Florida Amendment 3 Would Raise the Homestead Exemption to $250,000 — and Polls Put It Below the 60 Percent It Needs

Amendment 3 is the largest property-tax question Florida voters have faced in years. Placed on the November 3 ballot by the Legislature, it would raise the homestead exemption for all non-school property taxes from a current maximum of about $51,411 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, adjusting for inflation after that, and it would cut the annual cap on assessment increases for second homes, rentals and commercial property from 10 percent to 5 percent. School taxes would keep the current $25,000 exemption. As a constitutional amendment, it needs 60 percent of the vote to pass.

The polling says that bar is in doubt. A University of North Florida poll released October 21 put support at 50 percent, with 35 percent opposed and 14 percent undecided. A poll commissioned by Associated Industries of Florida found 53 percent support among voters who heard the full ballot language — short of 60 percent in every media market in the state. A St. Pete Polls survey in early October put support at 42 percent, while a James Madison Institute poll at 63 percent is the only recent survey with the amendment clearing the threshold.

What voters are told changes the numbers. When UNF, in a July survey, told respondents that state economists estimate the amendment would reduce local revenue by $11.86 billion a year at full phase-in, support fell from 61 percent to 45 percent. The measure has also already been rewritten once: on August 4, Leon County Circuit Judge David Frank ruled the Legislature's original ballot title and summary misleading and ordered a plainer version, under which the amendment now appears on the ballot. For Fort Myers and Lee County homeowners, a yes vote would mean a much smaller taxable value on a primary home — and, opponents argue, much less revenue for the county and city services property taxes pay for.