording voters see on the ballot, not about whether the amendment exists or what it would do if approved.

What Happens Next?

This amendment does not change your tax bill immediately. Here’s the sequence:

• Now: Legal steps are complete and ballots are printed
• November 3, 2026: Election Day – voters decide whether Amendment 3 passes, which requires 60% approval
• January, 1 2027: Amendment takes effect, if approved
• 2027 tax year: First effects begin for eligible homestead properties
• 2028 tax year: Continued implementation
• 2029 and onwards: Long-term effects continue

What Would Change?

Not everyone is affected the same way. Depending on whether you’re a homestead owner, a non-homestead owner, or fall under the rules that apply to all owners, here’s what would change for you.

Homestead property owners

Important: This applies to owners who live in their home as their primary residence and already have (or plan to file for) a homestead exemption.

What changes? Your homestead exemption gets bigger. The portion of your home’s value exempt from non-school property taxes would rise in two steps: from $50,000 today to $150,000 in 2027, then to $250,000 in 2028, if approved.

• November 2026: no change to your tax bill or payment schedule, no matter how the vote goes.
• Already have a homestead exemption on file? You don’t need to file anything new – the larger exemption would apply automatically.
• Establishing homestead for the first time? You’d apply through the Property Appraiser’s office the same way people do today. A waiting period may apply based on when your Florida residency began, to meet the amendment’s new 5‑year residency requirement.
  • Applying for homestead exemption for the first time? Visit the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser’s Office website for more information.
• Save Our Homes cap is unaffected: your assessed value would still be limited to a 3% annual increase, or the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – whichever is lower. Portability rules also stay the same.

Non-homestead property owners

Important: This applies to second homes, rental property, vacant land, and commercial property.

What changes? The annual cap on how much your property’s assessed value can grow would drop from 10% to 5%.

All property owners

What changes? The amendment also directs the legislature to work toward eventually eliminating non‑school property taxes on homesteads. That’s a goal for future lawmakers to act on – it does not happen automatically as a result of this amendment.

What Stays the Same?

Here’s what doesn’t change whether or not Amendment 3 passes.

These parts of your tax bill are not on the ballot and won’t change based on this election.

• School taxes are unaffected: Property taxes that fund schools stay exactly the same either way – your local schools are funded the same regardless of how the vote goes.
• Non-ad valorem assessments keep going: Charges like solid waste collection, stormwater, CDD fees, and other local service fees are separate from this amendment. They’re flat, per-unit charges – not based on your property’s value – so a homestead exemption or an assessment cap doesn’t affect them.
• Your total bill could still rise: Amendment 3 only affects ad valorem (value-based) taxes – not non-ad valorem assessments. Those assessments are not going away and are not “frozen”. Each authority can raise its own assessment each year, so your total bill could still increase even if your ad valorem taxes fall.
• The basic bill formula doesn’t change: Assessed value, exemptions, millage, and non-ad valorem assessments – the way your tax notice is calculated stays the same.

Myths vs. Facts

A few claims about Amendment 3 keep coming up. Here’s what’s actually true.