For years, Florida has offered Americans from coast to coast a free-market alternative for pursuing their careers and raising their families. Since 2020, nearly 1 million more Americans have moved to the Sunshine State than have moved away.
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One consequence of this population surge has been a spike in property values. As a result, homeowners have seen their property assessments and tax bills skyrocket. Since 2019, property tax revenues in the state’s major metro areas have increased by around 50%. In Orange County, they’ve increased by 75%, while the population has risen by 10% over the same period.
These unforeseen costs have placed a big financial burden on ordinary families, especially retirees and those on fixed incomes. According to a survey last year, two-thirds of Floridians worry rising property taxes and costs may force them out of their homes.
Floridians can restore their property tax bills to pre-boom levels and get a much-needed financial break by voting yes on Amendment 3 on Election Day.
This ballot measure would increase the state’s homestead exemption for non-school property taxes from $50,000 today to $250,000 in 2028.
What does this increased tax exemption mean in practice? Around $2,250 in annual property tax relief, around 25%, on a homestead home assessed at $500,000.
Here’s how the math works: Florida’s Department of Revenue suggests the average home pays 7 mills in school taxes and 11 mills in non-school taxes, roughly a 40%/60% split. (The exact tax rate and split vary by county and district.)
That means that under the status quo, a $500,000 homestead home pays about $3,325 in school taxes and $5,000 in non-school taxes for a total property tax bill of $8,325. With the $250,000 Amendment 3 exemption, non-school taxes would drop to about $2,750, for a total tax bill of just over $6,000.
That’s meaningful relief for ordinary families. No wonder a recent poll shows nearly two-thirds of Floridians support the measure.
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Amendment 3 returns Florida to a place where a home is a place to raise a family, a sanctuary to spend your golden years and a financial asset. Not a drain or the government’s ATM.
It prevents local governments from undemocratically increasing taxes on homeowners year after year. It forces them to operate within their means rather than automatically capturing huge funding increases each budget cycle through higher assessments.
Awash with new property tax funds, local governments often haven’t been careful stewards of residents’ tax dollars. For example, Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia’s recent analysis identified more than $300 million in “excessive, wasteful spending” in the county’s 2025-26 budget. In 2023, Orange County paid $250,000 for eight broadband/digital-literacy classes for seniors, which the county comptroller called a “significant overpayment.”
Critics claim Amendment 3 would reduce state and local revenue, but they ignore that budgets need to be rightsized to account for the housing market boom and protect taxpayers from government overspending.
What’s more, these analyses take a static view of the issue and don’t factor in the dynamic effects that would offset revenue loss. If passed, the ballot measure would give families more money to spend in their local economies, helping Main Street and creating jobs. That would mean more sales, corporate, and business property tax revenues.
Amendment 3 would also directly boost the real estate sector and make homes easier to afford. By reducing the monthly payment, Amendment 3 would allow more hardworking Floridians to qualify for a mortgage and start building equity.
Amendment 3 restores property tax fairness, improves affordability, boosts the state economy, and makes Florida an even more attractive free-market state. Every homeowner and potential homeowner should vote in favor of it.
Elaine Parker is president of the Job Creators Network Foundation and a resident of Orlando.
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