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Florida Amendment 3 Passed: How to Claim the Bigger Homestead Exemption

Dale Corley · November 6, 2026 · 9 min read

I’m watching one date for Florida buyers and owners: December 31, 2026, because it decides who gets Florida’s much bigger new homestead exemption. My take is to plan around that date and not around the payment. Amendment 3 passed with about 62% of the vote in unofficial results, according to Spectrum News and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

I’m a mortgage broker, so I shop hundreds of lenders and you don’t have to. This post covers what changed, what it is worth in dollars, who qualifies, and what it means if you’re buying or moving to Florida.

Key takeaways

The exemption on non-school property taxes rises to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. School taxes keep their $25,000 exemption.

For the full amount, you must be a Florida resident on December 31, 2026 and live in the home on January 1. New homesteads apply by March 1, and current owners should ask the county whether to refile. Later residents wait until their fifth year.

In a Volusia County example, the extra exemption saves about $97 a month in 2027 and $195 a month in 2028.

The savings show up on your tax bill in November 2027, so they reach your mortgage payment after that.

I shop hundreds of lenders so you don’t have to.

On this page: What changed · What it saves · Who qualifies · Your payment · Buying or moving · Whiz Advice

What did Florida Amendment 3 change?

It raised the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes, in two steps. A homestead exemption is a tax break on the home you live in. It lowers the value your county taxes. Your property tax bill has a school part and a non-school part (county, city and other local services), and Amendment 3 changes only the non-school part. Here is the schedule from the Property Appraisers’ Association of Florida FAQ and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Year	Exemption on non-school taxes	School taxes
2026 (current law)	Up to $51,411	$25,000
2027	$150,000	$25,000, unchanged
2028	$250,000	$25,000, unchanged
2029 and later	Adjusted each year for inflation	$25,000, unchanged

The $51,411 is the 2026 total for non-school taxes, and it includes the $25,000 that also applies to school taxes. News outlets round it to about $50,000.

Two things stay the same, according to the Property Appraisers’ Association of Florida FAQ and the Pinellas County Property Appraiser. The Save Our Homes cap still limits yearly increases in your homestead’s taxable value to 3% or inflation, whichever is less, and portability lets you carry that cap to a new Florida home.

Second homes and rentals get no new exemption, but the yearly cap on increases in their taxable value for non-school taxes drops from 10% to 5% starting in 2027. HousingWire’s example is a $300,000 rental whose yearly increase is capped at $15,000 instead of $30,000.

How much could the bigger exemption save on my property tax bill?

In Volusia County, the Property Appraiser’s example shows about $1,164 a year in 2027 and about $2,345 a year in 2028. Savings depend on your local tax rate, which is measured in mills. One mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of taxable value. Volusia’s example uses its 2025 countywide average non-school rate of 11.8092 mills.

Here is the math for a home with a taxable value of $450,000, using that rate. I assumed the county’s taxable value equals the $450,000 price, and yours may differ. The table shows non-school taxes only. School taxes and fees such as fire and stormwater aren’t included.

Year	Exemption	Taxable value after exemption	Non-school tax per year	Per month	You save per month
2026 law	$51,411	$398,589	$4,707	$392	$0
2027	$150,000	$300,000	$3,543	$295	$97
2028	$250,000	$200,000	$2,362	$197	$195

Example only, not a quote. The savings are the same on any home with a taxable value above $250,000, because they depend only on the extra exemption and your rate. Your county’s rate and the final rules will change the numbers. The Pinellas County Property Appraiser estimates about $2,423 a year in extra savings in 2028, using that county’s 12.2011-mill average non-school rate and assuming no change in tax rates.

Who qualifies, and what is the December 31, 2026 date?

You qualify for the full amount if you were a Florida resident on December 31, 2026 and the home is your homestead. The date is the residency cutoff, not the day you buy. January 1, 2027 is the date the change takes effect.

Here is how it works for different people, based on the ballot summary and the county property appraisers’ guidance:

Your situation	What the sources say
You own your homestead now	You get the increase starting with 2027 taxes. Your county property appraiser may set filing steps, so ask before you assume you don’t need to file
You’re a Florida resident on December 31, 2026 and buy later	You get the higher amount once you buy and apply for a homestead (Property Appraisers’ Association of Florida FAQ)
You become a Florida resident after December 31, 2026	You get a $50,000 non-school exemption first (Property Appraisers’ Association of Florida FAQ), and the increased one starts with your fifth year of exemption

Counties and cities may be able to shorten that five-year wait with a two-thirds vote if they find a critical local need, starting in 2030, according to Kaufman Rossin.

Residency and homestead are separate steps. Residency is where you live. Homestead is the exemption you apply for on a home. Florida’s regular homestead rules still apply. The Florida Department of Revenue’s homestead guide says you must hold title to the home and live in it on January 1, and you apply with the county property appraiser by March 1. Because the test is title and residence on January 1, a closing after that date means your first claim is the next tax year.

Bilzin Sumberg, a law firm, lists the things a county looks at to prove residency: a Florida driver’s license, voter registration, vehicle registration, a declaration of domicile, and your mailing and financial addresses.

How does the exemption change my monthly mortgage payment?

It lowers the tax part of your payment, but not until your first lower tax bill arrives. Your lender collects one-twelfth of your yearly property tax with each payment and holds it in an escrow account, which is money the lender keeps to pay your tax bill and insurance for you. The first bills with the 2027 exemption go out in November 2027, according to the property appraisers.

Here is an example with a $450,000 purchase and 10% down. The loan is $405,000 on a 30-year fixed conventional loan at an example rate of 6.875%, which makes the principal and interest payment $2,661 a month. The tax part of the payment is separate. In the table above, the non-school part falls by $97 a month in 2027 and $195 a month in 2028. After your lender’s yearly escrow review sees the new bill, the payment can drop to match.

HousingWire notes that legislators could raise the millage rate, which would shrink the savings.

What if I’m buying or moving to Florida this year?

If you’re moving from another state, the Bilzin Sumberg list above is what to gather first.

Real estate agents quoted by HousingWire say some people with a move already planned may act sooner, and some are asking how to qualify by December 31. Don’t buy a house for the exemption alone. Buy it because the payment and the home work for you, and my post on buyer negotiating power shows how to ask for more at closing.

The final rules aren’t set. The Pinellas County Property Appraiser says the Legislature may still write implementing laws. HousingWire reports that Governor DeSantis called a special session on Wednesday, Nov 4, the day after the vote, to focus on some of the implementation language.

Whiz Advice

Here is how I would play it:

Run your payment without the savings first. Build your budget on today’s tax estimate, and treat the 2027 and 2028 savings as extra room.
Talk to your county property appraiser before December 31 if you’re moving. They decide residency, and the rules may still change.
File your homestead the first year you can. March 1 comes fast after a closing, and a missed filing costs you a year of savings.
Don’t count on the tax savings to win a bid. They arrive after your first lower bill, and the offer price still has to make sense today.

Why use a mortgage broker?

I shop your rates with other lenders, so you don’t have to.

Shopping for a mortgage on your own means applying again and again, sending the same documents over and over, and waiting on every quote. I do that part for you, with one application.

What you get when you work with me:

One application, one credit pull. I compare hundreds of lenders for you, including most of the big banks and big lenders.

More loan options than one bank can offer. VA, jumbo, bank statement, DSCR and other non-QM (non-traditional) loans. A single bank can only offer its own programs.

Pricing from a large wholesale platform. I’m a mortgage broker with NEXA Lending, the largest brokerage in the country by loan officer headcount. In my experience, that volume helps me get wholesale pricing that many banks can’t match.

Help when your file isn’t standard. If you’re self-employed, have unusual income or have a lower credit score, I know which lenders fit.

A real person from start to finish. I answer your questions and make sure your application is accurate, so there are no surprises later.

Start your loan application here, and let me go to work! (opens in a new tab)

How do you get ready to buy in Florida?

Here is what you can do this week:

Write down your county and the date you became a Florida resident. Gather the proof listed under Who qualifies.
Get pre-approved before you shop. A pre-approval is a lender’s letter that says how much you can borrow. Start your application here (opens in a new tab). Then try my affordability tool and the mortgage calculator.
Get your credit cards low. Aim for under 10% of your limits, and no higher than 30%, so your debt-to-income ratio stays healthy.
Put everything on the application and tell me your concerns up front.
Send me your numbers. My job is to find the loan program that fits your situation best and make sure the application is accurate.

Pick your next step:

Ready to get pre-approved? Start your loan application (opens in a new tab). It’s the fastest way to find out what you can buy.
Have a one-of-a-kind situation? Book a 15-minute call (opens in a new tab) and we’ll talk it through.
Just have a question? Email me at [email protected] with your scenario, and I’ll write back.

I’m a mortgage broker with NEXA Lending, and I work with borrowers in all nine states where I’m licensed (CA, CO, TX, FL, GA, NC, SC, TN, VA). Programs, rates and approval depend on your full file.

Dale Corley | NMLS #1547543 | Licensed in CA, CO, TX, FL, GA, NC, SC, TN, VA | This is not a commitment to lend.