Florida voters pass Amendment 3 with 62%: homeowners get a bigger tax break, landlords may get the bill

Florida voters approved Amendment 3 on Tuesday, a sweeping property tax cut. Commercial Observer reports it won 62% of the vote, above the 60% needed to change the state constitution. Realtor.com News cites the Associated Press count of 62% to 38% with 98% of votes reported.

What changes, and when

• Homestead exemption: rises from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with later increases tied to inflation.
• Non-homestead cap: the annual limit on assessment increases for commercial property and second homes drops to 5% from 10%.
• Residency: to qualify for the exemption, owners must have been Florida residents before the end of this year. Newcomers wait five years, according to both outlets.

The number behind the number: local budgets

Florida has no state income tax, so counties and cities lean on property tax. Commercial Observer, citing a Florida Legislature analysis, says the changes are expected to cost local governments $4.6 billion in 2027, $8.4 billion in 2028 and nearly $12 billion in 2032. Realtor.com adds that state economists had argued the measure would remove nearly a quarter of local-government funding and hit smaller counties hardest.

That money has to come from somewhere. Commercial Observer says some local governments are expected to raise millage rates and fees, including permit fees, and that they may lean harder on commercial property. Millage is the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value.

Who it hits: a landlord with a 10-unit building

Commercial Observer cites a study by Jared Walczak of the Tax Foundation finding that tax bills on multifamily property could climb nearly 15%, or about $406 per unit. For an owner of a 10-unit building, that study's per-unit figure works out to about $4,060 a year ($406 x 10). That is our arithmetic on a published average, not a forecast for any one building, and it depends on what each local government decides.

The lower assessment cap works in the other direction for commercial owners. As an illustration only: if a commercial property assessed at $1,000,000 gained 12% in market value, the old 10% cap would allow an assessment of $1,100,000 and the new 5% cap $1,050,000. At a hypothetical rate of 18 mills (1.8%), that is $900 less tax a year. If the local government raises its millage to make up lost revenue, some or all of that saving disappears. Owners should watch their county's proposed millage notices next summer rather than assume either result.

Tenants are the third party. Commercial Observer notes that landlords facing higher taxes may raise rents, passing the cost to tenants. For a restaurant or salon on a triple-net lease, where the tenant pays the property tax directly, a millage increase shows up as a bill, not as a rent negotiation.

Our data: who is exposed

CheckThisBiz lists 583,685 independent Florida businesses across 1,305 cities. The largest listed categories are real estate agents (17,504), restaurants (12,545), beauty salons (9,712) and contractors (6,263). Many of the restaurants, salons and shops in that count rent their space, which makes lease terms, not the headline tax cut, the thing that decides their cost.

Housing market effects: unclear

Realtor.com reports that a National Association of Realtors model found a $200-a-month cut in property taxes lowers the income needed to afford Florida's median-priced home from about $133,800 to $125,200, putting roughly 242,000 more households above the affordability threshold. Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner noted Florida's median listing price fell 3.5% year over year in September while homes for sale fell 9.6%. Commercial Observer says it is unclear whether the amendment will draw new buyers, given the five-year wait for newcomers.

What to do

Nothing changes on bills yet: the measure takes effect in 2027. Owners of rental and commercial property should model a higher-millage case and a lower-cap case before setting 2027 rents. Tenants with pass-through taxes in their leases should check how property tax increases are billed. Related: Real estate.

The amendment's ballot title was also a legal fight. Realtor.com reports that a circuit court judge ruled in August that the original title was defective and ordered the ballot language amended.

Sources: Commercial Observer and Realtor.com News, Nov. 4, 2026; CheckThisBiz business counts. Per-unit and illustrative tax figures are our arithmetic on the numbers cited. This is information, not tax, legal or investment advice.