Florida voters approve Amendment 3, slashing property taxes on homes

Florida voters approved the most sweeping property tax reform in the state’s recent history, slashing taxes by vastly expanding the homestead exemption for personal residences.

With an estimated 94% of votes counted statewide, 62% of voters had endorsed Amendment 3, clearing the 60% needed for it to pass, according to Decision Desk HQ.

The amendment to the state’s constitution would quintuple the amount of a home's property value that can be exempted from the taxes levied by municipal governments on primary residences.

It would reduce Florida homeowners' tax bills by billions of dollars a year while vastly reducing the budgets of city and county governments.

Municipal leaders and law enforcement officials spent months warning that the amendment would wreak havoc on municipal services, from police and fire departments to library and parks.

But voters made clear that they were eager for relief after years of property tax increases caused by rising home values.

Proposed this year by the state's Republican legislative leaders, the amendment won support from a majority of voters even in the state’s liberal strongholds.

The expansion of Florida’s homestead exemption would affect all property taxes other than those for schools, increasing the exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in the first year and to $250,000 in the second year.

➤STATE RESULTS: Live updates for Florida governor and all state election races

➤CONGRESS RESULTS: Live updates of Senate from Florida, US House races

➤AMENDMENT 3 RESULTS: Live updates of Florida's Amendment 3, and 1 and 2

➤SOUTH FLORIDA RESULTS: South Florida U.S. House Districts 24-28

To benefit from the expanded homestead exemption, Florida residents would need to own the home they live in and be state residents for at least five years.

The amendment required at least 60% of the statewide vote to pass.

Law enforcement leaders, local governments, nonprofits and environmental groups have been warning for months that, if passed, the amendment would hurt the state by undermining public services. Detractors conjured visions of fire station closures, shuttered libraries and neighborhood parks and beaches that charge fees.

Strikingly, Senate President Ben Albritton, who voted to put the amendment on the November ballot, announced last month that he opposed it too and would vote no, citing its potentially deep impacts on small cities and counties.

But many affordability-minded voters said they were in favor of the amendment, ready for any kind of tax cut and that local governments had grown bloated as rising property values goosed their tax coffers.

A decision that could shape Florida's future

Amendment 3 emerged as a reaction to the massive growth in municipal government budgets in recent years, amid steep jumps in property values across the state.

Gov. Ron DeSantis called for more than a year for deep new limits on property taxes, initially proposing that Florida do away with them altogether.

In May he summoned legislators to a special session to pass property tax reform, calling for them to eliminate taxes on homesteaded properties completely.

What emerged from the session was more measured, but it nonetheless triggered alarms among municipal government leaders across the state.

Some analysts saw Amendment 3 as one of the most decisive policy decisions ever put before Florida voters, potentially shaping the Sunshine State for years to come.

Its fate may become a defining piece of the legacy of term-limited DeSantis, who made property tax reform one of the signature political fights of his tenure.

The outcome also could lead to seismic changes in what services cities and counties provide, who pays for them and who emerges as winners and losers.

Some people see the measure as a boon for business. In addition to the expanded homestead assessment, the amendment provides that commercial properties would face no more than an annual 5% increase in assessments, down from the current 10% state cap.

Expanding the homestead exemption would take tax revenue away from cities, counties and special districts. Critics said that’s the real life-changing part for most Floridians.

Economists say we'll lose $12 billion in tax revenue by 2031

Cities and counties would lose $5 billion in tax revenue next year and almost $12 billion by 2031, according to state economists.

Some communities will get hit harder than others. Because the amendment affects residential properties, cities that are heavily residential could lose much more revenue than those with more commerce and industry within city limits.

But all local governments would have to reconsider how they provide everything from public safety to yard-waste pickup, after-school programs, library hours and parks and recreation programs.

The idea of reviewing those expenses is OK with supporters of Amendment 3.

Some said it’s time for local governments to reevaluate what they do, claiming the current homestead exemption, at $50,000, has not kept pace with the increase in property values.

Florida’s homestead exemption was first set at $5,000 in 1934, an amount that shielded most homes from all property taxes. It went up to $25,000 in 1980, keeping about half of homes off the tax rolls, and $50,000 in 2008.

Now, with median home prices topping $400,000 across the state, the $50,000 exemption looks small, some said.

Florida TaxWatch, the business-backed research organization, said local government property tax collections in 2024 were double what was collected in 2014, caused mostly by rising property values.

Proponents point to rising home values and bloated governments

As a sign of bloated government budgets, many have pointed to the high salaries of some municipal government executives, including assistant county administrators making $182,000 in Pinellas County and more than $194,000 in Marion County. In Palm Beach County, 28 county employees were listed earning salaries of at least $279,000.

Florida Realtors and their national association have poured $21.5 million into the “Vote Yes on 3” campaign.

DeSantis had wanted even deeper property tax reductions, calling for cutting school taxes. That provision was rejected by fellow Republicans in the Legislature.

Originally balking at the proposal advanced to the ballot by the Legislature, DeSantis eventually pivated to selling it to voters.

“This is the best single way to give people relief,” DeSantis said at an Oct. 21 roundtable in Miami.

John Kennedy, a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau, contributed to this report.

Amendment 1

Voters narrowly rejected a constitutional amendment that would reform the rules for the state's budget.

Amendment 1 would allow Florida to keep more money in its Budget Stabilization Fund, commonly called the state’s “rainy-day” fund, raising the maximum from 10% to 25% of net general revenue collections. The reserve is designed to give the state a larger financial cushion to draw on during economic downturns, emergencies or other unexpected revenue shortfalls.

Amendment 2

Voters appeared unlikely to approve a proposed constitutional amendment that would extend a property tax exemption to farming equipment.

Amendment 2 would give a property-tax exemption to agricultural equipment and other tangible personal property used in farming or agritourism. The measure is intended to lower costs for farmers and agritourism businesses by removing qualifying equipment from local property taxation.