Florida Property Tax Amendment Heading to November Ballot as Nocatee Homeowners Weigh Impact

NOCATEE, Florida — Nocatee, located about 20 miles southeast of Jacksonville in St. Johns County, is a master-planned community of approximately 25,000 residents near the PGA TOUR headquarters and some of Florida’s fastest-growing suburbs.

Florida voters will decide the future of property taxes this November when Amendment 3 appears on the statewide ballot. The proposed constitutional amendment, passed by the Legislature as House Joint Resolution 1-F during a special session, would increase the homestead exemption for non-school levies to $250,000, reduce the annual assessment growth cap on non-homesteaded properties from 10% to 5%, and create a pathway for the full elimination of non-school property taxes on primary residences.

“While a proposal to phase down property taxes on the primary residences of Florida homeowners may grab headlines, it risks severely undermining the competitiveness of Florida’s overall tax structure and leaving the state worse off.” — Tax Foundation

The Revenue Estimating Conference projects the amendment would cost $12 billion in recurring revenue, and that figure does not include the cost of a complete elimination of non-school homestead taxes. The Florida League of Cities estimates that eliminating homestead property taxes would cost municipalities nearly 38% of their property tax revenue on average. Under the amendment, local governments would also be restricted to spending remaining property tax dollars only on a state-defined list of core services: public safety, education, infrastructure, and natural resources.

The ballot title, “Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes,” draws on the name of Florida’s existing 1992 Save Our Homes assessment cap, which already limits annual increases in taxable value for homesteaded properties. According to the Florida Policy Institute, homeowners’ assessed values are on average 50.3% below market value due to the existing cap, which costs local governments approximately $9.1 billion in forgone revenue. The amendment does not reform the existing cap, and the ballot language does not disclose the phased timeline — the exemption would rise to $150,000 in 2027 and reach $250,000 in 2028 — or that the Legislature could authorize further increases without additional voter approval.

Supporters argue the measure addresses Florida’s rising housing costs, while opponents warn it would shift the tax burden to renters and businesses. Florida’s approximately 3 million renter households, including 905,000 severely cost-burdened low-income renters, would receive no direct benefit under the amendment.

Source: https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/florida-property-tax-amendment-ballot-language-summary