Floridians Will Decide a $250,000 Homestead Exemption in November, and Cities Are Bracing

Florida voters will decide in November whether to write one of the largest property tax cuts in state history into the state constitution, a measure that would raise the homestead exemption to $250,000 by 2028 and, by legislative staff estimates, reduce annual revenue to non-school local governments by billions of dollars.

The Legislature voted in June 2026 to place the amendment on the general election ballot. The House approved the resolution 75 to 26 and the Senate approved it 30 to 9. Like all Florida constitutional amendments, it requires approval by 60 percent of voters to take effect.

As Florida heads into Tuesday's primary and then the November general election, the measure has become one of the defining fiscal questions of the cycle, and city and county governments across the state have begun modeling what passage would mean for their budgets.

What the amendment would do

The centerpiece of the proposal is a phased increase in the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes. The exemption would rise to $150,000 on January 1, 2027, and to $250,000 on January 1, 2028. Florida's existing homestead exemption structure has provided a considerably smaller shield, and the increase would remove a substantial share of assessed value from the taxable rolls for owner-occupied primary residences.

The amendment also addresses non-homestead property. It would reduce the cap on annual assessment increases for properties that do not carry a homestead exemption, a category that includes second homes, rental properties and commercial real estate. Under current law those properties are subject to a higher annual cap than homesteaded property, which is protected by the Save Our Homes assessment limitation.

A third component would limit how local governments can spend property tax revenue, adding constitutional guardrails to a revenue stream that counties, cities and special districts rely on for the majority of their discretionary spending.

The proposal includes a residency requirement. New Florida residents would need to establish five years of residency before qualifying for the expanded exemption, a provision aimed at the state's continued in-migration.

The fiscal math

A Florida House staff analysis estimated the proposal would reduce annual revenue to non-school governments by roughly $4.6 billion in its first full year of effect, growing to approximately $8.4 billion per year as the exemption reaches its full value and property values continue to rise.

Because the exemption applies to non-school property taxes, school district revenue is insulated from the direct effect. That distinction matters in Florida, where the required local effort millage that funds public schools is set by the Legislature rather than by school boards.

The effect falls unevenly across the state. Jurisdictions with a high concentration of modestly valued owner-occupied homes would lose a larger proportion of their tax base than jurisdictions where much of the assessed value sits in commercial property, tourist accommodations or non-homesteaded coastal real estate. Rural counties with small tax bases and limited alternative revenue sources have flagged particular concern.

How local governments are responding

City and county finance offices have spent much of 2026 preparing contingency analyses. In Jacksonville, the Council Auditor estimated earlier this year that a property tax reform resolution advanced by the House would cost the consolidated city-county government roughly $375 million in revenue in a single fiscal year, based on figures from the 2025-26 property tax collection cycle.

Jacksonville's City Council voted 17 to 1 on July 28 to hold the city's maximum millage rate steady at 11.1919, meaning a property owner pays $11.1919 in city tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. Holding the maximum rate flat is the first procedural step in Florida's truth-in-millage budget process and preserves the council's flexibility as it works through the fiscal year 2026-27 budget.

Local governments across Florida face a structural constraint if the amendment passes. Under state law, most municipalities and counties can raise millage rates only up to statutory caps and, beyond a rolled-back rate, only with supermajority votes. A large reduction in taxable value would leave many jurisdictions choosing between service reductions, higher rates where legally available, increased fees, or drawing down reserves.

The case for the cut

Supporters argue that Florida homeowners have absorbed years of rapid assessment growth alongside sharp increases in property insurance premiums, homeowners association dues and, in the condominium market, structural reserve assessments. For many households, the combined cost of staying in a home has risen faster than income.

The Save Our Homes cap limits how quickly assessed value can rise on a homesteaded property, but it does not reduce the underlying tax bill, and Floridians who bought homes during the 2020 to 2023 price surge locked in a high base assessment. Proponents contend that a larger exemption delivers direct, durable relief to primary residents rather than to investors or out-of-state owners.

Advocates also point to the growth in local government spending during the same period, arguing that revenue expanded substantially as property values climbed and that local budgets have room to absorb a reduction.

The case against

Opponents, including groups representing Florida cities and counties, argue that property taxes fund the services residents notice most directly when they are cut: law enforcement, fire and rescue, emergency medical services, road maintenance, stormwater and drainage infrastructure, parks and libraries.

Critics also note that Florida has no state income tax, which makes local governments unusually dependent on property tax and sales tax revenue. Removing a large share of the property tax base without an offsetting revenue source, they argue, shifts costs onto fees, special assessments and sales taxes, which fall more heavily on lower-income households.

The five-year residency requirement has drawn separate scrutiny. Distinguishing between long-term and newly arrived residents for tax purposes raises questions that have been litigated in other contexts, and legal observers have suggested the provision could invite a court challenge if the amendment passes.

What it means for Floridians

For a homeowner with a homesteaded primary residence, the practical effect would be a meaningfully smaller annual tax bill beginning with the 2027 tax year and a larger reduction beginning in 2028. The exact savings depend on the local millage rate, which varies widely across Florida's counties, cities and special taxing districts.

For renters, the effect is indirect and contested. Rental properties do not qualify for a homestead exemption, so landlords would not receive the exemption increase, though the reduced cap on non-homestead assessment growth would slow assessment increases on rental buildings over time.

For residents of jurisdictions that rely heavily on residential property tax, the tradeoff will surface in local budget hearings during the 2027 and 2028 cycles, when councils and commissions decide which services to reduce or which fees to raise.

How Florida property taxes are calculated

Understanding the amendment requires understanding the sequence that produces a Florida property tax bill, because the exemption operates at a specific point in that sequence.

The county property appraiser establishes just value, which approximates market value, as of January 1 each year. Assessment limitations then apply. For homesteaded property, the Save Our Homes cap limits annual increases in assessed value to 3 percent or the change in the consumer price index, whichever is lower. For non-homestead property, a separate and higher cap applies.

Exemptions are then subtracted from assessed value to produce taxable value. The homestead exemption is the largest of these for most owner-occupied properties, and additional exemptions exist for seniors meeting income thresholds, for veterans with service-connected disabilities, for surviving spouses of first responders and for several other categories.

Taxable value is then multiplied by the millage rates of each taxing authority with jurisdiction over the property. A typical Florida parcel is subject to county millage, municipal millage if inside city limits, school district millage, and levies from special districts covering functions such as water management, fire control, hospitals and libraries.

The amendment operates on the exemption step and applies only to non-school levies, which is why school district revenue is insulated while county, municipal and special district revenue is not.

Portability and what carries over

Florida's homestead framework includes a portability provision that allows a homeowner to transfer accumulated Save Our Homes benefit to a new homestead within the state.

The provision was added by constitutional amendment in 2008 and addressed a genuine problem: long-time homeowners with large accumulated assessment caps faced a substantial tax increase if they moved, which discouraged downsizing and locked households into homes that no longer fit their needs.

Portability allows transfer of the difference between just value and assessed value, up to a statutory limit, to a new homestead established within a defined period. The mechanics differ depending on whether the new home is more or less valuable than the prior one.

The proposed amendment's five-year residency requirement for the expanded exemption would create a new distinction within the homestead framework, separating established residents from recent arrivals for purposes of the increased amount. How that interacts with portability and with the existing exemption structure would be worked out in implementing legislation.

Property owners can review their current exemptions, assessed value and the resulting tax calculation through their county property appraiser, and the annual notice of proposed property taxes mailed in August shows the effect of each taxing authority's proposed rate.

What's next

The amendment appears on the November 3, 2026, general election ballot alongside the races for governor, United States Senate and Florida's congressional and legislative seats. It requires 60 percent approval, a threshold Florida voters have applied to constitutional amendments since 2006 and one that has defeated measures with clear majority support.

Local governments will continue building fiscal year 2026-27 budgets on current law, since the earliest exemption increase would not take effect until January 1, 2027. Budget hearings under Florida's truth-in-millage process run through September in most jurisdictions, and residents can review proposed rates in the notices mailed by county property appraisers.

If the amendment passes, the Legislature would take up implementing legislation in the 2027 regular session, including any statutory changes needed to administer the residency requirement and the revised assessment caps.