Florida ballot measure · November 3, 2026

Florida Amendment 3, explained

Homestead exemption increase and local property tax limits. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.

The official wording

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.

This is what appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.

What it actually means

Sharply raises the homestead exemption that lowers property taxes on a primary home, for county, city and special district taxes (not school taxes): to $150,000 of assessed value in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. It halves the yearly cap on assessment increases for rentals, second homes and commercial property, and limits what counties and cities can spend property tax money on. People who move to Florida after 2026 would wait five years for the larger exemption.

If you vote YES

Homeowners who were Florida residents by December 31, 2026 would have $150,000 of assessed value exempt from non-school property taxes in 2027 and $250,000 from 2028, adjusted for inflation from 2029; the $25,000 exemption for school taxes would not change.
People not resident by December 31, 2026 would get a smaller $50,000 exemption at first, rising to the full exemption in the fifth year.
Assessments on non-homestead property, such as rentals, second homes and commercial buildings, could rise no more than 5% a year for non-school taxes, down from 10%.
The Legislature would set a procedure for counties and cities to raise the exemption further, up to a home's full assessed value; special districts could do so by referendum.
Counties and cities could spend property tax revenue only on listed purposes, including public safety, schools, infrastructure, natural resources and flood control, debt, employee retirement, and operations and other spending approved by local officials unless state law prohibits it.
Local non-school property tax revenue would fall by an estimated $4.95 billion in 2027-28 and $8.78 billion in 2028-29, and by $11.86 billion a year once fully in effect.

If you vote NO

Homesteads would keep the current exemptions: $25,000 from all property taxes plus a second exemption of roughly $25,000 (on value between $50,000 and $75,000, inflation-adjusted) from non-school taxes.
The Save Our Homes cap limiting yearly assessment increases on homesteads to 3% or inflation would continue, as it would under a Yes vote.
Non-homestead property assessments could continue to rise up to 10% a year for non-school taxes.
Counties and cities would keep their broad home-rule authority to decide how to spend property tax revenue.

The numbers that matter

Local non-school revenue loss, 2027-28: $4.95 billion
Local non-school revenue loss, 2028-29: $8.78 billion
Recurring annual revenue loss: $11.86 billion
Vote needed to pass: 60%

Why supporters say YES

Property tax revenue collected by local governments has nearly doubled in seven years and is expected to reach $83 billion by 2032; homeowners need relief.
— Governor Ron DeSantis
The amendment gives families meaningful relief while protecting businesses from large tax increases and safeguarding local funding for education, law enforcement and infrastructure.
— State Senator Bryan Avila, Senate sponsor

Why opponents say NO

The measure is a cost shift rather than savings; local governments would have to cut services families rely on or raise other taxes and fees to make up the lost revenue.
— Sadaf Knight, CEO of the Florida Policy Institute
Bills for public safety, roads, stormwater and hurricane response do not go away; the shift would mean higher rents, costlier first homes and higher commercial property taxes for small businesses.
— Bryan Desolge, chair of the Vote No on 3 committee

What’s genuinely uncertain

How local governments respond is unknown: they could cut spending, raise millage rates on the smaller tax base, or use special assessments and fees, which could offset some homeowners' savings. The judge who ordered the ballot language rewritten noted the amendment does not guarantee lower overall tax bills and renters could face higher costs.
Senate staff called the impact negative but indeterminate before the Revenue Estimating Conference reviewed the final version; the figures above are the Conference's, as reported in the House final analysis.
Whether the five-year wait for new residents is permissible is qualified in the text itself as applying "to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution", which suggests possible legal challenge.
Environmental groups including Audubon have raised concern that undefined terms such as "natural resource projects" could exclude some local conservation spending; how the spending limits are interpreted will depend on future law and courts.
Ballotpedia had not located a registered committee supporting the amendment as of its August 14, 2026 finance update; two committees, Vote No on 3 and Floridians for Shared Prosperity, oppose it.

The bottom line

Large property tax cuts for existing homeowners and slower growth for other property, against billions less for counties and cities and new state limits on how they spend it.

One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.

Sources:constitutionalinitiatives.dos.fl.gov flsenate.gov flsenate.gov ballotpedia.org wtxl.com fox35orlando.com

Checking it against the official text

The Florida Division of Elections publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.

Confirm this with the official source

Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Florida Division of Elections.

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