Amendment 3 and Miami Beach Property Taxes

On November 3, 2026, Florida voters decide Amendment 3, a change to the state constitution on property taxes. It needs at least 60% of the votes cast on it, and if it passes it takes effect on January 1, 2027. For a Miami Beach owner, which part matters comes down to one question: is the property your homestead — the home you own and live in as your permanent residence — or a second home, a rental or a commercial property? Below is what the amendment would change for each, taken from the ballot summary and the amendment’s enrolled text. Written in October 2026, ahead of the vote.

This is a nonpartisan explainer, not a recommendation on how to vote. We’re a real estate brokerage, not a law firm or a tax advisor.

On this page

• Amendment 3 at a glance
• If it’s your primary home
• If you’re not a Florida resident on December 31, 2026
• If it’s a second home, a rental or a commercial property
• If you’re buying: the cap starts over
• What else is in the amendment
• What would not change
• Frequently asked questions
• Sources
• Work with ReAgent

Amendment 3 at a glance

• On the ballot as: “Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments.”
• To pass: at least 60% of the votes cast on the measure.
• If approved: in effect January 1, 2027.
• Primary homes: the homestead exemption for non-school taxes would rise to $150,000 of assessed value in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.
• New residents: people who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 would start with the existing exemption and receive the increased one beginning with their fifth year of exemption.
• Everything that is not a homestead: the yearly cap on assessment increases would drop from 10% to 5%, for non-school taxes.

If it’s your primary home

Florida’s homestead exemption applies to a home you own and maintain as your permanent residence. Today it takes roughly $50,000 off the assessed value used for non-school property taxes, and $25,000 off the value used for school taxes.

Under Amendment 3, the exemption for non-school taxes would become:

• $150,000 of assessed value, beginning January 1, 2027;
• $250,000, beginning January 1, 2028;
• then adjusted every year for inflation, beginning January 1, 2029, whenever the change in the consumer price index is positive.

Non-school taxes are every levy on your bill other than the school district’s: county, city and special districts. The school-tax exemption stays at $25,000.

Two details help when you read your own numbers. The exemption comes off assessed value, the figure the property appraiser sets after the existing homestead cap — not off what the home would sell for. And it is a fixed amount: the exemption is the same $250,000 whether the home is assessed at $400,000 or at $4 million.

If you’re not a Florida resident on December 31, 2026

The ballot summary says that people who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 will receive the existing homestead exemption when they qualify, with the increased exemption beginning with the fifth year of exemption. The amendment’s text describes the same group as anyone who had not maintained a permanent residence in Florida as of that date.

• First four years of exemption: up to $50,000 of assessed value off non-school taxes, adjusted for inflation from 2028, plus the $25,000 school-tax exemption.
• From the fifth year of exemption: the same increased amount everyone else receives.

The count runs in years of exemption, not years since you arrived: it starts the first year you qualify for homestead on a home you own and live in. The rule turns on Florida residency on December 31, 2026, not on citizenship, so it reaches someone moving from New York the same way it reaches someone moving from another country. If you are already a Florida resident on that date, it would not apply when you later buy a home and move into it.

The text carries two qualifiers. The ballot applies the rule “to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution.” And beginning in 2030, a county or city could reduce the five-year requirement by a two-thirds vote of its governing body, if it finds a critical local need. How residency is established and documented for homestead is a question for the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser.

If it’s a second home, a rental or a commercial property

Property that is not your homestead — a second home, an investment condo, a rental, a commercial building — does not receive the homestead exemption, today or under Amendment 3. What would change for it is how fast its assessed value can rise.

• Today: the assessment can rise at most 10% a year for non-school taxes.
• Under Amendment 3: at most 5% a year, beginning January 1, 2027.

The cap covers non-homestead residential property of nine units or fewer, which includes a condo unit or a house held as a second home or a rental, and all other real property, including commercial property and residential buildings of ten or more units. It applies to non-school levies only: school taxes on non-homestead property are not capped, today or under the amendment.

The cap limits the growth of the assessed value, not the bill. Counties, cities and other taxing authorities still set their millage rates every year, so the amount you owe can still move.

If you’re buying: the cap starts over

This part is not new, but the amendment keeps it, and it matters at the closing table. When a non-homestead property changes ownership or control, it is reassessed at just value as of the next January 1. The capped assessment the seller built up does not carry over to the buyer; from that new base, the yearly cap applies again, at 5% if the amendment passes.

The rule sits in Article VII, section 4(g)(3) of the constitution and section 193.1554(5) of the Florida Statutes for residential property of nine units or fewer, and in section 4(h)(4) and section 193.1555(5) for other property, where a qualifying improvement also triggers it.

In practice, the seller’s current tax bill is not a reliable estimate of yours. When you budget a purchase, plan for the reassessment, not for the seller’s bill.

What else is in the amendment

Local options to go further

The Legislature would have to set, by general law, a uniform procedure for counties and cities to raise the homestead exemption for their own levies, up to the full remaining assessed value. A special district could do the same for its own levy if the district’s voters approve it in a referendum, which could be held no more than once in any 12-month period. Whether Miami-Dade County or the City of Miami Beach would ever use that option is not decided by this vote.

How counties and cities could use property taxes

The amendment would also list what property taxes levied by counties and cities may be used for: public safety, including law enforcement, fire service and emergency medical service; education and public schools; infrastructure, including roads, bridges and stormwater control; natural resource projects, including flood control; local bonds and existing debt service; retirement benefits for local government employees; and the operations and administration of county officers and commissioners and of cities, together with other expenditures those county officers or county or city governing bodies approve, except those prohibited by general law.

What would not change

• Homestead still requires owning the property and maintaining it as your permanent residence.
• Second homes and investment property still receive no homestead exemption.
• The $25,000 school-tax exemption stays as it is.
• The existing cap on a homestead’s assessment, the lower of 3% or inflation each year, is not amended.
• School taxes on non-homestead property stay outside the assessment cap.
• Millage rates are still set locally every year.

Frequently asked questions

Does Amendment 3 eliminate property taxes on homes?

No. It would raise the homestead exemption for non-school taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. School taxes still apply, and assessed value above the exemption is still taxed. Counties and cities could go further for their own levies only through a procedure the Legislature would have to set.

I’m moving to Miami Beach in 2027. When would I get the full exemption?

If you were not a Florida resident on December 31, 2026, you would receive the existing exemption once you qualify, and the increased exemption beginning with your fifth year of exemption, subject to the U.S. Constitution clause in the ballot and to any local reduction from 2030 on.

Would my property tax bill go down?

Not necessarily. The exemption and the cap work on assessed value; the bill also depends on millage rates, which local governments set every year. For a homestead, a larger exemption lowers the value taxed by non-school levies. For other property, the cap limits how fast the assessment can grow.

When would the changes show up?

If approved, they take effect January 1, 2027, the assessment date for the 2027 tax year. The proposed-tax notice Florida owners receive in August and the tax bill that follows in November would be the first to reflect them.

Sources

• The Amendment 3 ballot title and summary, as printed on the 2026 Miami-Dade County general election ballot.
• Florida Legislature, CS/HJR 1-F, enrolled text (2026 special session).
• Florida Senate, bill summary for CS/HJR 1-F.
• Florida Statutes, section 193.1554 and section 193.1555.

Work with ReAgent

Whichever way the vote goes, buying well in Miami Beach starts with the same work: knowing what the property will be assessed at after you buy, what the building costs to own, and what its rules allow. We work North Beach, Mid Beach and South Beach every day. Browse active Miami Beach listings, read our full buyer’s guide, or talk to us before you sign.

ReAgent Realty Brokerage LLC — Miami Beach, Florida.

This article is general, nonpartisan information from a licensed Florida real estate brokerage, written before the November 3, 2026 vote. It is not a recommendation on how to vote, and it is not legal or tax advice. ReAgent Realty Brokerage LLC is not a law firm or a CPA firm. Amounts and dates come from the Amendment 3 ballot summary and the enrolled text of CS/HJR 1-F; how they apply to a specific property depends on facts we cannot see. Confirm your situation with the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser or a licensed tax professional.