Amendment 3's December 31 Date Is a Residency Test, Not a Closing Deadline

Florida votes on Amendment 3 on November 3, and it needs 60% to pass. For anyone planning a move to Miami, the line that matters is a date. The official ballot summary says: “Persons who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026, will receive the existing homestead exemption upon qualifying for a homestead exemption, with the increased homestead exemption beginning with the fifth year of exemption, to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution.”

What the amendment does

• A bigger exemption on non-school taxes. $150,000 starting January 1, 2027 and $250,000 starting January 1, 2028, adjusted for inflation from 2029.
• School taxes do not change. Only the first $25,000 of a homestead's assessed value stays exempt from school taxes, as today, per the Pinellas County Property Appraiser.
• A 5% cap for non-homestead property. For rentals, second homes, commercial property and vacant land, the annual cap on assessment increases drops from 10% to 5% in 2027, on non-school taxes only. It caps assessed value, not the tax bill.
• Timing. It takes effect January 1, 2027. Pinellas says the change would first show on August 2027 TRIM notices.

That is not the Legislature's original wording, which said anyone establishing residency after January 1, 2027 must wait five years. On August 3, Leon County Circuit Judge David Frank ruled the original title and summary “clearly and conclusively defective,” and Attorney General James Uthmeier submitted new language on August 13. I covered the rewrite in September.

Who counts as a resident on December 31

The joint resolution, HJR 1-F, gives the smaller exemption to a homeowner “who had not maintained a permanent residence in this state as of December 31, 2026.” That person gets $25,000 off school taxes and $50,000 off non-school taxes, indexed to inflation from 2028, and moves to the larger amount “with the fifth year of exemption.” Pinellas reads that as four years on the smaller exemption. From 2030, a county or city could shorten the wait by a two-thirds vote for “a critical local need.”

The test is a permanent residence in Florida on a date. It says nothing about a closing. Pinellas says people who establish residency by December 31, 2026 “would be eligible for the higher exemption amount when they do choose to purchase a residential property and apply for homestead.” The Florida Policy Institute, a critic of the amendment, notes the resolution does not explain what establishing residency means for someone who does not own property, and the Legislature still has to write the procedures. So the renter reading is one property appraiser's view, not settled law.

What “permanent residence” means

Florida Statutes Section 196.012 defines it as the place where a person has a “true, fixed, and permanent home and principal establishment to which, whenever absent, he or she has the intention of returning.” You can have only one, and a residence in another state or country is presumed to continue until you show a change. Under Section 196.015, the property appraiser judges intent, and no single factor decides it. Listed factors include a recorded declaration of domicile, a Florida driver license with out-of-state licenses given up, Florida voter registration at the address, a Florida vehicle tag, your tax return address and utility payments.

Miami-Dade's current rules apply on top of this: title and permanent residence on the property as of January 1, U.S. citizenship or permanent U.S. residency, and an application by March 1. Late filings may need a Value Adjustment Board petition and a $15 fee.

What it means for your move

• Closing before year end. Close, move in and make it your permanent residence before December 31, then file by March 1, 2027. If the measure passes and your residency holds up, you should be in the larger-exemption group.
• Moving now, buying later. Under the Pinellas reading, residency by December 31 counts when you buy. If you rent first, build the record.
• Second-home owners. It only counts if Miami truly becomes your one permanent residence by December 31. A new homestead is also reassessed at just value the following January 1 unless portability applies.
• International buyers. Miami-Dade lists U.S. citizenship or permanent U.S. residency as a homestead requirement.

Will it pass?

The polls disagree. RISMedia reported a Mason-Dixon poll for NBC 6, released October 7, at 55% yes, 26% no and 19% undecided, and three polls summarized by the Sun Sentinel at 63%, 55% and 42%. Sixty percent is hard. In 2022, two property tax amendments won majorities and failed: Amendment 1 at 57.26% and Amendment 3, a homestead exemption for certain public service workers, at 58.68%. More in my October 8 piece.

My read

If you are moving here anyway and can be a Florida resident before December 31, the date may matter. By my arithmetic, once the $250,000 level applies in 2028, a later arrival exempts about $200,000 less of value from non-school taxes than an early resident, before inflation adjustments, in each of their first four years of exemption. I would not rush a purchase to beat a date tied to a vote that may fail. If it fails, nothing changes, and you would have bought on a deadline that did not exist. If you are not ready to buy, a lease plus the residency steps may be enough under the Pinellas reading, but that is not settled, and changing your residence has consequences beyond Florida taxes. This is not legal or tax advice. Confirm your situation with the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser at 305-375-4712 and a tax advisor.