Florida voters approved Amendment 3 on November 3, 2026. Its most consequential date is December 31, 2026, a deadline tied to when you become a Florida resident rather than to any closing. The ballot summary says that people who are not Florida residents on that date will receive "the existing homestead exemption upon qualifying," and the larger exemption begins "with the fifth year of exemption." For a buyer considering a home on the north end of Orchid Island, that one sentence can be worth more over the first several years of ownership than a few points of negotiation on price.
The measure passed narrowly. WUSF reported that with 99% of the vote in, Amendment 3 had nearly 62% support against a required 60%. It takes effect January 1, 2027.
The Deadline Follows Your Residency, Not Your Deed
Under the amendment, the homestead exemption for non-school taxes rises to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments after that. Not every buyer will receive the same version of that exemption.
The Leon County Property Appraiser's Amendment 3 page, one of the first official explanations posted after the vote, spells out the split. Residents who establish Florida residency by December 31, 2026 "will be eligible for the higher exemption amount when they do choose to purchase a residential property and apply for homestead." People who become residents on or after January 1, 2027 start with a $50,000 non-school exemption, adjusted by CPI beginning in 2028. They become eligible for the larger exemption only after holding a Florida homestead exemption for four years, starting January 1 of the fifth year.
This means someone who becomes a Floridian this December and buys an Ambersand Beach home in spring 2027 can qualify for the larger exemption. Someone who closes on the house next door the same week, but moved their life to Florida in January, starts at the smaller one. Both houses can carry the same price and the same assessed value, and the two owners will still get different tax bills.
The same Leon County page also says the office is "awaiting additional guidance from the State of Florida regarding implementation." The amendment directs the Legislature to set uniform procedures but doesn't say which records prove residency on December 31. Florida's existing homestead law already describes how residency is weighed. Under Section 196.015, Florida Statutes, permanent residency is a question of fact that the county property appraiser decides first. The statute lists relevant evidence, including:
- A recorded declaration of domicile
- Florida voter registration and a Florida driver license
- Florida vehicle registration
- The date prior out-of-state residency ended
- The address on federal tax returns and bank statements
- Proof of utility payments at the Florida address
The state's current homestead application, Form DR-501, asks for dates and evidence in the same categories and says the county property appraiser makes the final determination. The accounting firm Kaufman Rossin has also cautioned that a former home state can challenge a residency claim.
Three Buyers, One House
The table compares three hypothetical buyers of the same Ambersand Beach home, each closing in 2027, using the amendment's text and the Leon County explanation of it.
| Buyer | Non-school homestead exemption, 2027 | From 2028 | School taxes | Assessment cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida resident by Dec. 31, 2026, homesteads the home | Up to $150,000 | Up to $250,000, CPI-adjusted from 2029 | $25,000 exemption | Existing homestead cap |
| Becomes a Florida resident in 2027, homesteads the home | $50,000 | CPI-adjusted $50,000 until year five of exemption | $25,000 exemption | Existing homestead cap |
| Second-home owner, no homestead | None | None | No exemption | 5%, down from 10% |
To see what the gap between the first two rows is worth, you need the millage rate for a parcel up here.
What the Gap Costs at North-Island Millage
The Indian River County Property Appraiser assigns each parcel a tax code. Its map labels Tax Code 1 "County North (With Sebastian Inlet)." The office's final 2026 millage chart puts that code at a combined 14.18030 mills for 2026, slightly below last year's 14.20450. Before using these figures, confirm your parcel's tax code with the Property Appraiser.
That total is made up of several levies, and the new exemption reaches only some of them:
- School taxes. The Indian River County School Board adopted total millage of 5.674 mills for 2026-27. The larger exemption doesn't apply to these.
- County levies. In its July budget workshop book, the county proposed 3.5475 mills for the general fund, 1.1506 for the MSTU, 2.3531 for the Emergency Services District and 0.1238 for the 2024 land acquisition bond. These levies are where the exemption increase does its work.
- Special districts. The Sebastian Inlet District adopted 0.1518 mills for 2026-27 to keep the inlet open for navigation, commerce and recreation. Under the amendment, special districts can extend the larger exemption only with referendum approval.
Subtract the school levy from the Tax Code 1 total and roughly 8.5 mills remain. At that rate, each $100,000 of added non-school exemption is worth about $850 a year. For a home assessed above $250,000, the gap between the first two rows of the table is $100,000 of exemption in 2027 and $200,000 in each of the next three years. At 2026 rates, that adds up to roughly $6,000 over a newcomer's first four years of homestead. Millage changes every year, so read that figure as a scale, not a quote.
None of this changes 2026 bills. The Leon County Property Appraiser says the changes will first appear on the August 2027 TRIM notices and the tax bills mailed in November 2027. As the Tallahassee Democrat put it, homeowners won't see a reduction until 2028, when they pay for the 2027 tax year.
The Second-Home Owner Gets a Slower Cap and a Larger Share of the Bill
Many Ambersand Beach owners use their homes seasonally and will never file for homestead. For them, the amendment lowers the annual cap on assessment increases from 10% to 5%, starting in 2027. Leon County notes that the lower cap limits assessed value, not taxes, and that school taxes remain uncapped and based on just value. For non-homestead residential properties with nine or fewer units, the amended text still requires reassessment to just value after a change of ownership. A buyer still inherits a full market-value assessment at purchase, and the seller's current tax bill still says little about what the next owner will pay.
The county's own budget office had warned about the other side of the change. In July, months before the vote, County Administrator John Titkanich told Vero News that passage would cost the county about $22 million in property tax revenue in fiscal 2027-28 and another $41 million in 2028-29.
"Make no mistake – this is a tax shift. This will shift the tax burden from homestead property owners to non-homesteaded property owners and the owners of nonresidential properties."
In the same Vero News report, Titkanich mentioned a possible reduction of as many as 85 employees and possible consolidation of emergency services stations. He also said the county would evaluate a stormwater utility fee. Those were pre-election projections. Any of them that come to pass will be decided through future budget hearings. A stormwater fee would be a non-ad valorem charge, the kind of line on a tax bill that no exemption or assessment cap affects. Leon County makes the same point: actual bills still depend on millage rates, non-ad valorem assessments and fees set by each taxing authority.
For a second-home buyer comparing an Ambersand Beach house with one elsewhere, a cap that slows the growth of assessed value is a real benefit. The rate applied to that value, and the fees added to the bill, are a separate question that each county budget cycle will answer.
A Few Direct Questions
I'm buying in Ambersand Beach next year but could move my residency now. Does the closing date matter for the higher exemption? According to the Leon County Property Appraiser, residency established by December 31, 2026 carries the higher exemption to a home purchased and homesteaded later. The same page says the office is awaiting state guidance on implementation.
Does the amendment lower my 2026 tax bill? No. The changes first apply to the 2027 tax year.
Is the five-year wait for new residents final? The ballot summary applies it "to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution." The full text is in the state's official ballot document.
This post is general information about a new tax law, not legal, tax or financial advice. Residency and homestead questions depend on your own circumstances, so confirm yours with the Indian River County Property Appraiser and a qualified tax professional.
If you're weighing a move to Ambersand Beach and the December 31 date affects your timeline, we can line up the purchase, the paperwork and the right local professionals so the timing works for you. Janyne Kenworthy works with out-of-state buyers on the north end of the island every season. Let's connect.
