Florida’s Property Tax Amendment Is on the November Ballot. What Could It Mean for Homeowners?

Florida voters will decide on November 3, 2026 whether to make some pretty significant changes to the state's property-tax system.

You've probably already heard some of the numbers: $150,000. $250,000. 5%.

But what could those numbers actually mean when the tax bill shows up?

Let's put some dollars to it.

What's the Homestead Exemption Right Now?

Florida's current homestead exemption is commonly referred to as $50,000. The first $25,000 applies to all property taxes, including school taxes. The additional portion applies to non-school taxes.

If the amendment passes, qualifying homeowners who are Florida residents by the end of 2026 would see the exemption for non-school property taxes increase to:

2027: Up to $150,000

2028: Up to $250,000

Beginning in 2029, the maximum exemption would adjust annually for inflation. School taxes aren't included in this expansion, so this would not make your entire property-tax bill disappear.

What Could That Mean on a $400,000 Home?

Let's use a simplified example of a Seminole County home with an assessed value of $400,000.

We'll assume the combined non-school tax rate affecting the property is 10 mills. One mill equals $1 in taxes for every $1,000 of taxable value. Your actual rate depends on exactly where you live.

Under today's roughly $50,000 exemption:

$400,000 – $50,000 = $350,000 taxable

At 10 mills, that's approximately $3,500 in non-school property taxes.

Now increase the exemption to $150,000:

$400,000 – $150,000 = $250,000 taxable

That's approximately $2,500.

Then, with the proposed $250,000 exemption:

$400,000 – $250,000 = $150,000 taxable

That's approximately $1,500.

So in this simplified example:

Today: $3,500

2027: $2,500 — saving about $1,000/year

2028: $1,500 — saving about $2,000/year

Your school taxes would still be added to each of those amounts.

If school taxes added another $2,400 to our hypothetical bill, the total would look more like:

Today: about $5,900

With $150K exemption: about $4,900

With $250K exemption: about $3,900

That's about $83 a month in savings in 2027 and $167 a month once the $250,000 exemption is fully implemented.

Those are simplified numbers, but they give you a much better idea of the scale we're talking about. The amendment changes taxable value; it doesn't lock in future millage rates, so an actual future tax bill could differ.

Now Let's Talk About Save Our Homes

Here's where Florida property taxes get a little weird.

Your home's market value isn't necessarily its assessed value.

Florida's Save Our Homes provision generally limits annual increases in the assessed value of a homesteaded property to the lower of 3% or inflation.

Over time, that can create a pretty large gap between what your house is worth and the value being used to calculate your taxes. The proposed amendment does not eliminate Save Our Homes.

Let's use another $400,000 house.

Maybe you've owned it for years, and Save Our Homes has kept its assessed value down to $275,000.

Same $400,000 market value. Very different tax calculation.

Using our same 10-mill example:

Current exemption:
$275,000 – $50,000 = $225,000 taxable
About $2,250 in non-school taxes

$150,000 exemption:
$275,000 – $150,000 = $125,000 taxable
About $1,250

$250,000 exemption:
$275,000 – $250,000 = $25,000 taxable
About $250

School taxes would still be added.

That's why asking, "My house is worth $400,000. How much would I save?" isn't enough information.

We need to know the home's assessed value too.

A longtime homeowner and a recent buyer could own nearly identical $400,000 houses on the same street and have very different property-tax bills.

What About Rentals and Second Homes?

There's something in this proposal for non-homestead property owners too.

Florida currently limits annual assessment increases on many non-homestead properties to 10% for non-school taxes. The amendment would reduce that cap to 5%. School taxes would remain based on just/market value and aren't subject to that cap.

Rental properties and second homes wouldn't receive the new $150,000 or $250,000 homestead exemptions.

But cutting the annual assessment cap from 10% to 5% could still make a meaningful difference over time.

Moving to Florida? There's a Catch

People establishing Florida residency on or after January 1, 2027 wouldn't immediately receive the same expanded exemption.

They would initially receive an exemption of up to $50,000 for non-school taxes, adjusted for inflation. After maintaining the homestead exemption for four years, they would generally become eligible for the larger exemption beginning in their fifth year.

So someone already living in Florida by the end of 2026 could be treated differently from someone moving here in 2027.

That's a pretty important detail for a state that gets a lot of new residents.

What Does This Mean for Seminole County?

There's another side to this.

A larger exemption means less taxable value for local governments to tax. That could mean meaningful savings for homeowners, but counties and cities would also have less property-tax revenue available unless other changes were made.

And the amendment doesn't freeze tax rates. Cities, counties and other taxing authorities will continue setting millage rates through their normal budget processes.

So the numbers above are useful for understanding how the exemption works, but they aren't a prediction of exactly what anyone's 2027 or 2028 tax bill will be.

One More Property-Tax Question for Homebuyers

There's another issue I want to cover separately because it deserves its own discussion:

Why the property taxes the current owner pays may have very little to do with what you'll pay after buying the house.

Save Our Homes is a big part of that story.

I'll tackle that separately rather than turn this into Property Taxes 101.

For now, the November proposal comes down to a potentially much larger homestead exemption, a lower assessment cap for non-homestead properties, and potentially substantial savings for some Florida homeowners.

Whether the tradeoffs are worth it is what Florida voters will decide in November.

The tax examples above are simplified illustrations, not estimates for a specific property. Actual taxes and potential savings depend on assessed value, exemptions, taxing authorities, non-ad valorem assessments and applicable millage rates.