For most Central Florida buyers who already live in Florida, yes. Amendment 3 raises the homestead exemption that applies to every levy except school district levies, and it takes effect January 1, 2027. Own the home and make it your permanent residence by January 1, file by March 1, and the exempt amount is the first $150,000 of assessed value for the 2027 tax year and the first $250,000 for 2028. One group gets a much smaller number: a buyer who had not maintained a permanent residence in Florida as of December 31, 2026 starts at $50,000 and stays near that figure until the fifth year of exemption. The $25,000 exemption against school taxes is identical for everybody.
What Amendment 3 changed
Florida voters approved Amendment 3 on November 3, 2026. The first set of unofficial returns published by the Florida Division of Elections records 4,922,400 votes for approval and 3,019,415 against, or 61.98 percent, above the 60 percent a constitutional amendment needs.
The amendment reached the ballot as CS/HJR 1F, passed in the June 2026 special session, and the schedule added to Article XII sets its effective date at January 1, 2027.
Under the law in force for 2026, a homestead gets $25,000 off assessed value for all levies, plus an additional exemption against non-school levies only, applied to assessed value above $50,000. That additional exemption is indexed to inflation and the Florida Department of Revenue set it at $26,411 for 2026, so a 2026 homestead shelters $51,411 from non-school millage and $25,000 from school millage.
Beginning with the 2027 tax year, the non-school figure becomes a flat first $150,000 of assessed value. For 2028 it becomes the first $250,000, and from January 1, 2029 that figure is adjusted each year for inflation when the change in the Consumer Price Index is positive. School district levies keep the $25,000 exemption and were left alone.
Do I get the new homestead exemption if I buy now?
The constitutional text creates two tracks, and which one you land on turns on a single question: did you maintain a permanent residence in Florida as of December 31, 2026?
If the answer is yes, the full schedule applies to the home you buy, including one you buy in 2027 or later. Moving from a Clermont house to a Winter Garden house in 2027 does not push you onto the smaller track, because the condition looks at where you maintained a permanent residence at the end of 2026 rather than at which property you own.
If the answer is no, and you take title and establish your permanent residence on or after January 1, 2027, the amendment gives you $25,000 against school levies and $50,000 against everything else, with that $50,000 indexed for inflation starting January 1, 2028. Beginning with your fifth year of exemption, you move up to the same $250,000 figure, as adjusted, that longer-standing residents receive.
| Tax year | Maintained a Florida permanent residence on December 31, 2026 | Established Florida residence in 2027 or later |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $51,411 non-school, $25,000 school | Not applicable |
| 2027 | $150,000 non-school, $25,000 school | $50,000 non-school, $25,000 school |
| 2028 | $250,000 non-school, $25,000 school | $50,000 plus inflation adjustment, $25,000 school |
| 2029 and after | $250,000 adjusted annually for inflation | $50,000 adjusted annually, until the fifth year of exemption |
Two qualifications belong on this. The amendment directs the Legislature to prescribe uniform procedures by general law for the new-resident provision, so paperwork standards are still ahead of us. Beginning on or after January 1, 2030, a county or municipality may also decide by a two-thirds vote of its governing body that cutting the five-year requirement is warranted for a critical local need.
What the gap is worth in real millage
An exemption only matters against a tax rate, and the new money sits entirely on the non-school side of the bill. Lake County’s 2026 final millage sheet puts the school board at 6.0540 mills. Unincorporated Lake County totals 13.0632 mills, leaving 7.0092 mills of non-school millage. Inside Clermont the total is 16.2875 mills, so non-school millage is 10.2335.
Take a homestead with at least $150,000 of assessed value. Moving from the 2026 shelter of $51,411 to $150,000 exempts another $98,589 from non-school millage, which saves $1,008.91 in Clermont for 2027 and $691.03 in unincorporated Lake County.
The spread between the two tracks is the number worth planning around. In 2027 it is $100,000 of exempt value, or $1,023.35 a year in Clermont and $700.92 in unincorporated Lake County. In 2028 it grows to $200,000 of exempt value before the inflation adjustment to the $50,000 figure, roughly $2,046.70 a year in Clermont and $1,401.84 in unincorporated Lake County. Across the four years before the step-up, a Clermont buyer on the smaller track pays on the order of $7,100 more than an established Florida resident.
What you still have to do to claim it
Amendment 3 changed the size of the exemption and left the qualifying mechanics untouched. Section 196.011(1)(a) of the Florida Statutes requires that you hold legal title on January 1 and file an application with the county property appraiser on or before March 1. Section 196.031(1) requires that you reside on the property and in good faith make it your permanent residence. Missing March 1 waives the exemption for that year, with a narrow exception for documented postal error.
- Close and occupy the home as your permanent residence on or before January 1 of the tax year you want. A December closing reaches the 2027 roll. A February closing does not.
- File the homestead application with your county property appraiser by March 1, which for the 2027 tax year means March 1, 2027.
- Build the residency record early. Section 196.015 lists the factors a property appraiser weighs, among them a recorded declaration of domicile, Florida voter registration, a Florida driver license with evidence an out-of-state license was surrendered, Florida plates, the address on your federal return, where your bank accounts sit, and utility bills at the property.
- Check whether you hold a Save Our Homes benefit worth moving. Our guide to transferring Save Our Homes savings covers that window.
- Expect your first bill to look nothing like the seller’s, for the reasons in why your property taxes jump the year after you buy.
Buying a rental or a second home instead
No homestead exemption attaches to property that is not your permanent residence, so none of the figures above apply. Amendment 3 still reaches these purchases through the assessment cap. For non-homestead real property, and for residential property of nine units or fewer outside the homestead limits, the annual increase in assessed value for non-school levies was capped at 10 percent. Beginning January 1, 2027 that cap becomes 5 percent. The 3 percent Save Our Homes cap on homestead property was not changed.
Frequently Asked Questions
I rent in Florida now and plan to buy in 2027. Which track am I on?
The constitutional test asks whether you maintained a permanent residence in this state as of December 31, 2026. It does not ask whether you owned one, so a renter who had genuinely established a Florida permanent residence by that date sits outside the new-resident provision. Because the Legislature has yet to write the uniform administrative procedures, keep the documents proving Florida residency in 2026, including your lease, utility accounts, driver license and voter registration.
I am closing in December 2026. Do I get the $150,000 for 2027?
Yes, provided you hold title and occupy the home as your permanent residence on January 1, 2027 and file by March 1, 2027. A December closing also places your Florida permanent residence before the December 31, 2026 cutoff, which keeps a buyer relocating from another state on the larger track.
Does the $250,000 exemption mean I owe no property tax in 2028?
No. The exemption applies only to levies other than school district levies, and school millage is a large share of a Central Florida bill. Lake County’s school millage alone is 6.0540 mills against assessed value above the $25,000 school exemption. Non-ad-valorem items such as fire assessments and CDD assessments are billed separately and untouched by Amendment 3.
Running the numbers on a specific address
The exemption is worth different money in every taxing district, and the December 31 test rewards buyers who run it now rather than in March. We can pull the millage for a specific parcel, compare your 2027 and 2028 bills on each track, and sort out whether a closing date is worth moving. Buyers weighing carrying cost should also read the real monthly cost of a Florida home, and anyone mid-contract can see how the current year’s tax gets divided in who pays the Florida property tax bill at closing. To work through a specific property, book a strategy session at mvphomegroup.com/nelsoncruz. This is general information about a constitutional amendment, Florida statutes and published county millage, not legal or tax advice, and not a determination about any particular property or applicant.
Nelson Cruz, P.A.
Founder & CEO
MVP Home Group, Real Broker LLC
Nelson brings nearly two decades in law enforcement to his work in real estate. View Nelson’s profile or contact our team at 407-901-9939 or [email protected].
Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration of a large stack of blank official-looking tax forms spread across a wooden table with a plain desk calculator, a pen and reading glasses. Illustrative only. No readable text or markings. Not a particular property and not an actual government form.