On November 3, 2026, Florida voters passed Amendment 3, the biggest change to the state’s homestead exemption in years. The coverage has been loud. The practical question for anyone who owns, or is about to buy, in Miami Beach is narrower: does this actually lower your bill, and by how much. Here is the plain version, with my read on what changes for a primary residence, a second home, and a move to Florida.
The Takeaway
Amendment 3 raises the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes from about $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, then to $250,000 in 2028. School taxes are left out of the increase. The larger exemption is for primary residences only, so a second home or an investment condo does not get it, though both benefit from a lower annual assessment cap. There is also a new residency rule that makes the date you homestead in Florida matter more than it used to. At our price points the dollar savings are real but modest, and the timing is where the planning actually lives.
What Passed
According to the Associated Press, Amendment 3 cleared the 60 percent that Florida requires for a constitutional amendment, finishing at 62 percent. State lawmakers put it on the ballot during a June 2026 special session.
The mechanics are simple enough. The exemption that applies to everything except school taxes climbs to $150,000 next year and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments after that. The school portion, a $25,000 exemption, stays where it is. For scale, the Florida Department of Revenue put the maximum 2026 homestead exemption at about $51,411, so this roughly quintuples it over two years for a qualifying homeowner. None of it touches your 2026 bill. The first step shows up in the 2027 tax year.
One more piece gets less attention and matters here. According to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the yearly cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property falls from 10 percent to 5 percent. That is the lever for second homes, rentals, and commercial space.
The Line That Matters Most in Miami Beach: Primary Residence Only
Here is the part the headlines skate past. The bigger exemption only attaches to a primary residence. If a Miami Beach condo is your second home, it does not qualify for the homestead exemption now, and Amendment 3 leaves that unchanged.
That distinction is not a footnote in South of Fifth. A good share of the buyers I work with keep a primary home in New York, London, or Mexico City and use Miami as their second address. For them, the headline number is not the story. The 5 percent cap is. Holding non-homestead assessment growth to 5 percent a year instead of 10 slows how fast the taxable value of a pied-a-terre can run in a market that keeps climbing, and over a long hold that compounding is worth more than it looks on paper.
If You Are Planning a Move to Florida, the Calendar Now Has Teeth
This is the detail I raise first with relocating buyers. If you were a Florida resident on December 31, 2026, you can claim the expanded exemption once you meet the usual requirements. Become a resident after that date and you start with the existing exemption, then wait until your fifth year of homestead to reach the full amount, within what federal law allows.
So the question is no longer only where you buy. It is when you plant your flag. For someone leaving a high-tax state, establishing Florida residency sooner is now a line item with a number attached, not a vague someday.
What It Actually Saves at a Miami Beach Price Point
I would rather give you the math than a slogan. The exemption comes off the non-school part of your bill, and in Miami Beach that slice runs around 1.1 to 1.3 percent of taxable value, based on the combined non-school millage levied here. Put the full $200,000 increase against that, and once it phases in for 2028 you are looking at roughly $2,400 a year off a homesteaded residence, give or take. Helpful, not life-changing, and a good deal smaller than you would guess if you multiplied the exemption by your total tax rate.
Where the real money has always been at this level is Save Our Homes, the cap that holds your assessed value down year after year once you homestead. The new exemption sits on top of that. For a primary residence you intend to keep, the two together are the reason full-time ownership pencils out better than part-time. For everyone else, the 5 percent cap is the quieter version of the same idea.
Read more: For the broader set of numbers that shape a Miami decision before you buy or sell → Thinking of Selling in Miami? Five Market Numbers to Read First
My Read
Amendment 3 is a win for Florida homeowners, and it strengthens an argument I was already making: if you can make Miami Beach your primary home rather than your winter one, do it, because the tax structure rewards the people who commit. I am not going to oversell it to a second-home owner. Your bill will not shrink, but it should grow more slowly, and in this market slower growth is its own kind of savings. For buyers eyeing a move, I would not assume the benefit waits politely for you. The residency clock started on December 31, 2026. I read these rules the way I read a building, line by line, against what you are actually trying to do.
What Buyers and Owners Are Asking Right Now
Does Amendment 3 cut my taxes on a Miami Beach second home? Not through the homestead exemption, which is for a primary residence only. Your benefit is the lower assessment cap, now 5 percent a year instead of 10, which slows future increases.
I am moving to Florida next year. Do I get the full exemption right away? Usually not if you become a resident after December 31, 2026. You start with the existing exemption and reach the full amount in your fifth year of homestead. Homesteading sooner is what moves that date up.
Will I see this on my 2026 bill? No. The first increase lands in the 2027 tax year.
Work With Carlo Dipasquale
The rules are simple once they are pointed at your own property. If you own, or plan to buy, in South of Fifth or anywhere in Miami Beach and want a precise read on how Amendment 3 touches your primary residence, second home, or move to Florida, connect with Carlo Dipasquale for a private consultation.
FAQ
What is Florida’s homestead exemption after Amendment 3? For non-school property taxes it rises to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, adjusted for inflation afterward. The $25,000 school-tax exemption is unchanged.
Who qualifies for the larger exemption? Owners of a qualifying primary residence in Florida. Second homes and investment properties do not.
What changed for second homes and investment property? The yearly cap on assessment increases drops from 10 percent to 5 percent.
Do new Florida residents get the increase immediately? Not those who became residents after December 31, 2026. They start with the existing exemption and reach the full amount in their fifth year of homestead.
Vote totals are from the Associated Press. Exemption figures are from the Florida Department of Revenue, and the non-homestead assessment cap from the Florida Chamber of Commerce. The savings estimate is illustrative, reflects the combined non-school millage levied in Miami Beach, and depends on your taxable value and your parcel’s specific rate. This is general information, not tax or legal advice, so confirm how the exemption applies to your property with your county property appraiser or a qualified tax professional. Carlo Dipasquale is a real estate agent affiliated with Compass.
