Florida Amendment 3 Passed: What It Means for Your Property Taxes When You Renovate, Add On or Build

Two days after the election, the question we're already hearing is simple: if property taxes are going down, is now the time to finally build that addition? The honest answer is that Amendment 3 helps, but it doesn't change the rule that matters most for construction, which is how new improvements get added to your assessment. Here is what passed, what didn't change, and how to think about timing a project around it.

What Amendment 3 does

What didn't change: how improvements are taxed

Florida's Save Our Homes rule caps how fast the assessed value of a homestead can rise each year at 3 percent or the change in inflation, whichever is lower. That cap covers the house as it stands. It doesn't cover what you add. Under section 193.155 of the Florida Statutes, changes, additions and improvements to a homestead are assessed at just value, meaning full market value, as of the first January 1 after they're substantially completed, and that amount is added on top of your capped assessment.

• Additions and second stories. The added square footage comes onto the roll at market value. Our post on second-story additions covers the construction side.
• Major remodels. A full renovation that adds value can raise the assessment the same way. Routine repairs are a different matter; ask your property appraiser how a specific project will be treated.
• New homes. A new house on a lot is assessed at market value once it's complete, then capped after you qualify for homestead.
• School taxes still apply. Even when the new exemption covers most of your non-school taxes, the school portion is still calculated above the $25,000 school exemption, so added value still shows up on your bill.

Hurricane hardening: the tax break that still doesn't exist

You'll read online that impact windows, shutters and a stronger roof won't raise your assessed value. Be careful. Florida voters gave the Legislature the power to exclude wind-resistance improvements from assessments back in 2008, but the Legislature hasn't passed a law doing it. A 2025 House bill died in committee, and in 2026 a Senate bill to exclude improvements like roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections, shutters and opening protection passed the Senate 38 to 0 and then died in the House. As of today, those improvements are treated like other improvements.

Two exceptions do exist. Under section 193.624, the value of renewable energy equipment, such as solar panels, inverters and related devices, can't be counted when residential property is assessed. And hardening still pays off in other ways: a wind mitigation inspection can lower your windstorm insurance premium, which for many South Florida homeowners is a bigger number than the tax change.

Rebuilding after a storm

Hurricane Isaias brought hurricane conditions to the Florida Panhandle in October, and South Florida has had heavy, flooding rain this fall. If a homestead is damaged or destroyed by "misfortune or calamity," section 193.155 lets you rebuild without losing your capped assessment, as long as the rebuilt home is no more than 110 percent of the old square footage, or no more than 1,500 square feet in total, and the work starts within three years after the January 1 following the damage. Only the part above those limits is added at market value. Our post on storm damage repairs and insurance claims covers the repair side.

For investors and landlords

• Slower assessment growth on rentals. The cap on yearly assessment increases for non-homestead property drops from 10 percent to 5 percent for non-school levies starting with the 2027 roll.
• Improvements still count. Renovating a rental or a flip adds the improvement's value to the assessment, just as it does on a homestead.
• Buyers moving to Florida. Out-of-state buyers who become residents after December 31, 2026 get the larger homestead exemption only from their fifth year of exemption, which matters if you're pricing a home for that market.
• Portability got broader in 2026. A 2026 tax package lets homeowners transfer their accrued Save Our Homes benefit from any homestead they gave up in the prior three years, not just the one they most recently left.

Should you wait to remodel or build?

For most homestead owners, Amendment 3 makes a remodel or addition cheaper to carry, not more expensive, because more of the non-school tax on the added value falls under the larger exemption. It's rarely a reason to delay a project you need. Two things matter more right now: the 2026 Florida Building Code, which takes over for permit applications on December 31, 2026, and the January 1 assessment date, which decides which tax year your improvement lands in. Our guides to what it costs to build and how long it takes help you plan both.

Tearing down and rebuilding is a different case. The homestead exemption depends on living in the home on January 1, and the storm protection above doesn't cover a voluntary demolition, so a teardown that crosses a January 1 can cost you the exemption and reset Save Our Homes. Our demolition division explains how to plan around that in Amendment 3 and tearing down your Florida home.

The bottom line

Amendment 3 lowers non-school property taxes on homesteads starting in 2027 and slows assessment growth on rentals, but improvements are still added at market value on the first January 1 after they're done, school taxes still apply, and there's no tax break yet for hurricane hardening. For your exact situation, ask your county property appraiser, and for the construction side, tell us about your project. We build additions, renovations and new homes, and install impact windows and doors, across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.