What Florida's Rewritten Property Tax Ballot Actually Means for Broward Homeowners

A Leon County judge looked at the ballot language for Florida's Amendment 3 and said the quiet part out loud. The title, "Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes," was not a neutral description. It was a slogan. Judge David Frank ordered it rewritten, and this month the state finished the job.

Here is what actually reaches Broward voters in November now. The ballot title reads "Increased Homestead Exemption, Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments." Less punchy, more accurate. If at least 60 percent of Florida voters approve it, your homestead exemption climbs to $150,000 in 2027, then to $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments after that. Properties without a homestead exemption, think second homes, rentals, and most commercial property, get their annual assessment increase cap cut from 10 percent down to 5 percent.

There is a piece of this that has sheriffs and fire chiefs worried, and in 23 years licensed in this county I have never seen public safety groups organize against a tax cut before. The amendment restricts how cities and counties can spend property tax revenue going forward, limiting it to a defined list: public safety, schools, infrastructure, natural resources, debt service, retirement obligations, and basic operations. The Florida Sheriffs Association, the Florida Fire Chiefs Association, and several local sheriffs have said publicly that the combination of a lower revenue base and a narrower list of allowed uses could strain the services those departments run day to day.

Here is the detail nobody selling you on this amendment is mentioning, and it matters most to anyone moving to Broward. If you are not a Florida resident as of December 31, 2026, you do not walk into the full increased exemption the moment you qualify for your homestead. You start on the current, smaller exemption, and the larger number only phases in by your fifth year of ownership. For a county that has been pulling steady out of state buyers from New York, New Jersey, and California, that is not a footnote. It changes the math on year one, two, three, and four for anyone who buys after this year closes.

None of this touches the TRIM notice landing in Broward mailboxes this August. Amendment 3, if it passes, takes effect January 1, 2027. Nothing changes for this tax year. What changes is the conversation buyers and sellers should be having right now about timing a purchase before or after the residency cutoff, and what a seller's non-homestead investment property might be worth once that assessment cap tightens.

Property tax rules in this state shift on a predictable rhythm, and the pattern always holds. The headline tells you the mood. The fine print tells you the number that actually lands on your bill. If you are weighing a move to Broward before the end of the year, or you are sitting on a non-homestead property and wondering what this cap means for you, reach out and we will run the numbers together.

Roger Averbuj, Broker | Prestige Heritage Realty | (954) 663-8461

Source: Judge orders rewrite of Florida property tax ballot language, Florida Realtors