Everyone is talking about the homestead exemption. The same amendment quietly proposes cutting the annual assessment cap on non-homestead property from 10 percent to 5 percent starting in 2027. If you own a Florida second home, rental, or investment property, that changes your taxable value path. See what it means in dollars over time.
| Year | Value 10% | Value 5% | Tax diff |
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The November 3, 2026 property tax amendment is best known for raising the homestead exemption. But the homestead exemption only helps primary residences. For the millions of Florida second homes, rentals, and investment properties, the real lever is the non-homestead assessment cap, and the amendment proposes cutting it from 10 percent to 5 percent starting in 2027 (Fox Business; propertyexemption.com).
The assessment cap limits how much your taxable value can rise in a single year, no matter how fast the market moves. Today, a non-homestead property's assessed value can climb up to 10 percent a year. A 5 percent cap would hold that increase to half the pace when values are rising quickly. Over several years of a strong market, that gap compounds into a meaningfully lower taxable value, and a lower tax bill, than the 10 percent cap would have produced.
You enter your current assessed value, an assumed annual growth rate, your non-school millage, and a horizon. The tool grows your taxable value each year by the smaller of your growth rate and the cap, under both the 10 percent and the proposed 5 percent rules, then applies your millage to each to estimate the annual tax. The difference, summed across the horizon, is the cumulative effect of the lower cap. Because the cap only binds when value rises faster than the cap rate, the tool will honestly show little or no difference in a slow market, and a growing gap in a fast one.
First, the cap applies to non-school taxes. School district taxes are levied on full market value regardless of the cap, which is why the tool asks for your non-school millage rather than your total rate. Second, this is a projection built on an assumed growth rate, not a forecast of your actual assessment. Real assessed values are set by your county property appraiser each year. Pull your current assessed value and exact millage from your county property tax page, and use the investment property calculator for the full return picture.
If a property is actually your primary residence, or could be, the homestead exemption and the Save Our Homes 3 percent cap are usually far stronger protections than the non-homestead cap. The decision depends on your residency, your other properties, and your plans. If you are weighing converting a second home to a primary residence, check the timing on the homestead deadline checker, because the expanded exemption has its own December 31, 2026 residency cutoff.
Disclaimer: This calculator is an educational projection based on the inputs you provide and on the proposed amendment (HJR 1F), which is contingent on voter approval on November 3, 2026. The assumed growth rate is not a forecast, the cap applies to non-school taxes only, and actual assessed values are set by your county property appraiser. This is not tax or investment advice. Confirm your assessed value and millage with your county property appraiser. Momentum Realty is a licensed real estate brokerage, not a tax advisor.
Jon spent years in real estate investment banking before building Momentum. Talk to our team about how the proposed tax changes, insurance, and the buyer's market line up for your portfolio.
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