09/13/2026
If you buy in Florida as your permanent home, homestead is the first paperwork I will nag you about.
Plain English:
• You own it, you live in it as your primary residence as of January 1, you file with the county property appraiser.
• It knocks a chunk off the taxable value — statewide this is in the ballpark of $50,000 (the first $25,000 applies to all property taxes including school; an additional amount applies to non-school taxes and has been adjusted for inflation).
• The bigger deal for a lot of people: Save Our Homes. Once you are homesteaded, your assessed value generally cannot jump more than 3% or CPI, whichever is less, each year. That protection is why long-time Floridians look "cheap" on paper next to a new buyer.
Deadline to file is March 1 (next business day if that falls on a weekend). Miss it, you can lose a year of the benefit.
Now the 2026 wrinkle, said carefully:
Amendment 3 is on the Florida ballot November 3, 2026. It is a proposal. It needs 60% yes. It is not law today.
If it passes, the homestead exemption for non-school taxes would rise to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 — and people who are not Florida residents as of December 31, 2026 would keep the current exemption for their first five years before the larger one kicks in.
I am not telling you how to vote. I am telling you that if you were already thinking about a 2026 move, this is a real timing conversation to have with your CPA and with me, not a Facebook rumor.
Snowbirds: homestead is for permanent residents. A winter place usually does not get this. That is okay. We just buy it with eyes open.
Message me "HOMESTEAD" and I will send the Florida Move Checklist. Bring a CPA for the tax call. I will handle the house and the calendar.
Florida Dept. of Revenue for current homestead rules. Ballotpedia / Florida HJR 1 for Amendment 3 text. Not legal or tax advice.
