Florida homeowners are getting a big property tax break. Amendment 3 passed with nearly 62% of the vote, just clearing the 60% it needed, WUSF reported. Starting Jan. 1, the first $150,000 of a homestead’s assessed value will be exempt from non-school property taxes, rising to $250,000 in 2028.
Now comes the hard part: local governments have to figure out how to run police, fire, parks and roads with billions less. The other two amendments failed. The rainy day fund measure got about 41%, and the farm equipment tax break got 58%.
When will Amendment 3 lower my property taxes?
Your 2027 tax bill, which most Floridians get in November 2027. The exemption covers city, county and special district taxes, not school taxes, so you’ll still pay those. Homes assessed at $150,000 or less in 2027 will owe no non-school property tax. Rentals, second homes and businesses don’t get the exemption, but their yearly assessment increases will be capped at 5% instead of 10%, WKMG reported. People who move to Florida from 2027 on have to wait five years for the full exemption.
How will cities and counties cover the lost money?
By cutting, raising other fees, or both. State economists estimate local governments will lose nearly $5 billion the first year, approaching $9 billion the next and about $12 billion a year after that. Before the vote, Clearwater said it was preparing to lose about $20 million over two years and that more than 130 positions could be eliminated, possibly closing two libraries and recreation centers, WUSF reported. “Those services will need to be paid for somehow,” Tax Foundation analyst Nicole Fox said, predicting higher fees.
Gov. Ron DeSantis backed it but said it didn’t go far enough. Senate President Ben Albritton, who helped put it on the ballot, ended up opposing it, warning it would hurt rural counties. Florida Realtors spent $10 million campaigning for it.
The BeezLoop Take
Homeowners earned this break, and voters spoke clearly. But this was the easy part. Counties now have to cut about $5 billion next year, and the bill will show up somewhere: fewer firefighters, shorter library hours, higher fees, or rents that keep climbing for people who got nothing from Amendment 3.
Watch your county’s budget hearings next summer. That’s where the real tradeoffs get made, usually with a lot less attention than the ballot question got.
The open question: which services will Florida counties cut first, and will renters end up paying more anyway?
Also on BeezLoop: what Amendment 3 does, explained before the vote.
More on BeezLoop: Florida will send more state school money to vouchers than public schools in Miami-Dade.
Sources: WUSF · WKMG ClickOrlando · WUSF (local budgets) · FOX 13 Tampa Bay (video)
