ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida voters cleared Amendment 3 on Tuesday, setting up a multi-year cut to non-school property taxes that will hit Orange County tax rolls beginning Jan. 1, 2027, and reshape what homestead owners in Orlando pay.
Nearly complete returns put the measure at roughly 62 percent statewide, just clearing the 60-percent bar Florida requires for constitutional amendments. Supporters pitched it as relief for homeowners squeezed by insurance and living costs, while sheriffs, unions and some legislative leaders warned cities and counties would lose money for police, fire, schools-adjacent services and parks.
For people already living in Florida as permanent residents before the start date, the larger homestead break applies. Amendment 3 lifts the non-school homestead break to $150,000 next year and $250,000 the year after, then indexes the top figure to inflation from 2029 onward. School property taxes are carved out of the new cut.
People who relocate into Florida once the plan is already live get a smaller, temporary homestead break that lasts only five years. After that waiting period, they qualify for the same larger relief other homestead owners receive under Amendment 3. Rental units and second homes still do not receive the homestead benefit.
The amendment also tightens how fast non-homestead assessments can climb, dropping the annual growth cap from 10 percent to 5 percent. Lawmakers are further directed to build a process that could eventually erase non-school homestead property taxes altogether, a mandate critics say will keep pressure on local budgets for years.
Local governments may still spend remaining property tax dollars on public safety, roads and bridges, stormwater and flood control, natural resource projects, bond payments, employee retirement obligations and the day-to-day work of county officers and commissioners. Even so, Orange County and Orlando budget writers are already modeling how much revenue will shift once the 2027 exemption jump lands.
The Florida Realtors Association poured over $20 million into the yes campaign. Industry analysts have said higher exemptions can push sale prices up, while renter advocates note that roughly a third of Florida residents rent and will not see a direct cut. For Orlando homestead owners who stay put through 2027, the first and clearest change is a much larger slice of assessed value shielded from non-school millage.
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Filed under: Orlando FL Politics News
