ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida’s new property tax proposal — Amendment 3 — is slated to appear on the ballot in November, putting it up to the voters to decide whether homeowners across the state should get a major tax cut.
However, critics warn that the plan may cost local governments dearly, as property taxes are used to fund core services like police departments and libraries.
[RELATED: Is Amendment 3 just a tax cut or a ticking time bomb?]
Regardless of which position Florida voters take, nonprofit research institute Florida Tax Watch has released a “resource center” aimed at educating residents on the potential impacts of the proposal.
According to the nonprofit, Amendment 3 is expected to reduce local property taxes by over $45 billion over the course of five years — though this figure isn’t distributed equally.
HOW MUCH WILL MY LOCAL COUNTY LOSE?
Statewide, property tax reductions are forecast to be as follows:
FY2027-28: $4.93 billion
FY2028-29: $8.71 billion
FY2029-30: $9.65 billion
FY 2030-31: $10.71 billion
FY 2031-32: $11.83 billion
In all, this comes out to an estimated $45.84 billion by the end of fiscal year 2032. Meanwhile, individual counties are expected to see the following losses by that point in time if Amendment 3 passes:
RankCounty5-Year Total1Miami-Dade$5.16B2Broward$4.86B3Palm Beach$4.10B4Hillsborough$3.43B5Orange$2.82B6Pinellas$2.31B7Lee$1.74B8Duval$1.68B9Pasco$1.43B10Volusia$1.41B11Polk$1.33B12Brevard$1.09B13St. Lucie$1.05B14Lake$930.9M15Osceola$922.2M16Seminole$913.7M17Manatee$825.5M18Sarasota$807.1M19St. Johns$803.4M20Collier$751.7M21Marion$707.6M22Alachua$689.4M23Flagler$456.8M24Martin$456.3M25Charlotte$452.6M26Leon$447.0M27Indian River$366.9M28Sumter$347.4M29Escambia$346.9M30Clay$342.3M31Hernando$315.0M32Nassau$297.2M33Citrus$289.4M34Santa Rosa$226.7M35Okaloosa$204.9M36Bay$203.7M37Walton$171.1M38Monroe$144.7M39Highlands$114.9M40Putnam$72.1M41Hendry$65.5M42Columbia$60.2M43Levy$57.1M44Wakulla$52.2M45Suwannee$49.4M46Okeechobee$47.4M47Bradford$41.5M48Gadsden$38.8M49DeSoto$36.0M50Baker$33.0M51Gilchrist$28.6M52Gulf$26.7M53Jackson$24.1M54Washington$22.3M55Holmes$21.6M56Hardee$19.5M57Glades$17.1M58Franklin$16.5M59Madison$15.4M60Taylor$15.3M61Jefferson$15.2M62Dixie$11.1M63Hamilton$8.7M64Union$7.9M65Calhoun$7.3M66Lafayette$6.2M67Liberty$4.5M
WHAT IS AMENDMENT 3 ABOUT?
The amendment — HJR 1F — provides a new homestead exemption for non-school taxes for residents in the state.
Current homestead exemption rules in the state operate as follows, with two different brackets of assessed value being tax exempt:
Assessed ValueApplication of Homestead Exemption (Current)The first $25,000Exempt from all property tax–> $50,000Fully taxable–> $75,000Exempt from non-school taxesRemaining valueTaxable, though other exemptions may apply
But under HJR 1F, the exemptions would apply solely to non-school taxes, though the exempted amount would raise dramatically:
2027 — First $150,000 of assessed value
2028 — First $250,000 of assessed value
2029 onward — First $250,000 of assessed value, indexed to inflation
However, this only applies to homeowners who are permanent residents of Florida before the proposed amendment takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027 (if it gets approved, that is). For newcomers, the timeline is a bit different.
HJR 1F instead provides new residents with a five-year homestead exemption that comes out as follows:
Assessed ValueApplication of Homestead Exemption (Current)The first $25,000Exempt from school taxes–> $50,000Exempt from non-school taxesRemaining valueTaxable
After this five-year period, the new residents will then be eligible for the higher exemption.
Meanwhile, the amendment also reduces the annual non-homestead property assessment growth cap from 10% to 5%, limiting how much these sorts of properties may be assessed each year.
In addition, the plan limits how local governments may spend property tax revenue:
Public safety, including law enforcement, EMS and fire services
Education and public schools
Infrastructure, including roads, bridges and stormwater controls
Natural resource projects, including flood control measures
Issue local bonds for approved uses or to make debt service payments
Meet obligations and retirement benefits of local government employees
Fund the operations and administration of county officers and commissioners
While the amendment has been approved by lawmakers, it will still need 60% approval from voters in the general election on Nov. 3.
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