Amendment 3, Explained: A $150,000 Homestead Exemption in 2027, $250,000 in 2028 — and a 60 Percent Bar to Clear
The property-tax amendment on Tuesday's ballot would more than triple the homestead exemption for non-school taxes in two steps. It needs 60 percent to pass, and the last polls the station reported had it short of that line.
Of everything on Florida's ballot on Tuesday, Amendment 3 is the measure that reaches most directly into a homeowner's tax bill. The proposal would increase the homestead exemption for eligible homeowners from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, then rising again to $250,000 in 2028. The exemption applies to non-school property taxes.
The bar is high by design: a Florida constitutional amendment needs 60 percent approval to pass, not a simple majority. The last polling the station reported, in its Oct. 31 file, had support at 44 percent in a St. Pete Polls survey and 50 percent in a University of North Florida survey — both short of the threshold with days to go, which is why both campaigns spent the final weekend on it, the governor included (see the desk's closing-message file in this cycle).
The trade-off voters are weighing is the other side of the exemption. A bigger homestead exemption means a smaller taxable base for the counties, cities and special districts that levy non-school property taxes, and the News-Journal's Election Day file notes the result could bring dramatic changes to local government services alongside the lower bills. School taxes are not touched by the measure.
For Leon County homeowners, the question sits on the same ballot as the governor's race and the rest of the county's 11 questions. Polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the amendment passes or fails on that statewide 60 percent line alone.
