Florida's Property Tax Amendment: What the November 2026 Ballot Measure Would Really Change

Introduction

Every few weeks, a buyer asks some version of the same question on a call: Did Florida get rid of property taxes? The honest answer is no, not yet, and possibly not at all. What actually happened is that the Florida Legislature passed a constitutional amendment during a special session in early June 2026 and sent it to voters. The decision now belongs to the public, who will vote on it on November 3, 2026.

For anyone buying, selling, or holding real estate in Miami or West Palm Beach right now, the gap between "passed the Legislature" and "became law" matters more than the headlines suggest. It matters even more if what you own is a rental unit, a vacation home, or a commercial property rather than the house you live in, because this amendment treats those categories very differently.

This article walks through what HJR 1F would do if approved, what would stay exactly the same in the meantime, and the practical decisions South Florida owners and buyers are weighing right now while the outcome remains unknown.

Table of Contents

1. What Just Happened in Tallahassee
2. What HJR 1F Would Actually Change
3. The Part Almost Everyone Skips: It Still Needs 60% of the Vote
4. What This Means If You Own Rental, Investment, or Commercial Property
5. The Residency Clock: Why December 31, 2026, Is a Date Worth Marking
6. Who Supports It, Who Opposes It, and Why
7. What Buyers and Owners Should Actually Do Right Now
8. Frequently Asked Questions

1. What Just Happened in Tallahassee

Governor Ron DeSantis had been pushing for months to eliminate property taxes on Florida homesteads entirely, and the regular legislative session came and went without a deal. The House passed its own version, a ten-year phaseout plan known as HJR 203, by an 80-to-30 margin in February, but the Senate let that bill die in the Appropriations Committee when the regular session ended on March 13, 2026, without ever giving it a hearing.

That was not the end of it. The governor called a special session for the first week of June, and lawmakers returned with a narrower proposal, "Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes," formally known as HJR 1F. This time it passed both chambers comfortably. The Senate approved it 30 to 9, and the House approved it 75 to 26 on June 2, 2026. Three Democratic senators from South Florida, including one from West Palm Beach, crossed party lines to vote for it.

Passing the legislature with the required three-fifths supermajority sends the question to the ballot. It does not change anyone's tax bill on its own.

2. What HJR 1F Would Actually Change

If Florida voters approve the amendment in November, here is what it sets in motion. The homestead exemption for non-school property taxes would rise from the current $50,000 to $150,000 starting in 2027, then to $250,000 in 2028, with the higher amount adjusted for inflation in later years.

That increase applies only to homesteaded properties, meaning the home you actually live in and have filed for homestead status on. It does not touch school district levies at all, so the portion of your bill that funds public schools stays the same regardless of how the vote goes.

There is a second piece that gets far less attention but affects a different group of owners directly. The annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property, which covers second homes, rental units, and commercial real estate, would drop from 10% to 5% starting January 1, 2027. For an investor who has watched assessed values climb close to that 10% ceiling year after year, a 5% cap is a meaningful change even if it never shows up in the headlines about homeowners.

The amendment also instructs a future Legislature to build out a procedure for counties and cities to keep raising the exempt portion of a home's value over time, potentially toward full elimination of non-school property taxes on homesteads. The bill itself does not eliminate anything immediately. It creates the legal pathway for that to happen gradually, through future legislation.

3. The Part Almost Everyone Skips: It Still Needs 60% of the Vote

This is the detail that gets buried in most coverage, and it is the one that actually matters most for anyone trying to plan around this. Florida requires a 60% supermajority to amend its constitution, a bar that no presidential candidate has cleared in the state in modern history. For comparison, the 2024 abortion rights amendment received 57% of the vote and still failed to pass.

Property tax relief tends to poll well across party lines, which gives this amendment a real shot. But "polls well" and "clears 60%" are not the same thing, and the campaign season between now and November will likely turn loud. Local governments, firefighter unions, and education groups are already preparing arguments that the measure could force cuts to police, fire, and school funding, while homeowner advocacy groups push the opposite case.

As of right now, nothing has changed on the ground. The existing $50,000 homestead exemption and the 3% Save Our Homes assessment cap remain fully in effect, and every real estate transaction in the state continues to be governed by the current rules. Treating this as already settled, in either direction, is the surest way to make a bad decision before November.

4. What This Means If You Own Rental, Investment, or Commercial Property

Most of the public conversation around this amendment centers on homeowners, which makes sense given the size of the exemption increase. But the change to the non-homestead assessment cap deserves equal attention from anyone holding income property in Miami-Dade or Palm Beach County.

Dropping the cap from 10% to 5% slows the rate at which a property's taxable value can rise each year, regardless of what happens to market value. Over a holding period of five or ten years, that difference compounds. A landlord who has been absorbing steady increases in taxable value on a Brickell condo or an Edgewater multifamily building would, if the amendment passes, see that growth capped at half its current ceiling starting in 2027.

The Florida Senate's own analysis acknowledges the tradeoff, projecting that local government revenue could fall by an estimated $4.6 billion in the first year alone and grow to roughly $8.4 billion annually as the exemption phases in. Some of that lost revenue is backfilled by slower growth in commercial and rental assessments, contributing more proportionally than they do today. Whether that nets out as a win or a wash for an individual investor depends heavily on the specific property and county, which is exactly why this is worth modeling now rather than after the vote.

5. The Residency Clock: Why December 31, 2026 Is a Date Worth Marking

There is a provision in HJR 1F that almost nobody outside estate planners and relocation specialists is talking about yet, and it could matter a great deal to anyone on the fence about establishing Florida residency this year.

Anyone who becomes a Florida resident on or before December 31, 2026, would be eligible for the full expanded exemption once it takes effect. Anyone who moves to the state after that date would need to maintain residency for up to five years before qualifying for the same benefit. In other words, the people most likely to benefit immediately are current Florida homeowners, not the next wave of arrivals from New York, California, or Latin America who buy in 2027 or later.

For a family weighing whether to close on a primary residence in West Palm Beach this fall versus waiting until early next year, that single date could shift the math. It is the kind of detail a good real estate advisor should be raising in conversation now, well before the ballot itself is decided.

6. Who Supports It, Who Opposes It, and Why

The case for the amendment is straightforward. Property tax collections by Florida local governments have nearly doubled over the past seven years, and rising bills have become one of the most common complaints from homeowners statewide, particularly among retirees on fixed incomes and longtime residents who have watched their assessments climb even as their income stayed flat.

The case against it is just as direct. Property taxes fund roughly three-quarters of local tax collections in Florida, paying for everything from sheriff's departments to libraries to stormwater systems. Critics, including some fiscal policy researchers who otherwise favor lower taxes, warn that the amendment, as written, includes no funding mechanism to replace the billions in lost local revenue, raising the question of whether services are cut, fees rise elsewhere, or some combination of both.

Both sides agree on one thing: this is the most consequential property tax decision Florida voters have faced in decades, regardless of how it turns out.

7. What Buyers and Owners Should Actually Do Right Now

None of this changes how a closing works today, what an escrow account should hold, or what shows up on a current tax bill. The smart approach between now and November is preparation, not prediction.

If you are a current Florida homeowner, there is nothing to file or apply for yet. The exemption increase, if approved, would be applied automatically starting with the 2027 tax year. If you are considering a move to Florida, the December 31, 2026, residency date is worth discussing with whoever is handling your relocation timeline. If you own rental or commercial property, this is a reasonable moment to ask your accountant to run both scenarios, current rules and proposed rules, against your specific holdings so you are not caught flat-footed either way come November.

Above all, be skeptical of anyone, including other real estate content, that talks about this amendment as if it has already passed. It has cleared the legislature. The voters have not spoken yet.

Conclusion

Florida is closer than it has been in years to a meaningfully larger homestead exemption, and the state is genuinely debating a long-term path toward eliminating non-school property taxes on primary residences altogether. That is real, and it is worth paying attention to. What is not real, at least not yet, is any change to what anyone actually owes.

​The amendment needs 60% of the vote on November 3, 2026, a threshold that has defeated plenty of popular measures before it. Whatever decision you are making about South Florida real estate this year, the existing tax rules, not the proposed ones, should be the ones you build your numbers around until the vote is in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has Florida eliminated property taxes?

No. As of mid-2026, property taxes remain fully in effect under the current rules, including the $50,000 homestead exemption and the 3% Save Our Homes assessment cap. The Legislature passed a constitutional amendment that would expand the exemption, but it requires voter approval in November 2026 before anything changes.

What would change if voters approve HJR 1F?

The homestead exemption for non-school taxes would rise to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. The annual assessment increase cap on non-homestead property, including rentals and commercial real estate, would drop from 10% to 5%. School district taxes would not be affected.

Does this amendment apply to rental and investment properties?

Not the exemption increase, which is limited to homesteaded primary residences. The lower 5% assessment growth cap would apply to non-homestead property, which includes rentals, vacation homes, and commercial real estate.

What happens if I move to Florida after December 31, 2026?

Under the proposed amendment, residents who establish Florida residency after that date would need to maintain it for up to five years before qualifying for the full expanded exemption, even if the amendment passes.

Should I delay or rush a purchase because of this amendment?

Neither, on its own. The current tax rules govern every transaction happening right now. The residency timing detail is worth a conversation with your advisor if you are already planning a move, but the amendment's outcome should not be the deciding factor in a real estate decision made before November.

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