Amendment 3 Saves a Boca Homesteader the Same Amount at Any Price. December 31 Matters More.

If you are closing on a home in east Boca Raton this winter, what will Amendment 3 be worth to you? Florida's general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. At Boca's current rates, the answer for most of this market works out to about the same dollar figure on an $800,000 house and an $8 million estate. The figure that does change from buyer to buyer has little to do with the house. It depends on whether you had a permanent residence in Florida on December 31, 2026, which is the last day of this year.

The line in the amendment that matters most in a 2027 closing

The official ballot booklet from the Florida Department of State puts the provision in plain terms:

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.

The enrolled joint resolution is more exact. An owner who qualifies for homestead on or after January 1, 2027, and "had not maintained a permanent residence in this state as of December 31, 2026," would be exempt up to $50,000 of assessed value for non-school levies and $25,000 for school levies. The larger amount starts in that owner's fifth year of exemption. The text also directs the Legislature to set uniform procedures by general law, so the administrative details are not yet written.

The wording deserves a careful read. The test is whether you maintained a permanent residence in Florida, which is a different question from whether you owned property here. The House staff analysis notes that property appraisers decide residency for homestead purposes on the facts. They may weigh a declaration of domicile, employment, voter registration, driver license, the address on tax returns, bank records and utilities, among other indicators. The same analysis summarizes the rule as five years of Florida residency. The constitutional text counts by year of exemption, and implementing law would settle the gap between the two wordings.

The provision may also be challenged. Florida TaxWatch points out that in 1982 the Florida Supreme Court struck down a similar five-year wait for a larger homestead exemption in Osterndorf v. Turner. TaxWatch says that is why the rewritten ballot summary adds the qualifier about the U.S. Constitution. That summary was itself rewritten after a circuit judge ruled on August 4, 2026 that the original title and summary had to be replaced, as the Florida Phoenix reported.

Why the savings stop growing with price

The new exemption covers a fixed slice of assessed value, so the benefit levels off as values rise. Florida TaxWatch puts the added exemption for any home assessed above the new thresholds at $98,589 in 2027 and $198,589 in 2028. That is the gap between the new limits and today's non-school exemption of $51,411.

To turn that into dollars, multiply by the non-school millage. These are the 2026 final rates for an east Boca parcel inside the Boca Raton Beach & Park District, from the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's 2026 final millage table:

At 10.622 mills, a homesteader assessed above the thresholds would save about $1,047 in 2027 and about $2,109 in 2028, assuming rates stay the same. Those amounts hold whether the assessment is $400,000 or $4 million. School levies, 6.287 mills combined on the same table, get no added exemption beyond the existing $25,000. Special districts differ from parcel to parcel, so your own total may not match this one.

Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks has made the same point about schools. "It's not an elimination of property tax if you're still going to pay school tax," she told the Sun Sentinel, adding that school tax is, for most people, "the largest millage rate you pay." A separate proposal that would have exempted homesteads from all non-school taxes, HJR 203, passed the House in February and died in Senate Appropriations on March 13, 2026. It is not on the ballot.

What the residency date is worth in dollars

In 2028, an established homesteader would exempt $250,000 of non-school value. A buyer who first qualifies in 2027 without a Florida residence on December 31, 2026 would exempt $50,000. On the same east Boca parcel, that $200,000 gap comes to about $2,124 a year at 2026 rates, and it would last until the newer owner's fifth year of exemption.

For a buyer comparing two Boca homes $500,000 apart in price, that is a modest amount. Still, it depends entirely on the buyer's residency history and not at all on the house. The rule is also unsettled until voters decide and lawmakers write the procedures. This post is general information and not legal, tax or financial advice. Residency and homestead questions belong with a qualified tax professional or attorney, and the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser sets out its homestead qualifications online.

Seasonal owners feel the second half of the amendment

A second home or a winter residence that is not the owner's permanent Florida residence does not qualify for homestead at all. For those owners, the amendment's other change applies. It would lower the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property from 10% to 5% for non-school levies.

Florida TaxWatch, which recommends a No vote, argues that the lower cap "may help to slightly mitigate the tax shift to non-homestead properties." It also argues that the system already moves billions in tax burden from homesteads onto everyone else, and that this proposal would widen that gap. How much of that shift reaches a seasonal owner depends on how the city and county respond.

Boca Raton has already put a number on its share

At a City Council workshop on June 9, 2026, Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Jim Zervis presented the city's estimate. Boca Raton would lose about $8.14 million a year in revenue at the $150,000 exemption and about $16.73 million a year at $250,000. The city's summary of the presentation says the current budget year is not affected. Effects would start with the FY 2027-28 budget and phase in over two fiscal years. Staff said the council may need to decide on "service levels, budget priorities, millage rates, fees, or other revenue options."

Countywide, Jacks's office projected that Palm Beach County government could lose about $324 million in 2028, based on the 2025 tax roll. The Sun Sentinel noted that figure would cut into a $609 million budget covering 30 departments. Jacks also told the paper that smaller towns made up mostly of single-family homes, with few other property types, would have the fewest alternatives.

TaxWatch describes one way local governments can recover lost revenue. When added exemptions reduce taxable value, a government's rolled-back rate becomes a "rolled up" rate. A higher millage can then be adopted by simple majority vote without being advertised as a tax increase. If Boca took that route, a higher city millage would hit the full taxable value of every non-homestead property. A homestead owner would feel it only on value above the exemption.

A few direct questions

Does Amendment 3 change anything about my 2026 tax bill? No. If it passes, the amendment takes effect January 1, 2027, and Boca's own analysis puts the first budget impact in FY 2027-28.

How can I estimate my own savings? The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser has an Amendment 3 calculator. It uses 2026 certified values and millage rates to estimate a homesteaded owner's possible savings in 2027 and 2028, as WPTV reported on September 22, 2026. A parcel without a homestead exemption is not eligible for the homestead benefit.

What does it take to pass? At least 60% of the vote, under the Florida Department of State's rules for constitutional amendments.

If you are planning a Boca Raton purchase that will close on either side of December 31, or deciding whether a seasonal home should become your primary residence, The Olive Belcher Team can coordinate the closing calendar with you and introduce you to tax and legal professionals who can answer the residency questions directly. Request a Private Consultation.