By Alex Bittner, Broker Associate · Updated November 4, 2026
Election update: Amendment 3’s approval has been reported following the November 3 election, including by the Miami-Dade Tax Collector. This guide explains its scheduled 2027 provisions; it does not represent certification of election results. Your county property appraiser determines your exemption eligibility.
Go to the calculator ↓ See a worked example
What Amendment 3 changes—and what your bill still depends on
For a homeowner planning next year’s budget, the useful question is how much of the property’s assessed value will remain taxable, which taxing authorities apply to the parcel, and what charges stay on the bill. A larger exemption can produce meaningful savings, but the exemption amount is not a dollar-for-dollar credit against taxes. A $150,000 exemption does not mean $150,000 in savings, and it does not mean that every eligible household receives the same reduction.
The scheduled changes
For qualifying homesteads of people who maintained permanent Florida residence by December 31, 2026, the amendment provides a non-school exemption of up to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with positive inflation adjustments to the latter beginning in 2029. The school-tax homestead exemption remains up to $25,000. These are total exemption levels, not amounts added on top of the existing standard exemption. The enrolled text excludes assessments for special benefits from this exemption. Source: enrolled amendment, Article VII, section 6.
| Tax year | Exemption level | Budgeting implication |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | Up to $150,000 | The calculator below models this first step. |
| 2028 | Up to $250,000 | A further step; this page does not calculate a 2028 bill. |
| 2029 onward | Inflation adjustments to the $250,000 level | Future amounts and actual bills should be checked each year. |
Start with assessed value, not your asking price
Think of the bill in three stages: the property’s value for assessment purposes, the exemptions applied to that value, and the tax rates applied to the remaining taxable amount. The home’s listing price or a recent online valuation is not a substitute for its assessed value. Long-term owners and recent buyers can have different tax situations even when their homes would sell for similar prices.
Florida’s Save Our Homes system limits annual increases in an eligible homestead’s assessed value to the lower of 3% or the applicable Consumer Price Index change. Ownership changes and improvements can affect the assessment, and qualifying owners may have portability benefits when moving. Amendment 3’s larger exemption should be considered alongside these rules. A buyer should not simply take a seller’s tax bill, subtract an estimated amendment saving, and treat the result as the buyer’s future tax obligation. Source: Article VII, section 4.
A worked example: separating the exemption from the savings
The following numbers are illustrative, not a quote for a specific property. Suppose a fully homesteaded home has a $300,000 non-school assessed value and its 2026 bill shows $248,589 in non-school taxable value. Assume its combined non-school millage is 10 mills, school taxes total $1,650, and non-ad-valorem assessments total $350.
Ten mills means $10 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value. The example’s 2026 non-school taxes are therefore $2,485.89. Adding the school taxes and assessments produces a gross annual bill of $4,485.89. Under the calculator’s fixed-value 2027 scenario, subtracting the $150,000 exemption from the $300,000 assessment leaves $150,000 taxable. At the same 10 mills, that component becomes $1,500. The scenario total is $3,500, a reduction of $985.89.
The percentage reduction in this example is about 22% of the full bill. That percentage is a result of these particular inputs; it is not a statewide promised discount. The exemption changes one part of a bill that also contains other components.
Why a larger home does not automatically mean a larger saving
At a fixed tax rate, savings depend on the amount of taxable value removed. If two homes both have enough assessed value to use the full increase in the exemption and share the same tax rates, their dollar savings from that increase can be similar even if their market prices differ substantially. The higher-priced home would still typically have more taxable value remaining.
At the other end, taxable value cannot fall below zero. Using the same illustrative 2026 exemption pattern, a home assessed at $100,000 with $48,589 in non-school taxable value would have that component reduced to zero in the fixed-value 2027 scenario. At 10 mills, the saving would be $485.89. It would not receive the $985.89 saving from the $300,000 example. A homeowner already exempt from a tax component cannot save more than the amount of that component.
School taxes, assessments and the local picture
For Volusia, Flagler and St. Johns homeowners, the parcel’s actual taxing districts matter more than a countywide average. City boundaries, special districts and assessments can produce different bills for properties that appear close together. That is why this calculator asks for the figures on your own bill instead of applying one assumed rate to an entire county.
For planning purposes, separate ad valorem taxes, which depend on taxable value and millage, from non-ad-valorem assessments such as charges identified on your bill for solid waste, stormwater or a community development district. Do not assume a CDD charge disappears because the homestead exemption increases. Likewise, HOA dues, condominium assessments and homeowners insurance are separate ownership expenses; they are not reduced by changing the property-tax inputs in this calculator.
The estimate below holds school taxes and non-ad-valorem assessments constant. That is a modeling assumption to isolate the exemption’s effect, not a prediction that those charges will stay unchanged in the next budget year.
New Florida residents, second homes and rentals
People who had not maintained permanent Florida residence by December 31, 2026 fall under a different homestead schedule: an initial non-school exemption of up to $50,000, with the larger exemption beginning in the fifth exemption year, subject to the amendment’s provisions. Separately, the annual assessment-growth limit for covered non-homestead property changes from 10% to 5% for non-school levies. That is a limit on assessment growth, not a 5% reduction in the bill or a cap on every tax increase. The amendment also prescribes permitted uses of county and municipal property-tax revenues. Source: Florida Senate summary.
A rental owner should therefore evaluate the assessment cap separately from the homestead benefit. A family relocating to Florida should establish its own residency and exemption position before budgeting around the larger exemption. This calculator intentionally covers a narrower case: an existing, fully homesteaded property with standard exemptions and no ownership change or reassessment event.
What remains uncertain about your actual 2027 bill
Two calculations answer different questions. Holding everything else constant shows the effect of the exemption change. Forecasting the final bill also requires the next assessment, adopted millage rates, approved exemptions and assessment charges. The calculator does the first calculation. It cannot supply the second set of future decisions.
From a household-budget perspective, use the result as a planning scenario and compare it with the county’s eventual notices. From a local-government perspective, reducing taxable value at unchanged rates reduces revenue from affected parcels. The ultimate effect on budgets and services also depends on the broader tax base, other revenues and spending decisions. This guide does not assume that any particular county will raise rates, reduce services or offset the projected saving.
Mortgage escrow is another timing issue: the monthly equivalent of a projected annual saving is not a promised reduction in your mortgage payment. Your lender’s escrow analysis also considers insurance, balances and any shortage or surplus. Keep those moving parts separate when deciding how much room you have in your monthly budget.
How to use the calculator carefully
Open your county’s official property search below and locate the detailed 2026 annual bill. Use the gross annual amount, not an outstanding balance after payments or an early-payment discount. For example, Volusia’s published schedule allows a 4% November discount, so the amount payable in November can be lower than the gross bill. Comparing that discounted figure with an undiscounted projection would distort the result. Source: Volusia Tax Collector payment schedule.
Enter the non-school assessed and taxable values, add the non-school millage rates, and separately total the school taxes and non-ad-valorem assessments. If different non-school authorities use different values, or you have additional exemptions, use an individual calculation. The calculator checks the basic standard-exemption pattern and whether the components add back to the gross bill; a mismatch should be resolved rather than forced through.
Senior, veteran, disability and other benefits can change the analysis. The property appraiser—not this calculator—decides exemption eligibility. Florida’s Department of Revenue directs exemption applications and supporting documentation to that office. Source: Florida Department of Revenue exemption guidance.