Amendment 3 and your Florida condo: what it would change for homestead units, second homes and rentals

Florida voters will see three statewide amendments on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Amendment 3 is the property tax one. Many condo owners are asking the same question: what would it do to my tax bill? The answer depends on one thing — whether your unit is your homestead.

This article sticks to what the amendment says and when things happen. It does not tell you how to vote. That is your call.

Where it came from and what it needs to pass

The Legislature placed the measure on the ballot as a joint resolution, CS/HJR 1-F, passed in a special session. The Senate voted 30-9 and the House 75-26. On the ballot it is titled “Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-homestead Property Assessments.” In August, a Leon County judge ruled the first ballot title read like a political slogan and ordered it rewritten. The Attorney General’s office submitted the new wording.

Like every constitutional amendment, it needs at least 60% of the voters who vote on it. If it passes, it takes effect January 1, 2027.

If your condo is your homestead

Today, a Florida homestead gets up to about $51,000 off its taxable value: $25,000 that applies to all taxes, plus a second amount that applies to non-school taxes. Non-school taxes are the ones charged by your county, city and special districts — everything on the bill except the school board.

• Starting January 1, 2027, the exemption from non-school taxes would rise to up to $150,000 of assessed value.
• Starting January 1, 2028, it would rise to up to $250,000, then be adjusted for inflation starting in 2029.
• School taxes would not get the bigger exemption. Only the first $25,000 stays exempt from school taxes, as it is now, so most homestead owners would still get a school tax bill.
• Save Our Homes stays. That is the existing cap that holds yearly increases in a homestead’s assessed value to 3% or inflation, whichever is less. Portability and the senior, veteran, disability and widow or widower exemptions are unchanged, according to the Pinellas County Property Appraiser.

There is a residency date in the amendment. People who are permanent Florida residents as of December 31, 2026 could get the larger amounts. People who become residents on or after January 1, 2027 would start with up to $50,000 off non-school taxes and could move up to the larger amount starting in the fifth year of their exemption.

How much would that save? It depends on your unit’s value and your local tax rates. As one example, the Pinellas County Property Appraiser estimated a full-value homestead there would save about $1,203 in 2027 and about $2,423 in 2028, using 2025 average non-school tax rates. That is an illustration for Pinellas, not a promise, and it assumes local tax rates stay the same.

If your condo is a second home or a rental

Non-homestead units would not get the bigger exemption. What changes for them is the cap. Right now, the assessed value of a non-homestead property can rise at most 10% a year for non-school taxes. Amendment 3 would lower that cap to 5%.

Two things to keep in mind. First, the cap limits how fast the assessed value can grow. It does not cut tax rates, so it does not by itself lower a bill. Second, the cap does not apply to school taxes, which stay based on market value.

What it would not change

• Your association fees. Condo assessments are set by your association’s budget, not by property taxes. Nothing in Amendment 3 changes the budget process, reserves or special assessments.
• Flat charges on your tax bill that are not based on value, such as some fire, trash or stormwater fees. The Pinellas County Property Appraiser notes the homestead exemption does not reduce those.
• Who sets tax rates. Counties, cities, school boards and special districts still set their own rates each year, and those rates could go up or down.

The amendment also limits what counties and cities may spend property tax money on, listing uses such as public safety, schools, roads and stormwater, natural resources, debt, retirement benefits and government operations. State economists estimated it would reduce local property tax revenue by about $5 billion in the first year and by as much as $12 billion a year once fully in place.

Key dates

• Thursday, October 22, 2026: last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot be mailed to you.
• October 24–31: early voting in all 67 counties. Some counties offer extra days.
• Tuesday, November 3: Election Day.
• January 1, 2027: the date the changes would start if the amendment passes. The Pinellas County Property Appraiser says the first effects would show on August 2027 TRIM notices and November 2027 tax bills.

What to do

For owners:

• Check your homestead status. Look up your unit on your county property appraiser’s website. It shows whether a homestead exemption is on file.
• Read the full ballot text before you vote. Your county supervisor of elections posts the sample ballot and the full text of each amendment.
• If you own more than one unit, look at each one separately. A homestead and a rental are treated differently.
• For questions about your own tax bill, call your county property appraiser’s office.

For board members:

• Expect questions at meetings. A simple, neutral answer helps: the amendment is about property taxes, not association fees.
• If owners ask where to learn more, point them to the property appraiser and the supervisor of elections.
• If the board is unsure what it may say or post about a ballot measure on association channels, ask the association attorney.