Amendment 3 passed in Florida on Tuesday with about 62% of the vote, clearing the 60% bar every constitutional amendment in the state needs. The property tax plan was pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and placed on the ballot by the Republican legislature. It takes effect January 1, 2027.
Here is how it works, who comes out ahead and why sheriffs, firefighters, hospitals and advocates for renters fought it.
The heart of Amendment 3 is a much bigger homestead exemption. A homestead exemption is the slice of your home’s value that local government cannot tax, and it only applies to the home you own and live in full time. Right now, most Florida homeowners get roughly $50,000 taken off their home’s assessed value, which is the number the county uses to figure out the tax bill.
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Under Amendment 3, homeowners who already live in Florida will have the first $150,000 of their home’s assessed value shielded from local property taxes in 2027. That covers the taxes that fund cities, counties and other local services, but not school taxes. In 2028 the shield grows to $250,000, and starting in 2029 it rises with inflation. For a family in a $300,000 home, most of the house suddenly stops counting toward the city and county portion of the bill.
Newcomers have to wait. People who become permanent Florida residents after the amendment takes effect get a smaller exemption of about $50,000 for their first five years, split between school taxes and other local taxes. After five years, they qualify for the bigger break.
Amendment 3 also helps owners of property that is not their primary home, like rental buildings, vacation homes and commercial property. The cap on how fast the assessed value of those properties can rise each year drops from 10% to 5%.
The amendment also limits how local governments can spend property tax money. It can only go to public safety, schools, roads and other infrastructure, flood control and environmental projects, debt payments, employee retirement obligations and the basic operations of county offices.
The backlash comes down to one fact. Property taxes are the main way Florida cities and counties pay for sheriffs, police, firefighters and paramedics. When that money shrinks, something gets cut or someone else pays. Opponents estimated Amendment 3 could pull nearly $12 billion a year out of local budgets.
That warning came from inside the conservative tent. The Florida Sheriffs Association, the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police, the Florida Professional Firefighters and the Florida Fire Chiefs Association all opposed it. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, one of the best known conservative lawmen in the state, said sheriffs want real tax savings, but “this instrument in November is not the instrument to do that.”
Hospitals sounded the alarm too. The Florida Policy Institute estimated that the state’s public hospital districts and health systems could lose $323 million over three years.
Edie Ousley, spokesperson for the No on Amendment 3 campaign, said after the vote that Floridians will soon feel the impact, including delays in responding to 911 calls. She is now urging the state’s Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, which begins meeting in early 2027, to address the damage.
Even the wording on the ballot drew fire. Before the election, a judge ruled the state’s original ballot summary “misleading and inaccurate” and ordered Attorney General James Uthmeier to rewrite it.
Then there are renters. Amendment 3 gives renters nothing directly, because they do not own a homestead. Democratic state Reps. Rob Long of Palm Beach and RaShon Young of Orlando warned that renters could end up paying more.
The math works like this. Local governments set a millage rate, which is the tax rate charged per $1,000 of property value. If they raise that rate to make up for lost money, the owners of apartment buildings and rental homes, who do not get the big exemption, take the hit. Those landlords can pass the cost straight into rent. A September report raised the same warning.
Supporters see it differently. Florida Realtors backed the amendment. Chip Williams of Keller Williams Realty in Tallahassee called it a win and said lowering the cost of owning a home opens a window for renters to buy. He argued that taking the money away forces government “to be more fiscally responsible.”
The changes start January 1, 2027. How deep the cuts go, and whether renters end up footing the bill, now depends on how each city and county rewrites its budget.
