Amendment 3: What It Would And Would Not Change For Your Mortgage
If you own a home in Florida, or you are trying to buy one, you have heard a dozen confident opinions about Amendment 3. I am not adding another one. I am not telling you how to vote, and I am not telling you it is good or bad. That is your call on Tuesday, November 3. What I can do is walk you through what the measure actually says, what it does not touch, and where it shows up in a mortgage. Everything here is current as of October 2026, before the vote.
Real quick, a ground rule. I am a mortgage broker. I am not a tax advisor and I am not an attorney. Confirm your own numbers with your county property appraiser. If you live in Lakewood Ranch, check which county your parcel sits in, because it is split between two.
What is Amendment 3, in plain English?
The Legislature passed it as House Joint Resolution 1F on June 2, 2026. On your ballot it is titled "Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments." Because it changes the state constitution, it needs sixty percent of the vote to pass. If it passes, it takes effect January 1, 2027, with the first affected tax bills going out in November 2027. Your 2026 bill is not affected either way.
What would it raise, and when?
Today, homestead takes up to about fifty thousand dollars off the taxable value of the home you live in, in two pieces. The first twenty-five thousand dollars applies to everything, school taxes included. The second piece applies only to non-school taxes and is indexed to inflation, which is why it runs a little over twenty-five thousand dollars for 2026.
Amendment 3 would raise the non-school side to one hundred fifty thousand dollars starting January 1, 2027, then two hundred fifty thousand dollars starting January 1, 2028, with inflation adjustments after that. Save Our Homes, the cap that holds your assessed value increase to three percent or inflation, whichever is lower, stays. Portability stays. The senior, veteran, widow and disability exemptions stay.
What would it not change?
School district taxes. The school side of your bill keeps the same twenty-five thousand dollar exemption it has today, so most homeowners would still get a bill with school taxes on it. This raises an exemption. It does not, by itself, zero out anybody's tax bill. Local governments still set millage rates every year, and fees like stormwater or CDD charges are untouched.
What about second homes, rentals and snowbirds?
If the property is not your homestead, there is no new exemption for it. What changes is the cap. Right now the assessed value on non-homestead property can climb up to ten percent a year for non-school taxes. Amendment 3 would cut that to five percent. That slows how fast the assessment can rise. It caps assessed value, not the tax itself, and the school portion stays uncapped and tied to market value. Own a rental condo or a winter place you do not homestead? This is your piece.
I am moving to Florida. Do I get the bigger exemption?
Here is the wrinkle most people miss. Under the ballot summary, people who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 would get the existing homestead exemption when they qualify, and the increase would begin with their fifth year of exemption, "to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution." That piece is already being questioned, including by one of the people who sued over the ballot wording, so do not treat it as settled in either direction. If you are relocating, read my moving to Florida page and call the property appraiser before you assume anything.
What does this mean for my mortgage?
Property tax lives in two places in your loan. It sits inside your escrow, the part of your payment that collects for taxes and insurance and pays them for you. And it sits inside your debt-to-income ratio, which is how underwriting measures whether the payment fits your income. A lower tax bill would mean a smaller escrow deposit and a little more room in qualifying.
Now I am going to be blunt. Nobody should underwrite a purchase on a measure that has not passed. I qualify you on the tax picture that exists today. If you are buying, remember your taxes get reset to the new assessment after the sale, not the seller's bill, so build your budget on current law. If it passes and your bill drops later, that shows up as an escrow adjustment. If it does not pass, nothing in your plan breaks.
So what should I do right now?
Whatever happens November 3, homestead filing still matters. The current exemption, Save Our Homes, portability, and any increase only work for you if you have filed. If you own and live in the home on January 1, file with your county property appraiser by March 1. It is free, and if you closed this year you can file once you have closed and moved in.
How homestead works today is laid out on my Florida homestead exemption page. And if you are trying to figure out what the taxes and escrow look like on a home you are buying, call or text (941) 941-5150.
Tony Fitzgerald, NMLS #1284924.
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Tony Fitzgerald, NMLS #1284924. 1st Response Mortgage, powered by Mpire Financial Group LLC, NMLS #2108504, Florida Mortgage Lender License #MLD2467. Equal Housing Lender. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org. This article is general education, not financial, tax, or legal advice, and not an offer of credit or a commitment to lend. Terms vary by borrower, property, and transaction, and program guidelines change over time.
