Florida votes on Amendment 3 on November 3, 2026, five days after this post goes out. For homeowners who already live here, most of the coverage has been about one figure, a non-school homestead exemption rising to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. For someone buying in Fort Lauderdale, the date in the ballot summary matters more. People who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 start with the existing exemption. They reach the larger one only in their fifth year of exemption.
So two buyers can close on similar waterfront homes in the same year, file for homestead in the same year, and still be on different exemption schedules for four years. The difference comes from where each of them lived when 2026 ended.
The date written into the ballot
The official ballot booklet from the Florida Division of Elections gives the amendment's title as "Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments." The residency language reads:
"Persons who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026, will receive the existing homestead exemption upon qualifying for a homestead exemption, with the increased homestead exemption beginning with the fifth year of exemption, to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution."
Florida TaxWatch puts it in plain terms. New permanent residents who move to Florida after December 31, 2026 would start with the current $50,000 homestead exemption and become eligible for the full $250,000 after five years. TaxWatch adds that after 2030, local governments could shorten the five-year wait to meet a critical need.
The Broward County Property Appraiser's standing homestead guidance determines permanent residence as of January 1. As proof, it lists a Florida driver's license plus either voter registration or a utility bill for the property. That is the office's general rule, not an Amendment 3 procedure. The timely filing period for a 2027 homestead exemption runs from March 3, 2026 through March 1, 2027.
Many buyers in Fort Lauderdale's luxury tier are relocating from out of state or turning a seasonal residence into a primary one. For them, when residency is established is now a tax-timing question as well as a matter of logistics.
A fixed exemption on a reset assessment
The exemption is a flat dollar amount, and it applies only to non-school taxes. School district levies are excluded. At Fort Lauderdale's price points, that cap shapes how much of the bill the exemption reaches.
A purchase also changes the starting number. The Broward County Property Appraiser tells buyers not to assume their taxes will match the current owner's, because under Florida law a change in ownership resets the assessed value to full market value. Any homestead exemption a buyer later receives is applied against that reset value.
For scale, Broward Property Appraiser Marty Kiar applied the amendment as if it had been in effect for the 2025 tax year. The Sun Sentinel reported his finding that average savings for Broward homesteads assessed above $150,000 would be $1,325 in the first year. For homesteads assessed above $250,000, average savings in the second year would be $2,661. Those are countywide averages. On a multimillion-dollar Las Olas Isles or Harbor Beach assessment, a fixed exemption covers a smaller share of the total bill than it does on a typical Broward home.
The city's own portion makes the same point. Fort Lauderdale levies 4.1193 mills for operations. At that rate, $250,000 of exempt value comes to roughly $1,030 a year in city operating tax. The county and other non-school levies add to the total, since the exemption reaches all of them.
Here is how the main provisions line up for different buyers, based on the ballot summary and the Legislature's staff analysis:
| Buyer situation | Homestead exemption under Amendment 3 | Assessment cap | School taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida resident on Dec. 31, 2026, homesteading a Fort Lauderdale purchase | $150,000 in 2027, $250,000 in 2028, then inflation-adjusted | Existing homestead protections | Not affected by the larger exemption |
| Relocating buyer who becomes a resident after Dec. 31, 2026 | Existing exemption first, larger exemption from the fifth year of exemption | Existing homestead protections | Not affected by the larger exemption |
| Seasonal or second-home buyer | None | Non-homestead cap falls from 10% to 5% | The cap does not apply to school levies |
Where second homes come in
The third row of that table matters most for the seasonal buyer. A lower cap limits how fast a non-homestead assessment can rise after the purchase reset. It does not limit the tax rate a local government applies to that assessment.
The amendment would also reduce local revenue. The Legislature's Revenue Estimating Conference projected a drop in local non-school property tax revenue statewide of $4.95 billion in fiscal year 2027-28 and $8.78 billion in 2028-29, settling at $11.86 billion a year. In Broward, Kiar estimated the county would lose $195 million in the first year, 10.8% of its property revenues, and $333.8 million in the second, or 18.5%.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis told a Tower Club audience the city would lose $17 million in property taxes in the first year and up to $27 million in the second. He said property taxes fund 45% of the city's day-to-day operations. According to the same Sun Sentinel account, he said non-homesteaded properties would bear any rate increase, and that people with second homes would end up paying more.
Florida TaxWatch notes that the amendment does not limit a local government's ability to raise taxes or fees for things like parks, libraries, wastewater and impact fees to make up lost revenue. The amendment would also restrict county and municipal property tax revenue to listed categories, including public safety, infrastructure, debt service and employee retirement benefits.
A second-home owner gets a slower-rising assessment and no larger exemption, and any rate decision falls on the full assessed value.
What the city decided in September
Fort Lauderdale's most recent budget gives the baseline. On September 14, 2026, commissioners adopted a $1.28 billion budget on a 4-1 vote and kept the operating millage at 4.1193. Local 10 reported that Commissioner John Herbst cast the dissenting vote after supporting a rollback rate of about 3.9. The budget included about $12 million in reductions, and the residential fire assessment is $444 per dwelling.
The city's tax base has been growing. In June, the property appraiser estimated Fort Lauderdale's property value increase at 7.16%, or $4.5 billion, with $1.7 billion of that from new construction. At the hearing, Trantalis said that homestead property taxes make up about 45% of the budget and that the amendment "will definitely have an impact on us."
Earlier, at a budget advisory discussion, the Sun Sentinel reported that Herbst called for greater efficiency instead of warnings about tax increases or service cuts. Board chair Bill Brown cautioned that the amendment could force cuts or higher municipal rates and fees.
Adoption of the FY2027 rate came before the vote. If the amendment passes, its effective date is January 1, 2027, so the city's first budget written under it would be the next one.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Each buyer's residency, homestead eligibility and tax exposure should be confirmed with a qualified tax professional or attorney, and estimates can be run through the property appraiser's Tax Estimator.
FAQ
Is Amendment 3 certain to take effect? No. Constitutional amendments need at least 60% voter approval. A Leon County circuit judge ordered the original ballot title and summary rewritten, Florida Politics reported, and the proposed amendment itself was not changed. NBC 6 reported on October 15 that it remained on the November ballot.
Does it eliminate homestead property taxes? No. It requires the Legislature to create a procedure that counties and municipalities could use to raise the exemption up to full assessed value. Special districts could do the same with referendum approval. A separate 2026 proposal, HJR 203, would have exempted homesteads from all non-school property taxes, and it died in the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 13, 2026.
Does a buyer inherit the seller's lower tax bill? No. The Broward County Property Appraiser states that under Florida law, a change in ownership resets the assessed value to full market value.
Does the 5% cap cover my whole second-home tax bill? No. The lower cap applies to non-homestead property but not to school district levies.
If you're relocating to Fort Lauderdale or keeping a seasonal home here, the December 31, 2026 date and your homestead status could affect your carrying costs for years. Heather Lefka can work through your closing timeline alongside your tax advisor and attorney so the property side and the tax side line up. Schedule a private consultation.
