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Florida Property Tax · Status Tracker

Florida Property Tax Amendment: Will It Pass?

The biggest property tax cut in a generation is on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Its own sponsor has stepped back from the campaign, a lawsuit is challenging the wording, and the cost estimate keeps climbing. Here is where it stands, updated as it moves. No spin, and no recommendation on how to vote.

Measure
CS/HJR 1F (Amendment 3) homestead exemption
On the ballot
November 3, 2026 · needs 60% to pass
Sponsor
DeSantis will not formally campaign for it (June 29, 2026)
Ballot-language lawsuit
Hearing set for July 29, 2026, Leon County
See what you would save: the amendment calculator →
Planning a move? Check the December 31, 2026 residency deadline. Own a second home or rental? See the 10% to 5% non-homestead cap calculator. Want the plain mechanics? Read what the amendment actually does.

Where it stands right now.

The amendment is on the November 3, 2026 ballot and needs 60% to pass. Three things have made that less of a sure thing. On June 29, 2026 the Governor who proposed it said he will not formally campaign for it, because the version the Legislature passed is not his plan. A lawsuit filed June 11 is challenging the ballot wording, with a hearing set for July 29. And economists now estimate the cut would pull roughly $12 billion a year out of local budgets by 2031, up from an earlier $8.4 billion. The core cut is unchanged and still large, so this is a real question rather than a settled outcome. Until voters decide, current law governs your bill.

DateWhat happened
May 27, 2026DeSantis unveils the Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes plan and calls a special session.
June 2, 2026Legislature passes CS/HJR 1F (House 75-26, Senate 30-9) and sends it to the November ballot.
June 11, 2026Lawsuit filed in Leon County challenges the ballot title and summary as misleading.
June 24, 2026DeSantis signs SB 4F, the separate law changing how local governments set millage.
June 29, 2026DeSantis says he will not formally campaign for the amendment.
July 29, 2026Court hearing on the ballot language, set before counties print ballots.
November 3, 2026Statewide vote. 60% approval needed to pass.
January 1, 2027If approved, the changes begin: $150K exemption for 2027 and $250K for 2028, the 10% to 5% non-homestead cap, and the five-year residency wall.

What the June 29 news does and does not mean.

What it means
The amendment's own sponsor is stepping back. There is no state-funded campaign behind it, since lawmakers also stripped the $5.5 million the administration wanted for promotional mailers.
What it does not mean
The measure is still on the ballot. DeSantis says he will still vote for it and that it helps taxpayers. Stepping back from campaigning is not the same as pulling the amendment.
What it means
The Legislature cut parts of his plan. A path to a future $500,000 exemption and a state trust fund to backfill local budgets are both gone.
What it does not mean
The core cut is intact. The $150,000 and $250,000 exemptions and the lower 5% non-homestead cap are unchanged on the ballot.
What it means
The cost estimate has grown to roughly $12 billion a year by 2031, which gives opponents a concrete number to run on.
What it does not mean
A property tax cut still tends to poll well with voters. Passage is uncertain, not doomed.
What it means
The lawsuit could force a rewrite of the ballot title and summary at the July 29 hearing.
What it does not mean
A ruling for the plaintiffs would not remove the amendment from the ballot. It would send the language back to be rewritten.

What the lawsuit can and cannot do.

On June 11, 2026, a nonprofit called Save Our Voters From Misleading Ballot Language, joined by two former mayors, filed suit in Leon County Circuit Court. They are not fighting the tax cut. They are challenging the words voters will read, arguing the title "Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes" is a campaign slogan rather than a neutral description, and that the summary implies public services stay fully funded when local governments would absorb a large revenue cut. A judge has set a July 29 hearing, before counties print ballots. If the plaintiffs win, the Attorney General has to rewrite the title and summary. A ruling for them would not pull the amendment off the ballot. We quantify the local revenue tradeoff for all 67 counties on the county impact page.

What this means for you.

The politics are loud, but your decision is simple, and it does not depend on how the vote goes. If you are weighing whether to make Florida your permanent residence, the date that matters is December 31, 2026. Be a permanent resident with homestead by then and you are on the right side of the five-year wall if the amendment passes. Establish a homestead on or after January 1, 2027 and you are held to about the old $50,000 exemption for five years. If the amendment fails you have lost nothing by establishing residency, and if it passes, missing the date can cost thousands of dollars a year. Check where you stand with the homestead deadline tool, then run your savings in the amendment calculator.

Common questions.

Will the Florida property tax amendment pass?
It needs 60% voter approval on November 3, 2026. Passage is less certain than it was. The Governor who proposed it said on June 29, 2026 that he will not formally campaign for it because the Legislature changed his plan, a lawsuit is challenging the ballot wording with a July 29, 2026 hearing, and economists now estimate the cut would reduce local revenue by roughly $12 billion a year by 2031. A property tax cut still tends to poll well, so this is a real question, not a settled outcome.
Why will DeSantis not campaign for the property tax amendment?
On June 29, 2026 the Governor said the version the Legislature passed is not his proposal, so he does not intend to formally campaign for it, though he still says it helps taxpayers and that he will vote for it. Lawmakers stripped his path to a future $500,000 exemption, a state trust fund to backfill local budgets, and $5.5 million for promotional mailers. The core cut stayed on the ballot.
What does the ballot-language lawsuit do?
A suit filed June 11, 2026 in Leon County Circuit Court argues the ballot title and summary are misleading. A judge set a July 29, 2026 hearing before counties print ballots. If the plaintiffs win, the Attorney General would have to rewrite the title and summary. It would not remove the amendment from the ballot.
Does the December 31, 2026 deadline still matter if the amendment might not pass?
Yes. The deadline is about your residency status, not the election result. To get the expanded exemption on the normal schedule you must be a permanent Florida resident as of December 31, 2026. Establish a homestead after that date and you are limited to about the old $50,000 exemption for five years. If the amendment fails you have lost nothing by establishing residency, and if it passes, missing the date can cost thousands of dollars a year for five years.
What happens on November 3 and January 1, 2027?
On November 3, 2026 voters decide the amendment, which needs at least 60% to pass. If approved, the changes begin January 1, 2027: the non-school homestead exemption rises to $150,000 for 2027 and $250,000 for 2028, the non-homestead assessment cap drops from 10% to 5%, and the five-year residency wall applies to anyone who establishes a homestead on or after January 1, 2027.

Sources.

Amendment provisions and the June 2026 special-session vote are from Florida Realtors and the bill record at flsenate.gov. The Governor declining to formally campaign for the amendment, and the provisions stripped from his plan, are reported by WLRN and Florida Phoenix. The roughly $12 billion a year local revenue estimate by 2031 is from CBS Miami. The ballot-language lawsuit, filed June 11, 2026 in Leon County Circuit Court with a July 29 hearing, is reported by Florida Politics and Florida Phoenix. The five-year residency wall for owners who establish a homestead on or after January 1, 2027 is reported by Fox Business. This page is informational and non-partisan. It reports where the measure stands and does not recommend a vote.

Keep going.

Run your own number in the Florida amendment calculator, read the plain mechanics in what the amendment actually does, check the December 31, 2026 residency deadline, see what each county stands to lose on the county impact page, or open your county from the full Florida property tax hub.