Amendment 3
Increased Homestead Exemption and Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments Amendment
On the ballot
Florida · November 2026 general election · Legislative referral · Election day November 3, 2026
Topics: Government structure, Housing, Taxes and revenue
In plain language
Amendment 3 would raise Florida's homestead exemption for all property taxes other than school district levies to the first $150,000 of assessed value in 2027 and the first $250,000 in 2028, adjusted for inflation after that. People who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 would receive the existing exemption first and the larger one beginning in their fifth year. The annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property, such as rentals and commercial buildings, would fall from 10 percent to 5 percent. Counties and municipalities could spend property tax revenue only on purposes the amendment lists. Florida constitutional amendments take 60 percent voter approval to pass.
Fiscal impact
The Florida House of Representatives' final bill analysis of CS/HJR 1F reports that the state Revenue Estimating Conference estimated cash impacts on local non-school property tax revenues of -$4.95 billion in Fiscal Year 2027-28, with the $150,000 exemption in place, and -$8.78 billion in Fiscal Year 2028-29, with the $250,000 exemption in place. The recurring impact in all years is estimated at -$11.86 billion. The analysis describes the fiscal impact on the state itself as indeterminate but likely insignificant. Florida's Financial Impact Estimating Conference prepares statements for citizen initiatives; because this measure is a legislative referral, no such statement was issued.
Summarized from the official fiscal analysis listed in the sources below. Figures are the state's, not this site's.
What supporters and opponents say
These are summaries of arguments made by the named organizations, drawn from the sources listed below. They are their claims, not this site's, and this site takes no position on the measure.
What supporters say
- Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who called the June 2026 special session that referred the amendment, says property tax revenue collected by local governments has nearly doubled in seven years and is projected to reach $83 billion by 2032, and that Florida homeowners need relief.
- State Sen. Bryan Avila (R-39) says the amendment provides relief for Florida families while protecting businesses from large assessment increases and safeguarding local funding for education, law enforcement and infrastructure.
- Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia (R) says the complaints come from governments that would have to cut back, and that the state is siding with taxpayers rather than treating them as “an endless ATM.”
- Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) says counties can absorb the reduction by cutting waste rather than critical services such as fire, police or schools.
What opponents say
- Sadaf Knight, CEO of the Florida Policy Institute, says the measure is a cost shift rather than a cost saving, and would force local governments either to cut services families rely on or to raise other taxes and fees.
- Bryan Desolge, chairperson of the committee campaigning against Amendment 3 and a former county commissioner, says bills for public safety, roads, bridges, stormwater protection and hurricane response do not go away, and that the change would shift those costs onto renters, homebuyers and small businesses.
- Audubon Florida says the amendment does not define terms such as “natural resource projects,” and that local conservation land acquisition, land management and habitat restoration programs might not qualify for property tax funding as a result.
- Mayor Donna Deegan (D-Jacksonville) says the reduction would lead to deteriorating roads, closures of libraries, pools and parks, slower public safety response times, and worsening housing affordability.
- Plaintiffs in Save Our Voters from Misleading Ballot Language v. Byrd argued the Legislature's original ballot statement was biased, misleading and inaccurate. On August 3, 2026, Leon County Circuit Judge David Frank ruled the title and summary “clearly and conclusively defective” and ordered Attorney General James Uthmeier to submit corrected language; the Division of Elections now publishes the rewritten title and summary above.
Reproduced verbatim from the state's certified ballot text.
INCREASED HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION; LOWER CAP ON INCREASES IN NON-HOMESTEAD PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS.—This amendment increases the homestead exemption, for all non-school taxes, to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and adjusts for inflation thereafter. It requires the Legislature to prescribe a uniform procedure for counties and municipalities, for their respective levies, to increase the homestead exemption up to full assessed value, and allows special districts, subject to referendum approval, to do the same. Persons who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026, will receive the existing homestead exemption upon qualifying for a homestead exemption, with the increased homestead exemption beginning with the fifth year of exemption, to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution. This amendment reduces the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%. This amendment requires counties and municipalities to use property taxes solely for public safety, education and schools, infrastructure, natural resources, bond debt service, retirement benefits for employees, and operations and administration. Other expenditures may be approved by county officers or county or municipal governing bodies unless prohibited by general law, notwithstanding Article VII, Section 9(a) of the Florida Constitution, which allows counties and municipalities to levy property taxes for their respective purposes. This amendment takes effect January 1, 2027.
Sources
Everything on this page traces to these sources. Follow them to read the original documents.
- Florida Division of Elections — Initiatives/Amendments/Revisions Database: Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments (Ballot Number 3, 2026)
- Florida Division of Elections — Attorney General letter with rewritten title and summary for Amendment 3
- Florida Division of Elections — Constitutional Amendments/Initiatives
- Florida House of Representatives — Final Bill Analysis, CS/HJR 1F (2026 special session)
- Ballotpedia — Florida Amendment 3, Homestead Tax Exemptions, Property Assessments, and Spending Restrictions Amendment (2026)
- WCTV — Voters to see new, modified ballot language for Amendment 3 ahead of general election
- Florida Policy Institute — Amendment 3: Property Tax Ballot Language Summary and Local Fiscal Impacts
- Audubon Florida — Property tax amendment on November ballot poses immediate and lasting threat to Florida's conservation lands
Last updated . How this page is sourced and corrected is described in the correction policy.