Florida voters are being asked this week to approve Amendment 3, a proposed constitutional change that would expand homestead tax breaks and limit how local governments can use property tax revenue. The measure is on ballots leading into Election Day on Tuesday and would need 60% support to pass.
That threshold matters because Amendment 3 would not make a small adjustment. It would raise the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and then to $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments after that. It would also cut the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%, a change that would affect owners beyond the homestead market.
The measure is part of a larger fight over how Florida taxes property and how local governments pay for what they do with that money. If it takes effect, the amendment would begin on Jan. 1, 2027, and county and municipal spending of property tax revenue would be limited to public safety, infrastructure, natural resource projects, flood control, local bonds and existing debt payments, employee retirement benefits and the operations of local government.
For new Florida residents, the rules would not be immediate. People who move to Florida after Dec. 31, 2026, would have to wait five years before qualifying for the larger homestead exemption, and they would get the current exemption of up to $50,000 in the meantime. That phased approach helps explain why the measure is being written to step up from $150,000 in 2027 to $250,000 in 2028: the lower first-year amount softens the initial hit to local tax rolls before the full exemption level takes hold.
Still, the fiscal warning is large. A Tax Foundation analysis found that approval would cost local governments about $4.9 billion in foregone property tax revenue in the first year, when the $150,000 exemption is in place, and $8.7 billion in the second year after the $250,000 level begins. Annual impacts would rise to $11.8 billion starting with tax year 2031, and the group cautioned that the full cost could easily exceed current estimates.
That gap between tax relief and lost revenue is why the vote has become one of the most closely watched items on the ballot. Supporters say Amendment 3 would ease the property tax burden on homeowners, while critics argue that fewer dollars will be left for the public services cities and counties fund through property taxes. The debate has also drawn in Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has advocated for the measure, along with many GOP leaders in the state and the state party.
For voters, the choice is direct: approve the amendment and lock in a new constitutional framework for homestead exemptions and spending limits, or leave the current system in place. Once ballots are counted on Tuesday, the first real test will be whether Florida is willing to trade a bigger property tax break for a tighter squeeze on local budgets.
