Florida Amendment 3 Passed: What It Means for Your Property Taxes and Mortgage Payment

Florida voters approved Amendment 3 on Tuesday. If you own a home you live in, you've probably heard it will cut your property taxes. Maybe you've also heard it will lower your mortgage payment.

It could. But how much and when depends on details most of the headlines skip.

I'm Jason Kindler. I've been originating mortgages since 2001, and I'm the President of First Coast Mortgage Funding in Jacksonville. I've had a lot of calls about this one this week. Here's what Amendment 3 actually changes, when you could see it on your tax bill, how it flows into a mortgage payment, and what to do now. This is just the facts, with sources at the bottom.

If you want the background on the amendment from before the vote, I covered it in Florida Amendment 3: homestead exemption facts.

Did Amendment 3 pass?

Yes. Constitutional amendments in Florida need at least 60% of the vote. According to the state's unofficial election night results, Amendment 3 got 61.98% yes (4,917,796 votes) and 38.02% no (3,016,195 votes). Results become official when the state certifies them.

The official ballot title is "Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments." The changes take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

What Amendment 3 changes

Here's what's in the amendment text, in plain English.

1. A bigger homestead exemption for non-school taxes. Your property tax bill has two kinds of taxes: school taxes, and everything else (county, city and other local taxing authorities). For the non-school part, the homestead exemption becomes:

• Up to $150,000 of assessed value starting Jan. 1, 2027
• Up to $250,000 of assessed value starting Jan. 1, 2028
• Adjusted for inflation starting Jan. 1, 2029, in years when inflation is positive

The words "up to" matter. The exemption can't be more than your home's assessed value. So if your home is assessed at $140,000, your non-school taxable value could drop to zero.

2. School taxes still get $25,000. The first $25,000 exemption, which applies to all property taxes including school taxes, stays the same. You'll still pay school taxes on the rest.

3. It replaces the old second exemption. It doesn't stack on it. Today's homestead exemption is $25,000 plus a second, inflation-adjusted exemption on assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000. For 2026, the Duval County Property Appraiser lists the total as up to $51,411. Amendment 3 replaces that second piece with the larger one. Some answers online call the $150,000 "additional." It isn't added on top.

4. New Florida residents wait for the full amount. If you didn't have a permanent residence in Florida as of Dec. 31, 2026, and you get a homestead exemption on or after Jan. 1, 2027, you get the $25,000 school exemption plus up to $50,000 for non-school taxes (adjusted for inflation starting in 2028). The full exemption starts with your fifth year of having the exemption. Starting in 2030, a county or city can shorten that wait for its own taxes by a two-thirds vote.

5. Rentals, second homes and commercial property get a lower cap. For property that isn't a homestead, the yearly cap on assessment increases for non-school taxes drops from 10% to 5%, starting Jan. 1, 2027.

6. Local governments can go further. The amendment says the Legislature must set up a way for counties and cities to raise the exemption for their own taxes, up to the full assessed value. It also limits what county and city property taxes can be used for.

What Amendment 3 doesn't change

• Save Our Homes. The cap on yearly increases in a homestead's assessed value (3% or inflation, whichever is lower) stays.
• Portability. You can still move up to $500,000 of your Save Our Homes benefit to a new Florida homestead if you set it up within three years.
• Other personal exemptions. The Duval County Property Appraiser says exemptions like those for seniors, veterans and people with disabilities are unchanged.
• Non-ad valorem assessments. Charges that aren't based on your home's value, like solid waste and stormwater fees, aren't reduced by a homestead exemption. In a community development district, CDD assessments work the same way. More on that in my post on CDD fees and new construction payments.
• Millage rates. Each local taxing authority still sets its own tax rate every year.

When will I see it on my tax bill?

Not this year. The 2026 tax bills that went out this month are based on the old rules. Your servicer is paying that bill now.

Here's the timeline the Duval County and St. Johns County offices have published:

1. Jan. 1, 2027: The new exemption amounts apply to the 2027 tax year. You have to own the home and live in it as your permanent residence on Jan. 1.
2. August 2027: Your TRIM notice (Notice of Proposed Property Taxes) is the first place you'll see the change, along with proposed tax rates and hearing dates.
3. November 2027: The 2027 tax bill arrives with the $150,000 non-school exemption.
4. November 2028: The 2028 tax bill arrives with the $250,000 non-school exemption.

So the savings come in two steps, one in each of the next two tax years.

How Amendment 3 could lower your mortgage payment

If your property taxes are paid through an escrow account, part of your monthly mortgage payment goes toward them. When your taxes go down, the escrow part of your payment can go down too. Your principal and interest don't change.

The catch is timing. Your servicer resets your escrow amount once a year at its escrow analysis. It looks at what it paid out and what it expects to pay over the next 12 months. Here's how that could play out:

• Until your servicer sees the lower bill, it will likely keep collecting based on your current taxes.
• After the 2027 bill comes out in November 2027, your next escrow analysis should reflect the lower tax amount. That's when your monthly escrow payment could go down.
• If you paid in more than the bill ended up being, the analysis may show a surplus. Under federal escrow rules, if you're current on your payments and the surplus is $50 or more, the servicer has to refund it within 30 days of the analysis.
• The 2028 bill is the second step. If your exemption grows again, the analysis after that bill could adjust your payment again.

Every servicer's escrow year is different. Some run the analysis right after the tax bill is paid. Others run it months later. Your annual escrow statement tells you when yours happens.

I wrote a full guide to how this works in escrow shortage in Florida: why your mortgage payment went up. The same analysis that creates a shortage is the one that would pass along lower taxes.

Why your payment might not go down as much as you expect

A bigger exemption lowers your taxable value. Your actual bill and payment still depend on other things that can move in the opposite direction:

• Millage rates. Local governments will have less property tax revenue and will set new rates and budgets in public hearings. A 2026 state law (SB 4-F) changed the votes needed to set rates above the "rolled-back rate," but rates can still change.
• Your assessed value can still rise. Save Our Homes lets a homestead's assessed value go up each year by up to 3% or inflation, whichever is lower.
• School taxes. Only $25,000 of your value is exempt from school taxes, before and after Amendment 3.
• Non-ad valorem fees like solid waste, stormwater and CDD assessments don't get smaller.
• Homeowners insurance. Your escrow also pays insurance. A higher renewal premium can eat up some or all of a tax savings.

That's why I won't tell anyone their payment will drop by a certain amount. It may. Look at your TRIM notice in August 2027 and your escrow analysis after the 2027 bill.

How much could I save? A simple illustration

Your county property appraiser has your real numbers. The Duval County Property Appraiser says it can't calculate exact savings yet, because they depend on your assessed value, existing exemptions, Save Our Homes benefit and local tax rates.

Here's one public example. According to News4Jax, Duval County Property Appraiser Joyce Morgan provided figures for the median single-family home with a homestead exemption, valued at $290,000. Under Amendment 3, that homeowner would save $1,632 in 2027 and $2,674 in 2028. Your savings will be different.

To see how the exemption itself works, here's an illustration. This is an example only, not a tax estimate. Assumptions: a homestead owned by a long-time Florida resident, assessed at $300,000, with no other exemptions, and the assessed value staying flat (in real life it can go up a little each year under Save Our Homes).

In this illustration, non-school taxable value drops by $198,589 between 2026 and 2028, and school taxable value stays the same. What that means in dollars depends on your local non-school tax rates, which aren't set yet for 2027 or 2028.

If your home has a lower assessed value, the exemption may wipe out your non-school taxable value. The Duval County Property Appraiser says homes bought recently, with values closer to market value, are more likely to get the full benefit.

What homeowners should do now

1. Confirm your homestead exemption is on file. Look up your property on your county property appraiser's website. To get it for 2027, you must own and live in the home on Jan. 1, 2027 and file by March 1, 2027. If you already have it and nothing has changed, Duval County renews it automatically each January and mails you a renewal card.
2. Moved within Florida in the last few years? Ask about portability. It's a separate application, also due March 1.
3. Watch your TRIM notice in August 2027. It's the first place you'll see the new exemption and the proposed tax rates. It also lists the public hearings where rates are set.
4. Read your escrow analysis after the 2027 tax bill. Check that the tax amount matches your actual bill.
5. Ask your servicer. Questions to ask: When is my next escrow analysis? Will it use my 2027 tax bill? If my account has a surplus, how will I get it?

Your county property appraiser:

• Duval: Duval County Property Appraiser (online homestead filing at homestead.coj.net)
• St. Johns: St. Johns County Property Appraiser
• Clay: Clay County Property Appraiser
• Nassau: Nassau County Property Appraiser

Buying a home in Florida? What Amendment 3 means for you

Taxes reset when you buy. Save Our Homes savings stay with the seller, not the house. After a sale, the home is reassessed at market value as of the next Jan. 1. That's why the seller's tax bill is usually a poor guide to yours. My post on why new home property taxes increase goes deeper on this.

Ask how your tax estimate was built. When you're shopping and comparing payments, ask your loan officer what tax amount is in the estimate. Is it the seller's bill, or an estimate of your taxes after the sale? Which exemption did it assume? A lower tax estimate means a lower estimated monthly housing cost, and that's part of what a lender looks at when you apply.

Already a Florida resident? If you had a permanent residence in Florida on Dec. 31, 2026, buy a home, and file for homestead, you would get the full new exemption for the year your homestead starts. If you're coming from another Florida homestead, portability may cut your new assessed value too.

Moving here from out of state? The new-resident rule applies. Plan for up to $50,000 of non-school exemption (plus the $25,000 school exemption) for your first four years of exemption, then the full amount starting in year five. Ask the property appraiser in the county you're buying in.

Your exemption starts the year after you move in. You need to own and live in the home on Jan. 1 to qualify for that tax year. If you close in the middle of 2027, your first homestead year would be 2028.

You can estimate a full payment, including taxes and insurance, with my mortgage payment calculator or my home affordability calculator. For the full picture of what goes into a payment here, read what goes into a Northeast Florida mortgage payment and Northeast Florida homebuying costs.

What about local budgets?

Local governments in Northeast Florida are now working out how to adjust. St. Johns County, citing state estimates, projects property tax revenue losses of $68.3 million in fiscal year 2028 and $136.1 million in fiscal year 2029. Budget decisions are made in public hearings each summer, and your TRIM notice lists the dates. Those decisions will shape the tax rates on future bills.