Florida Property Tax Relief in 2026: What Home Buyers and Sellers Need to Know

If you're buying, selling, or moving to Florida, property taxes just became the biggest real estate story of the year. You've probably seen the headlines about "eliminating property taxes." Here's what actually happened, what it means for your next move in Central Florida, and the one property-tax trap that catches almost every new buyer.

On June 2, 2026, the Florida Legislature passed HJR 1, formally titled the "Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes" amendment. The Senate approved it 30–9 and the House 75–26. It now goes to voters on the November 3, 2026 ballot.

Important: this is not law yet. It's a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution. To take effect, it needs at least 60% approval from voters in November. Nothing below changes your tax bill today — it's a preview of what could start in 2027.

What's actually on the ballot

HJR 1 bundles several changes. Here are the ones that matter to a homeowner:

1. A much bigger homestead exemption — on non-school taxes. The exemption that shields part of your home's value from taxation would rise from today's $50,000 to:

• $150,000 in 2027
• $250,000 in 2028
• Indexed to inflation starting in 2029

This applies to your non-school taxes (county, city, and most special districts). It replaces the current exemption for those levies rather than stacking on top of it.

2. School taxes stay exactly where they are. This is the fine print that changes everything. The amendment does not touch school property taxes — those keep the existing $25,000 exemption. In most Central Florida counties, the school portion is the single largest piece of your tax bill, which is why "$250,000 exemption" does not mean "your taxes are gone."

3. A tighter cap on non-homestead assessments. For property that isn't your primary residence — vacation homes, rentals, apartments, commercial and agricultural land — the annual cap on assessed-value increases would drop from 10% to 5%, beginning January 1, 2027. That's a real win for second-home buyers and investors (more on that below).

4. A five-year wait for new Florida residents. Anyone who establishes Florida residency after December 31, 2026 would receive only the current $50,000 exemption for their first five years before qualifying for the larger $150,000/$250,000 amount. If you're relocating, this is the provision to circle.

5. Spending guardrails. The measure directs local governments to use remaining property tax revenue for core functions — public safety, schools, infrastructure, and natural resources.

Why your bill won't drop as much as the headline

Because the school exemption stays at $25,000, the savings come only off the non-school slice of your bill. Here's a representative Central Florida example. (These millage rates are illustrative — split roughly into 4.0 non-school mills and 6.5 school mills. Your actual rates are on your TRIM notice and your county property appraiser's site; check them before relying on any number.)

Homesteaded home assessed at $450,000:

Year	Non-school tax	School tax	Total	Savings vs. today
Today (2026) — $50k exemption	~$1,600	~$2,763	~$4,363	—
2027 — $150k exemption	~$1,200	~$2,763	~$3,963	~$400/yr
2028 — $250k exemption	~$800	~$2,763	~$3,563	~$800/yr

So a $450,000 home saves on the order of $400–$800 a year — meaningful, but not the elimination the headlines imply, because the ~$2,760 school portion never moves.

The math flips for lower-priced homes. A home assessed around $250,000–$300,000 could see its entire non-school tax wiped out once the $250,000 exemption kicks in — those owners would pay only school taxes. That's the basis for the much-debated claim that a majority of Florida homeowners would owe little to nothing on the non-school portion. The benefit is largest at the lower end and shrinks, in percentage terms, as home values rise.

The property tax trap that catches new Florida buyers

Here's the part no amendment fixes — and the single most important thing to understand before you buy a home in Florida.

When a home sells, its assessed value resets to market value. The low, Save-Our-Homes-capped assessment the current owner built up over years does not transfer to you. The county reassesses the property at roughly your purchase price on the January 1 after closing — so your tax bill is based on what you paid, not on what the seller was paying.

That's why the tax figure you see on a listing (or on Zillow) can be dangerously misleading: it's usually the prior owner's bill. A long-time owner might be paying $3,200 on a home that will cost you $6,500 once it's reassessed at your purchase price. Buyers who budget off the listing's number get a genuine "sticker shock" with their first TRIM notice in August.

How to estimate your real bill: ignore the listed taxes. A newly purchased, homesteaded primary residence in Central Florida runs roughly 1.4%–1.6% of your purchase price in year one — higher than the ~1% county average you'll see quoted, because as a new buyer you're assessed at close to what you paid (long-time owners drag that average down). Every listing on our Central Florida map search shows a payment estimate with a tax line based on price, not the old bill, so you can pressure-test affordability before you write an offer. For the deep dive, see Florida property tax sticker shock and our full Florida property tax guide.

The good news: once you're in and homesteaded, the Save Our Homes 3% cap starts protecting you — and if HJR 1 passes, your non-school exemption climbs too.

Moving to Florida in 2026? The five-year homestead wait

This is the provision most likely to surprise people, and it hits MaxLife's relocation buyers directly.

If you move to Florida after December 31, 2026, you don't get the expanded exemption right away. For your first five years of Florida residency, you're limited to the old $50,000 exemption. Your next-door neighbor who's been homesteaded since 2025 could be getting a $250,000 exemption while you're still at $50,000.

It doesn't change the case for moving here — Florida still has no state income tax, and the Save Our Homes cap (below) still protects you. But if you're timing a move, establishing residency and filing for homestead before the 2027 cutoff matters — see our full breakdown of the five-year homestead wait for new Florida residents, and our Florida Homestead Exemption guide for the March 1 deadline.

If you own (or want) a rental or second home

The often-overlooked winner here is non-homestead property. Dropping the assessment cap from 10% to 5% means the taxable value of your vacation rental, long-term rental, or commercial property can grow only half as fast each year. In a market that's appreciated the way Central Florida has, that compounds into real money over a holding period — and it makes Florida investment property a little more predictable to underwrite.

If you're modeling returns on a short-term or long-term rental, that slower assessment growth belongs in your projections. For the full commercial and investment-property breakdown — with a worked multi-year example — see the commercial property tax cap.

What it means for the market — and for sellers

Tax relief that lowers carrying costs tends to support affordability and demand, especially at the entry and mid-price tiers where the exemption does the most. If the amendment passes in November, expect it to be a talking point in 2027 buyer conversations.

But there's real uncertainty between now and then: it still needs 60% of voters, and the dollar amounts only begin phasing in for the 2027 and 2028 tax years. For sellers pricing a home in 2026, this is a tailwind to watch — not a number to bank on yet.

What hasn't changed — relief you can use right now

Don't wait on November to take the relief already on the books:

• The $50,000 homestead exemption — file with your county property appraiser by March 1 for your primary residence.
• Save Our Homes — once homesteaded, your assessed value can rise no more than 3% (or CPI, whichever is lower) per year, even as market value climbs. This cap is not part of HJR 1 and stays in place. Over time it's often worth far more than the exemption itself.
• Portability — moving within Florida? You can carry up to $500,000 of your accumulated Save Our Homes benefit to your next homestead.

For the full mechanics — millage, CDDs, county-by-county rates — see our Florida Property Taxes Explained guide and our breakdown of property taxes in Orange County.

The other side of the debate

This isn't a free lunch, and it's worth understanding the criticism before you vote.

A House staff analysis estimated the change would reduce revenue to non-school local governments by roughly $4.6 billion in the first year, growing to $8.4 billion annually. Opponents — including the Florida Policy Institute — warn that the lost revenue becomes a "cost shift," potentially pressuring local services or pushing other taxes and fees upward. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation has similarly cautioned that leaning away from property taxes can force heavier reliance on less efficient revenue sources like high local sales taxes. Supporters counter that it returns money to families and forces local governments to prioritize core spending.

Reasonable people land in different places. The point of this post isn't to tell you how to vote — it's to make sure you understand what you're voting on.

The bottom line

• HJR 1 is on the November 3, 2026 ballot and needs 60% to pass.
• It raises the non-school homestead exemption to $150,000 (2027) and $250,000 (2028) — but school taxes are untouched, so the savings are partial, and largest for lower-priced homes.
• Relocating buyers face a five-year wait for the bigger exemption if they move here after 2026.
• Investors and second-home owners get a better non-homestead assessment cap (10% → 5%).
• Meanwhile, today's relief — the homestead exemption, the 3% Save Our Homes cap, and portability — is available right now and shouldn't be left on the table.

Thinking about how this affects a specific purchase, sale, or relocation timeline? That's exactly the kind of math we run for clients. Browse Central Florida homes on the map to see real tax estimates by listing, read our moving-to-Orlando guide if you're relocating, or reach out and we'll walk your numbers — no pitch, no pressure.

Figures and provisions are current as of June 4, 2026, based on the enrolled HJR 1 and reporting from the Tax Foundation and Ballotpedia. This is general information, not tax or legal advice — confirm specifics with your county property appraiser or a tax professional.