Tax Relief and Local Revenue

Amendment 3 is among the measures Florida voters will consider inin next month’s election.

The amendment proposes increasing the homestead tax exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 for homeowners who were permanent Florida residents by Dec. 31, 2026, with inflation adjustments in later years. These increased exemptions would be taken from the assessed value of homesteaded properties, effectively lowering their taxable value. Later residents would initially qualify for a $50,000 non-school exemption and would become eligible for the larger exemptions in their fifth year.

It would also lower the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead properties, such as rentals and commercial buildings, from 10% to 5%.

The increased homestead exemption and lower non-homestead assessment cap would not apply to school district property taxes.

If it wins at least 60% of the vote, it will have far-reaching and varied impacts on cities, counties and special districts throughout Florida.

Homeownership in Duval County

Last month, Florida Realtors – a statewide professional trade association with more than 230,000 members – launched its Vote Yes on 3 campaign in support of the amendment.

“Affordability is at the forefront for every Floridian, and they need meaningful relief,” said Chuck Bonfiglio Jr., Florida Realtors’ 2026 president, in the press release announcing the campaign. “We’ve spent years working to help people buy homes. But buying the home is only half the challenge. We also need to make sure families can afford to keep the homes they worked so hard to purchase.”

As a member of Florida Realtors, the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) stands beside the statewide association in its support of the amendment, said NEFAR Government Affairs Director Nancy Garcia.

“We are supporting it because of the impact that will have on homeowners, specifically,” Garcia said. “As you know, housing has just become so unaffordable. It’s difficult for first-time buyers to get into homes, but you also have people who are seniors, who are trying to stay in their homes, and then just in general the unaffordability of everything. So any kind of relief that we can provide to help people stay in their homes, or just get some relief, or potentially purchase a home, that’s what realtors do. We’re the voice of real estate; we’re going to support those kinds of initiatives.”

The savings would depend on a home’s assessed value and applicable tax rates. The exemption could eliminate a greater share of taxable value for a lower-valued home than for a higher-valued one.

“Down in South Florida, you’re going to have less of an impact on those homeowners because the values are so high,” Garcia said.

In Duval County, which has a broad spectrum of markets and home values, the impact could be just as varied for homeowners, depending on the market they live in. Still, Garcia said, it would be a step in the right direction for affordability.

“The thing is, we’re having a real affordability crisis,” Garcia said. “This is a start.”

Opposition to Amendment 3

Several state groups and associations have expressed concerns over the impact Amendment 3 could have on local governments. On Sept. 21, the Jacksonville Civic Council released a statement opposing the amendment.

It read, in part:

“The Jacksonville Civic Council opposes Constitutional Amendment 3, which would sharply reduce services that Jacksonville’s residents rely on every day, including parks, libraries, roads and drainage…We believe thoughtful tax reform can effectively address affordability concerns for residents as well as provide a supportive environment for business growth, while at the same time protecting public safety and vital public services.”

According to City of Jacksonville Council Auditor Phillip Peterson, the city could lose approximately $200 million in operating revenue in the next fiscal year if Amendment 3 passes.

Mayor Donna Deegan told Resident News she is concerned about the “unintended consequences” of passing this amendment.

“We have a city that is right now just absolutely thriving,” Deegan said. “You’re seeing cranes in the air everywhere. We’re able to invest in those infrastructure needs we’ve neglected for so long. We’ve done it with a really lean budget, and I would hate to see us backslide on a lot of those things, a lot of that momentum that we have as a city right now because of all that.”

Amendment 3’s impact will be felt statewide, but exactly how will vary. According to an analysis completed by the Florida Tax Watch, the five-year projected impact for Duval County is an estimated $1.689 billion, ranking it eighth out for Florida’s 67 counties in five-year dollar impact. This includes all of Duval’s municipalities and independent special districts. Still, Duval does not top the list of the hardest-hit county. Projected five-year impact goes up as high as an estimated $5.161 billion for Miami-Dade County.

A Florida Policy Institute analysis, however, projects Jacksonville to be the hardest hit municipality with a projected loss of approximately $372.2 million on a recurring basis by FY2031-32, followed by Tampa and Miami.

Amendment 3 and the City Budget

If passed, Amendment 3 wouldn’t impact the City of Jacksonville until the 2027 budget cycle, but it was a topic of discussion as the Jacksonville City Council prepared to vote on the FY2026-27 budget at its Sept. 22 meeting. City Council Member Ron Salem previously stated $100 million should be cut from the budget and placed in a contingency fund in case the measure passes. On Sept. 22, he called the failure to do so a “tragic mistake.”

“I think we’ve made, as a city, a tragic mistake in not preparing for Amendment 3,” Salem said from the dais. “…We’ve got a train coming at us that may hit us.”

“I believe in preparing for something like that because if Amendment 3 passes, we’re going to have a JTA budget situation ourselves here, if not worse, and we missed an opportunity to adequately prepare for it,” Salem continued.

City Council Member Matt Carlucci, however, said making cuts to this year’s budget would be “putting the cart before the horse.”

Peterson did inform the council that the city does have the reserves on hand to cover the revenue loss, at least for next year.

The recommendations that are out there are to have at least two months of reserves on hand based on your operating budget,” Peterson said. “At this point, the City of Jacksonville does have that amount set aside in reserves.”

In Duval County, early voting for the Nov. 3 election begins on Tuesday, Oct. 20.