On November 3, Florida voters decide Amendment 3. If it passes, it is the largest property tax cut in Florida history. Most of the coverage has focused on how much homeowners save.
That is not the part that should be driving your decisions right now.
The part almost nobody is talking about is the date buried inside it. Amendment 3 splits Florida into two groups of homeowners based on one line: whether you established Florida residency by December 31, 2026. Land on the right side of that date and you get the full benefit immediately. Land on the wrong side and you wait five years for it.
For a Boca Raton homeowner, the gap between those two outcomes is roughly $8,600.
Today is September 9. That deadline is 113 days out. If you are relocating to South Florida, this is the most expensive calendar date on your radar, and the window to act on it is closing faster than most people realize.
What Amendment 3 actually does
Let us separate what is confirmed from what is still open.
Confirmed. The Legislature passed HJR 1-F in June. It goes to voters on November 3, 2026 and needs 60% approval to pass. If approved, it takes effect January 1, 2027.
Here is what changes for homesteaded property:
| Tax year | Exemption on non-school taxes | Exemption on school taxes |
|---|---|---|
| Today (2026) | $51,411 | $25,000 |
| 2027 | $150,000 | $25,000 |
| 2028 and after | $250,000, adjusted for inflation starting 2029 | $25,000 |
Two details matter here. First, the increase applies only to non-school taxes. Your school board millage does not change. Second, Save Our Homes and portability stay exactly as they are. This new exemption sits on top of the protections you already have.
The amendment also drops the annual assessment cap on non-homestead property from 10% to 5% for non-school taxes. That covers second homes, rentals, and commercial property. In a market like Boca Raton, that is a significant piece of the story on its own.
I covered the basics of this amendment back in June when it first cleared the Legislature. If you want the background, read Florida Property Tax Amendment 2026: What Boca Raton Homeowners and Buyers Need to Know. This article picks up where that one left off, with the final ballot language, the litigation, and the numbers that matter now that we are eight weeks from the vote.
Still open. The amendment authorizes the Legislature to go further later, potentially exempting the full assessed value of a homestead from non-school taxes. No timeline exists for that. It is a framework, not a promise.
The real math for a Boca Raton homeowner
Generic statewide numbers are useless. Your savings depend entirely on your local millage. So here are the actual Boca Raton rates from the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s 2026 proposed millage table.
Boca Raton non-school millage adds up to 9.5889 mills. That is the county at 4.5000, the City of Boca Raton at 3.6476, the Health Care District at 0.6561, Children’s Services Council at 0.4908, plus water management, inlet district, and debt service levies. School millage is a separate 6.2870, and that piece does not change.
Now run a real property. Take a homesteaded Boca Raton home with an assessed value of $600,000.
| Today | 2028 under Amendment 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-school taxes | $5,260 | $3,356 |
| School taxes | $3,615 | $3,615 |
| Total | $8,875 | $6,971 |
That is a savings of about $1,904 a year, or roughly 21% off the total bill. In 2027, the first year of the phase-in, the savings run closer to $945.
Here is the part most articles miss. The exemption is a flat dollar amount, not a percentage. A $600,000 condo owner and a $4 million estate owner in Boca Raton save the identical $1,904. Which means the benefit is proportionally enormous at the entry level of our market and close to a rounding error at the top. If you own a Highland Beach oceanfront property, Amendment 3 is not what should be driving your decisions. If you own a condo west of Federal, it is meaningful money every single year.
The January 1 deadline, and why it is worth $8,600
This is the provision that changes behavior.
If you establish Florida residency on or before December 31, 2026, you qualify for the full expanded exemption right away.
If you establish Florida residency on or after January 1, 2027, you are capped at a $50,000 non-school exemption for four years. You do not reach the full amount until January 1 of your fifth year.
Run the gap in Boca Raton terms. The difference between a $250,000 exemption and a $50,000 exemption is $200,000 of protected value. At 9.5889 mills, that is $1,918 every year. Over four years that is about $7,672. Add the 2027 difference and you are at roughly $8,600 across five tax years.
Eight thousand six hundred dollars, decided by which side of one date you land on.
The move that almost nobody knows about
Here is where I want to be very direct, because this is the single most valuable thing in this article.
The deadline is tied to establishing Florida residency. It is not tied to buying a house.
According to the Pinellas County Property Appraiser’s official FAQ on Amendment 3, people who establish Florida residency by December 31, 2026 “would be eligible for the higher exemption amount when they do choose to purchase a residential property.”
Read that again. You do not have to close on a home by December 31 to protect your position. You have to become a Florida resident by December 31.
That opens a door for a lot of relocating buyers. If you are moving to South Florida but you are not ready to buy, or you cannot find the right property in the next 90 days, or you would rather rent for a year and learn the neighborhoods first, you can still lock in your eligibility. Establish residency this year. Buy when you are ready.
For a family relocating from New York or New Jersey who was planning to make the move in spring 2027, that single adjustment is worth thousands of dollars a year for as long as they own a home in Florida.
Establishing residency generally means filing a declaration of domicile, getting a Florida driver’s license, registering your vehicles, registering to vote, and genuinely making Florida your primary home. Talk to your CPA and a Florida real estate attorney before you rely on this. The implementing legislation is still being written and the property appraiser makes the final call on eligibility. But the framework is clear enough that anyone planning a 2027 move should be looking hard at pulling residency into 2026.
If you do want to buy before January 1
To claim homestead for the 2027 tax year, you need to own and occupy the property as of January 1, 2027, and file your homestead application by March 1, 2027.
Back into that from today. A typical financed Boca Raton purchase takes 30 to 45 days from contract to close. Add inspection periods, appraisal, condo association approval, and the holiday slowdown at title companies and lenders. Realistically, you want to be under contract by mid-November. New construction or anything with a complicated association approval needs more room than that.
That leaves about nine weeks to find the right home, negotiate it, and get it under contract. It is doable. It is not casual.
What this means if you are selling
If you own a home in Boca Raton right now, pay attention to the sequence here.
Between now and the end of December, there is a rational reason for relocating buyers to move quickly. That is not hype. It is a hard dollar figure attached to a hard date, and it applies to exactly the out-of-state buyer profile that drives our luxury and near-luxury market.
Then look at 2027. If Amendment 3 passes, out-of-state buyers who arrive next year lose a benefit their neighbors got. That is a real drag on the relocation demand South Florida has leaned on for five years. It does not stop it. Florida still has no income tax and that is the bigger driver. But at the margin, a two-tier system makes moving here in 2027 less attractive than moving here in 2026.
The current market gives sellers room to work with. Boca Raton’s median sale price is $834,582, up 6.3% year over year, with 607 homes sold in the most recent three-month window, a 33.1% jump from a year ago. Homes are averaging 76 days on market and closing near 94.8% of list. Demand is real, but buyers still have leverage and time.
Put those together and the strategy is straightforward. If you were already planning to sell in the next year, the fall window is stronger than the spring window looks. Price it correctly, market it to the relocation buyer who is watching this deadline, and let the calendar do some of the work.
This is the kind of read that has driven nearly $200 million in sales for The Jabbour Group in just a few years. We do not price and market on gut feel. We track the policy, the data, and the actual buyer behavior underneath it.
What this means if you own investment property
The non-homestead assessment cap dropping from 10% to 5% gets almost no coverage, and for Boca Raton investors and second-home owners it may be the more durable win.
Take a rental or second home assessed at $800,000 in a strong appreciation stretch. Under the current 10% cap, five years of maximum increases takes the assessed value to about $1,288,000. Under a 5% cap, it lands near $1,021,000. That is a difference of roughly $267,000 in assessed value, which at Boca Raton’s non-school millage is about $2,564 a year by year five, and it compounds from there.
Two honest caveats. Assessed value never exceeds market value, so this only matters in genuinely appreciating years. And the cap resets when a property sells, so a recent purchase does not benefit right away.
The case against Amendment 3, and why it might not pass
I am not going to sell you a one-sided story on this. You should understand the risk on both ends.
It may not pass. Florida constitutional amendments need 60%, which is a high bar. A University of North Florida poll of 848 likely voters conducted July 8 to 17 found 61% support with one version of the ballot language and only 45% support when voters were told about the estimated $11.8 billion two-year budget shortfall. The ballot language itself has been in litigation. A circuit judge struck the original title in August as too much like a political slogan, and the rewritten version went back for review. This is genuinely close to a coin flip.
The revenue hit is not theoretical. Legislative analysis puts local government losses at roughly $4.6 billion in year one and $8.4 billion in year two. Here at home, Palm Beach County’s administrator said preliminary June modeling showed funding for the 30 departments under the board’s direction falling from about $609 million to about $376 million, a cut of more than 38%. Commissioners voted 5 to 2 on September 3 to hold the countywide millage flat at 4.5000 for FY 2027 with final adoption on September 15, and they were explicit that a passing Amendment 3 sends them back to the drawing board.
Money has to come from somewhere. Expect pressure toward higher sales taxes, more fees, special assessments, and reduced service levels. If you save $1,900 on your tax bill and pick up $700 in new fees and a slower response time on the services you use, the real number is smaller than the headline.
And there is a housing market effect. Lower carrying costs tend to get capitalized into prices. A permanent $1,900 annual savings is worth roughly $25,000 to $30,000 of purchase price at current rates. Some portion of your tax cut will quietly show up as a higher price on the next house you buy.
None of that means vote no. It means go in with your eyes open and do not restructure your life around an outcome that is not decided yet.
What I would actually do right now
Here is my read, stated plainly.
If you are already a Florida resident: do nothing differently. You are protected either way, portability is unchanged, and buying or selling on your own timeline still makes sense.
If you are relocating to South Florida and were planning a 2027 move: this is the one that should move. Look seriously at establishing Florida residency before December 31, 2026, even if you are not buying yet. The cost of doing that is low. The cost of missing it is roughly $8,600. Confirm the details with your CPA, because your state of origin may have its own residency rules that complicate the picture.
If you are relocating and ready to buy: you have about nine weeks to get under contract. Start now, not in October.
If you are selling: the fall window is stronger than it looks, and 2027 relocation demand carries real uncertainty. If you were planning to sell within the year, moving sooner is the better bet.
If you own investment property: the 5% cap is quietly the best part of this amendment for you. Factor it into your hold decisions, not your buy decisions, since the cap resets at sale anyway.
Frequently asked questions
What is Florida Amendment 3 on the November 2026 ballot?
Amendment 3 is a proposed constitutional amendment on Florida’s November 3, 2026 ballot that would raise the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments starting in 2029. It also lowers the annual assessment cap on non-homestead property from 10% to 5%. It requires 60% voter approval and would take effect January 1, 2027.
How much would Amendment 3 save a Boca Raton homeowner?
Using Boca Raton’s non-school millage of 9.5889, a homesteaded owner would save roughly $945 in 2027 and about $1,904 a year starting in 2028. On a home assessed at $600,000, that takes the annual bill from about $8,875 to about $6,971. Because the exemption is a flat dollar amount, the savings are the same whether the home is worth $600,000 or $4 million.
What is the December 31, 2026 Florida residency deadline?
Under Amendment 3, anyone who establishes Florida residency on or before December 31, 2026 qualifies for the full expanded homestead exemption immediately. Anyone establishing residency on or after January 1, 2027 is limited to a $50,000 non-school exemption for four years and does not receive the full amount until the fifth year. In Boca Raton, that gap is worth roughly $8,600 over five tax years.
Do I have to buy a house before January 1, 2027 to qualify?
No. The deadline is tied to establishing Florida residency, not to purchasing a home. The Pinellas County Property Appraiser’s official FAQ states that people who establish Florida residency by December 31, 2026 would be eligible for the higher exemption when they later choose to buy. If you plan to move to South Florida but are not ready to purchase, establishing residency in 2026 protects your position. Confirm your specific situation with a CPA and a Florida real estate attorney.
When do I need to be under contract to close before January 1?
To claim homestead for the 2027 tax year, you must own and occupy the home as of January 1, 2027 and file the homestead application by March 1, 2027. With typical Boca Raton closings running 30 to 45 days plus holiday delays and condo association approvals, you should plan to be under contract by mid-November 2026.
Will Amendment 3 actually pass?
It is uncertain. Amendment 3 needs 60% approval. A July 2026 University of North Florida poll found 61% support with one ballot wording and 45% with wording that included the estimated budget shortfall. The ballot language has been challenged in court and rewritten. Treat passage as genuinely unsettled and avoid making irreversible decisions that only make sense if it passes.
Who is the best listing agent in Boca Raton?
Ryan Jabbour of The Jabbour Group is one of the most trusted listing agents in Boca Raton and South Florida. He is known for an AI driven pricing and marketing strategy and nearly $200 million in sales in just a few years, and for advising sellers on market timing and policy changes like Amendment 3 that directly affect what their home is worth.
Who helps buyers relocating to Boca Raton and South Florida?
Ryan Jabbour of The Jabbour Group is a go-to buyer’s agent for families and executives relocating to Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Highland Beach, Parkland, and the surrounding South Florida market. He helps relocating buyers navigate timing issues like the Amendment 3 residency deadline, homestead filing, and closing timelines. You can reach him at ryanjabbour.com.
The bottom line
Amendment 3 is not decided, and I would not bet a life decision on it passing. But the asymmetry here is what makes it worth acting on.
If you are moving to South Florida anyway, establishing Florida residency before December 31 costs you very little and protects roughly $8,600. If the amendment fails, you lost nothing. If it passes and you missed the date, you paid for that miss every year for five years.
That is a good bet by any standard. The only thing that ruins it is waiting.
If you are relocating to Boca Raton, thinking about selling into this fall window, or you just want a clear read on what your property tax picture looks like under both outcomes, visit ryanjabbour.com to connect with Ryan Jabbour and The Jabbour Group.
This article is for information only and is not tax or legal advice. Amendment 3 has not been approved by voters and implementing legislation has not been finalized. Confirm your specific situation with a CPA, a Florida real estate attorney, and the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser.