Florida's 2026 Property Tax Measure, and What It Does Not Change
Program and regulatory figures verified September 19, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Florida voters decide this on November 3, 2026. Until then it is a proposal, and treating it as settled law is the fastest way to plan a move around a benefit you do not have.
Status first, because it decides everything else
House Joint Resolution 1-F, sponsored by Senator Bryan Avila, passed the Florida Senate on June 2, 2026 and goes on the November 2026 general election ballot. Florida constitutional amendments need 60% voter approval. Nothing below is law today, and none of it changes a 2026 tax bill.
We are flagging it because people planning a Florida move right now are being told otherwise, and because the December 31, 2026 residency line inside the proposal has a real effect on anyone timing a relocation.
What it would do if approved
- A homestead exemption on non-school levies of $150,000 beginning January 1, 2027.
- Rising to $250,000 on January 1, 2028, and indexed to inflation each year after.
- Available to people who are Florida residents on or before December 31, 2026. Later arrivals would get $50,000 for four years, then become eligible for the larger exemption.
- No application to ad valorem taxes levied by school boards.
- The cap on annual assessment increases for non-residential property drops from 10% to 5% starting January 1, 2027.
Those figures come from the Senate President's office release of June 2, 2026, which is the primary source for what the resolution contains.
Why this does not retire portability
This is the part worth being careful about, and it is where we expect most of the confusion to land.
An exemption and an assessment cap are different machines. The proposed super exemption would be subtracted from your assessed value. Save Our Homes portability changes what your assessed value is, by carrying forward the accumulated difference between just value and assessed value from your prior homestead. One reduces the base; the other reduces what gets taxed after the base is set. They work together.
So a homeowner who concludes that a larger exemption makes portability irrelevant, and lets the portability window lapse, would be giving up the benefit that is often worth considerably more, in exchange for one they would have received anyway. On a long-held Florida homestead the accumulated assessment difference can approach the $500,000 transfer ceiling. That is a bigger number than the proposed exemption, and unlike the proposal, it exists today.
The date that affects a move in progress
If the measure passes, the proposal draws its line at Florida residency on or before December 31, 2026. People arriving later would start at $50,000 for four years. For anyone already planning a Florida relocation around the turn of the year, that is a genuine input, with the obvious caveat that it only matters if voters approve it.
We are lenders and not tax advisers, and questions about residency, domicile and timing belong with a Florida CPA or attorney. We raise it because it changes the payment we would underwrite, and because a borrower who hears about it in February has lost the option.
What we tell clients right now
Plan on current law. Current law gives a $25,000 exemption against all levies plus an additional $26,411 against non-school levies for 2026, and gives portability that has existed since 2008. If the measure passes, your position improves. Building a purchase around a benefit that has not been voted on is a different thing entirely.
The rule that is settled, and that most Florida buyers are getting wrong today, is on the portability page.
Homestead eligibility, portability claims and landlord notice requirements are legal and tax questions. Your CPA, a Florida attorney, and your county property appraiser own those answers. We flag them because they change the numbers we underwrite.
Frequently asked questions
Is Florida's $250,000 homestead exemption law?
No. It is a proposal. HJR 1-F passed the Florida Senate on June 2, 2026 and goes to voters at the November 3, 2026 general election, where a constitutional amendment requires 60% approval. If approved, the non-school exemption would be $150,000 from January 1, 2027 and $250,000 from January 1, 2028.
Would the 2026 measure replace Save Our Homes portability?
No, and this is the most consequential misunderstanding around it. An exemption is subtracted from assessed value. Portability changes what the assessed value is, by transferring your accumulated assessment difference from a prior homestead. The two stack. Letting a portability window lapse because a larger exemption may be coming would usually mean giving up the larger of the two benefits.
Does the proposal affect school taxes?
No. As passed by the Senate, the measure does not apply to ad valorem taxes levied by school boards. School district levies would continue to be calculated as they are now.
What happens if I move to Florida after December 31, 2026?
Under the proposal, new residents arriving after that date would receive a $50,000 homestead exemption for four years, and would become eligible for the larger exemption afterward. This applies only if voters approve the amendment. Residency and domicile questions are for a Florida CPA or attorney rather than a lender.
What is the Florida homestead exemption today?
For 2026, $25,000 against all levies including school taxes, plus an additional $26,411 against non-school levies on value above $50,000, for a total of $51,411 on a fully qualifying home. The additional exemption is indexed to inflation under Amendment 5, approved by voters in November 2024.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. Homestead eligibility, portability, and landlord-tenant rules change and depend on your facts; your county property appraiser, your CPA or a Florida attorney, and your real estate agent each handle their own part. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.