What Will Your Property Taxes Actually Be After You Buy?
The seller’s tax bill is the most misleading number in a Florida listing. Assessments reset to market value the January after you close, so budget off YOUR bill, not theirs. Pick your county and see the real number.
Your purchase
Updated November 4, 2026 for Amendment 3, which voters approved on November 3 (about 62% yes, unofficial). From the 2027 tax year the homestead exemption on non-school taxes rises to $150,000, then $250,000 in 2028; school taxes keep the $25,000 exemption. The yearly cap for non-homestead property drops from 10% to 5% on non-school taxes. What changes and when.
Your estimate
Your next five years: the cap, and recapture
After the reset, Florida caps how fast your assessment can rise. If market values rise faster than the cap, a gap opens between market value and assessed value. If values then go flat or fall, the assessment keeps climbing by the cap until that gap closes. Appraisers call this recapture, and it is why a tax bill can rise in a year when home values fell. Uses the county, price and homestead answer above.
Approximate. Market paths are illustrations, not forecasts. The homestead (Save Our Homes) cap applies to all levies and is the lower of 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, set each year. Without a homestead, the cap applies to non-school levies only (10% a year, falling to 5% from the 2027 tax year under Amendment 3); school taxes follow full market value. Homestead years from 2027 use the Amendment 3 non-school exemption ($150,000 in 2027, $250,000 from 2028, held flat here although it is indexed to inflation from 2029). Millage is held at today’s county-typical rate, which taxing authorities can change every year. New construction, additions and exemption changes are not modeled. Want the full story? Read why Florida tax bills rise when values fall. Already own? Split this year’s increase into recapture and millage with the recapture calculator.
Amendment 3: when your payment drops, and what a local tax response would cost you
Uses the county, price, homestead and residency answers above. Shows your bill under the old exemption and under Amendment 3 for the 2027 and 2028 tax years, when an escrow analysis would pick up the lower bill, and what a local millage increase or new flat fee would do to your saving.
Approximate. Assessed value is held at your price and millage at today’s county-typical rate; real bills add city, special-district and non-ad valorem lines. Escrow timing assumes your servicer projects the next year from the last bill it paid, pays the November bill from escrow, and keeps a two-month cushion; servicers vary, and a surplus of $50 or more is refunded within 30 days of the analysis when the loan is current (Regulation X, 12 CFR 1024.17). Local rate and fee changes are what-if tests, not forecasts; under SB 4-F a rate above the rolled-back rate needs a two-thirds vote, and above 110% of it a unanimous vote or referendum. The math by county is in can your city take back your Amendment 3 savings?
Why the reset catches buyers
Florida caps how fast an assessment can rise while one owner holds a home: 3% a year with a homestead exemption, 10% without (5% on non-school levies starting with the 2027 tax year, under Amendment 3). A seller who bought years ago can be paying taxes on an assessed value far below what you are paying for the house. The moment you buy, that history is erased — on the next January 1 the property is reassessed at market value, and your first full-year bill is built on your price, not their past. Lenders often escrow off the seller’s old bill in year one, which is why so many Florida buyers get a payment-shock letter in year two. To see how wide the gap between neighbors gets, county by county and under Amendment 3, read same street, four tax bills.
Common questions
Can my city take back my Amendment 3 savings with a higher tax rate?
Mostly not on a homestead. After the $250,000 non-school exemption applies in 2028, most homesteads have little non-school taxable value left, so a rate increase adds little to the bill. In the median Florida county, one extra mill costs a typical recently bought homestead about $56 a year in 2028 and a non-homestead home of the same value about $306. A flat fee is different: it applies in full to every parcel. The Amendment 3 panel above tests both on your price.
Why will my property taxes be higher than the seller pays?
Florida assessments are capped while someone owns a home, at 3% a year with homestead under Save Our Homes and 10% without (5% on non-school levies from 2027 under Amendment 3). When you buy, the cap resets and the assessed value returns to roughly market value, so a longtime owner's low bill tells you little about yours.
When do property taxes reset after buying in Florida?
January 1 of the year after your purchase. For the rest of the closing year you effectively inherit the seller's assessment, prorated at closing; the new, higher assessment shows up on the following year's TRIM notice.
Does the seller's Save Our Homes cap transfer to me?
No. Their cap and their accumulated benefit end with the sale. If you are moving from another Florida homestead you may bring your own benefit with you through portability, up to 500,000 dollars.
How is my new bill estimated here?
Purchase price stands in for the new assessed value, minus the homestead exemption if you will file it, times your county's verified typical millage with the school and non-school split applied correctly. Municipal and special-district rates vary within counties, and CDD assessments are separate.
Can I lower the bill?
File your homestead exemption by March 1, bring portability if you had a prior Florida homestead, and check for other exemptions such as veteran or senior additions. The homestead cap then limits future assessment growth to 3% a year.
Does Amendment 3 change my property taxes after I buy?
Yes, if the home will be your homestead and you are a permanent Florida resident by December 31, 2026. Voters approved Amendment 3 on November 3, 2026. From the 2027 tax year the homestead exemption on non-school taxes is $150,000, rising to $250,000 in 2028, while school taxes keep the $25,000 exemption. The reset to market value after a purchase still happens. For second homes and rentals, the yearly cap on non-school assessment increases falls from 10% to 5%. Your 2026 bill does not change.
Why can my property tax go up when my home value goes down?
Because of recapture. Under Save Our Homes, a homestead's assessed value rises each year by the cap (the lower of 3% or the change in CPI, 2.7% for 2026) until it catches up with market value, even in a year when market value falls. Non-homestead property works the same way with a cap on non-school levies: 10% a year, falling to 5% from the 2027 tax year under Amendment 3. The cap still keeps the assessment at or below market value, and millage changes can raise or lower the bill on top of that.
Go deeper on Florida property taxes: the Save Our Homes estimator, portability if you are moving within Florida, your county’s guide under property taxes by county, the county move calculator for the full monthly picture, and why Florida tax bills can rise when home values fall.
<a href="https://movewithmomentum.com/tools/florida-property-tax-after-purchase">Florida Property Tax After You Buy: Reset Calculator (2026) — Momentum Realty</a>Estimates only. Purchase price is used as a proxy for the new assessed (just) value; appraisers set actual values and they can differ from price. County typical millage is verified against adopted budgets but municipal and special-district rates vary within counties; CDD and non-ad-valorem assessments are separate and additional. Homestead exemption modeled under current law through the 2026 tax year (25,000 dollars on all levies plus up to 25,000 dollars more on non-school levies) and under Amendment 3 from the 2027 tax year (25,000 dollars on school levies; 150,000 dollars on non-school levies in 2027 and 250,000 dollars from 2028, per unofficial November 3, 2026 results and News4JAX and Bay News 9 reporting of November 3 and 4, 2026). Buyers who become Florida residents after December 31, 2026 are modeled at the existing exemption. The five-year projection uses illustrative market paths, a user-set homestead cap (2.7% for 2026 per the Martin County Property Appraiser’s Save Our Homes 2026 notice), the non-homestead cap on non-school levies (10%, then 5% from the 2027 tax year under Amendment 3), and constant millage; it is an approximation, not a forecast or a tax quote. Verify your values with your county property appraiser. Not tax or legal advice. Equal Housing Opportunity.