Amendment 3 is a proposed change to the Florida Constitution. The Legislature put it on the ballot as CS/HJR 1F of the 2026F session, and the Florida Department of State lists it as ballot number 3, placed on the ballot on 16 June 2026. Until voters approve it, the current constitutional text continues to apply.

What applies now

Article VII, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution limits how fast the assessed value of property without a homestead exemption can rise for levies other than school district levies. Section 4(g) covers residential real property that contains nine units or fewer. Section 4(h) covers other real property not covered by the homestead or residential caps. In both, changes in assessments "shall not exceed ten percent (10%) of the assessment for the prior year", and no assessment may exceed just value.

The 5 per cent cap

Amendment 3 would rewrite both subsections so that the yearly limit is 10 per cent before 1 January 2027 and 5 per cent beginning 1 January 2027. The ballot summary says that "This amendment reduces the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%."

Cap on yearly increase in assessed value, non-school leviesCurrent textProposed text
Residential property of nine units or fewer, no homestead (Section 4(g))10%5% from 1 January 2027
Other real property, no homestead (Section 4(h))10%5% from 1 January 2027

The other rules in those subsections would stay. Assessments still could not exceed just value. For residential property under Section 4(g), a change of ownership or control, including a change of ownership of a company that owns the property, would still reset the assessment to just value at the next assessment date, with the cap applying again from there. Improvements would still be assessed as general law provides.

Who it covers

The homestead exemption in Article VII, Section 6 applies to an owner who "maintains thereon the permanent residence of the owner, or another legally or naturally dependent upon the owner". A second home, a holiday home, or a condo bought to let does not meet that test, so it is non-homestead property and would fall under the lower cap in Section 4(g) or 4(h). That includes condos owned by people who live outside Florida or outside the United States. For a buyer, the property is reassessed at just value as of 1 January of the year after the purchase, so the lower cap limits increases only from then on; owners who have held a property for years benefit most when values have risen faster than the cap. The cap limits growth in assessed value. It does not set tax rates, and it does not apply to school district levies.

The other parts of Amendment 3

The measure also changes the homestead exemption for owners who do live in their Florida home. For all levies other than school district levies, the exemption would rise to US$150,000 of assessed value beginning 1 January 2027 and US$250,000 beginning 1 January 2028, adjusted for inflation each year after that. The school district exemption stays at US$25,000.

Owners who qualify for a homestead on or after 1 January 2027 but had not kept a permanent residence in Florida as of 31 December 2026 would at first receive an exemption of up to US$50,000 for non-school levies, rising to the full amount from the fifth year of exemption. The ballot summary adds that this applies "to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution". From 2030, a county or municipality could shorten the five-year wait by a two-thirds vote for a critical local need.

The Legislature would also have to set a uniform procedure for counties and municipalities to raise the homestead exemption for their own levies up to the full assessed value, and special districts could do the same after a referendum. Finally, the amendment would limit what counties and municipalities may spend property taxes on, to public safety, education and schools, infrastructure, natural resource projects, bond debt service, retirement benefits for local government employees, and the operations and administration of counties and municipalities, including spending their governing bodies approve unless general law prohibits it.

Approval and timing

Article XI, Section 5(e) of the Florida Constitution requires approval "by vote of at least sixty percent of the electors voting on the measure". An approved amendment normally takes effect on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January after the election, unless it names another date. Amendment 3 names one. Its schedule in Article XII says the changes to Sections 4, 6 and 9 of Article VII "shall take effect January 1, 2027".

If the amendment fails, Article VII, Section 4 stays as it is, with the 10 per cent cap.

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Sources

Sources read 5 October 2026 (SGT).