This fall, Florida voters will face choices on three proposed constitutional amendments, with Amendment 3 gaining the most attention, and having the potential to be the most impactful change to the state constitution in recent years.
Amendment 3 would increase the homestead exemption for all non-school taxes to $150,000 in 2027, and to $250,000 in 2028, with adjustments for inflation in the following years. In the fall of 2025, before this year’s legislative session, state lawmakers filed a series of proposals aimed at reforming the state’s property tax system. During the regular session, no proposals passed both the House and the Senate, so a special session was called in June to approve a bill that would put a proposal on the ballot. That proposal, HJR 1F, passed the House with a 75-26 vote, and passed the Senate with a 30-9 vote.
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The original ballot summary for the proposed amendment was challenged in court, on the grounds it was misleading. In August, a judge ruled that Florida attorney general James Uthmeier did need to submit a new ballot summary. That summary will appear before voters:
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.
Currently, homesteaded property owners have a $25,000 exemption on all property taxes, and an additional exemption on all taxes other than school taxes. That additional exemption started as a $25,000 exemption, but has been adjusted for inflation since the 2025 tax year.
The impact on local governments could be far-reaching. A state estimate calculated that local governments across Florida would lose close to $5 billion in the first year of the expanded exemption, and nearly $12 billion by the fifth year that it was in effect.
Multiple groups have voiced concerns about the proposal. The Florida Sheriffs Association, Florida Professional Firefighters union, and the Florida Fire Chiefs Association have formally opposed the measure, with the sheriffs association saying the lack of local budget control could lead to longer law enforcement response times, among other effects.
In June, shortly after lawmakers approved the resolution putting the proposal on the ballot, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan warned it would severely impact city services, including road maintenance, libraries, and public safety. Budget officials in St. Johns County warned their local government could see a decrease of $113 million in tax revenue by 2029.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, who initially said that what the legislature approved “wasn’t my proposal,” has since said he is “pleased” with the new ballot wording, and has said he will be involved somehow in supporting the proposal.
In order to be approved, more than 60 percent of the voters who cast a vote on the proposal must vote “yes.”
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