What is on the ballot
In June 2026, meeting in special session, the Florida Legislature passed a joint resolution, HJR 1-F, that now appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot as Amendment 3. As a constitutional amendment, it needs 60% of the vote to pass.
According to the Florida Senate, the measure would do two things that matter to property owners.
- For homesteaded homes (a Florida resident's primary residence), it would raise the exemption from non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then index it to inflation.
- For property that is not a homestead, it would lower the cap on annual increases in assessed value from 10% to 5%.
The Senate describes the measure as a framework towards eventually removing non-school property tax on homesteads altogether. That later step is not automatic.
Primary residence or second home
Florida's homestead exemption applies only to a permanent residence, and only for people who make Florida their legal home. A family that keeps its primary residence in Paris, Madrid, New York or São Paulo, and uses a house in Miami for part of the year, would generally not benefit from the larger exemption.
For that family, the relevant change is the second one. Under current rules, the assessed value of a non-homestead home can rise by up to 10% a year for most levies other than school taxes. A 5% cap would slow that increase. In a market where prices at the top have risen quickly, the difference compounds over a decade of ownership.
What we would ask before the vote
These are questions for a Florida attorney or tax adviser, not for a broker. We would put them in this order:
- Do we qualify for homestead, now or later, given our residency and immigration status?
- If we buy in 2026, what assessed value would we start from, and how would each cap apply to it?
- Does the way we hold the property, in our own names, through an entity or a trust, affect either answer?
- If we are selling one Florida home and buying another, what happens to the assessed value we have accumulated?
- If the amendment fails, what does our tax bill look like over the next five years?
Why it matters now
Much of this year's buying at the top of the market has come from families relocating from other states and countries. For some of them the vote will change the arithmetic of a purchase; for others it will change nothing. The only way to know which applies to you is to put your own situation to your own counsel, before the closing date rather than after it.
We coordinate that conversation for the families we work with. We do not answer it ourselves.
Sources
- Florida Senate, press release on HJR 1-F, June 2, 2026
- Tallahassee Democrat, "Florida property tax amendment: pros and cons", August 25, 2026
This note is general information, not legal, tax, insurance or investment advice. Figures are as reported by the sources listed, on the dates shown.
