Florida homeowners could see their property tax bill drop significantly starting next year — if voters approve it first.
The Florida Legislature passed HJR 1F this session, sending a constitutional amendment to the November 2026 ballot that would raise the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, then to $250,000 the year after. It needs 60% approval to pass.
What the Amendment Actually Does
Florida's current homestead exemption shields the first $50,000 of a primary residence's assessed value from most property taxes. HJR 1F would raise that shield to $150,000 next year, then $250,000 the year after — a five-fold increase from today.
There's an important carve-out: the expanded exemption would not apply to the portion of your tax bill that funds K-12 public schools. School levies are constitutionally protected in Florida, so this amendment works around them rather than through them. That means the actual savings on your total bill will be smaller than a simple "$250,000 exemption" headline suggests — expect meaningful relief on the county and municipal portions of your bill, not the school portion.
The amendment also lowers the annual assessment cap on non-homesteaded properties (rentals, second homes, commercial) from 10% to 5%, slowing how fast their taxable value can climb each year.
Who Benefits Most
The exemption is a flat dollar amount, not a percentage, so it helps owners of lower- and mid-value homes proportionally more than owners of expensive ones. A $200,000 home with a $250,000 exemption owes county/municipal property tax on effectively nothing; a $900,000 home still owes tax on $650,000 of value.
Renters see no direct benefit — the exemption only applies to owner-occupied homestead property.
What Local Governments Are Saying
Florida's cities and counties rely heavily on property tax revenue, and a jump this large — especially stacked on top of the existing Save Our Homes assessment cap — means real budget pressure for services that aren't school-related: police, fire, roads, parks. Expect local governments to lobby hard against this between now and November, and expect the messaging fight to focus on what services might get cut versus how much a typical homeowner actually saves.
What Happens Next
The amendment needs 60% voter approval on the November 2026 ballot — a high bar in Florida, where several past tax measures have fallen just short of that threshold. If it passes, the $150,000 tier takes effect for the 2027 tax year, with the full $250,000 following the year after.
If you own a home in Florida, this is worth tracking closely between now and the election — not just for the eventual tax bill impact, but because the ballot language itself has already become contested (a Leon County judge was asked this month to rule on whether the amendment's wording is misleading to voters). How that plays out could affect whether this even reaches voters in its current form.
Sources: MultiState Insider, News4Jax