There is a date buried in Florida’s November ballot amendment that almost nobody is talking about, and if you are planning a move to Northeast Florida in the next year or two, it may be the single most expensive thing you do not know.
The date is December 31, 2026.
Let me explain what is on the ballot, what the deadline actually does, and why I think most relocation buyers should at least run the math before they decide to wait until spring.
What Is Actually on the Ballot
On June 2, 2026, the Florida Legislature passed HJR 1F, titled “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes.” The House approved it 75 to 26 and the Senate 30 to 9.
That vote did not change your taxes. It put a constitutional amendment on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Florida voters have to approve it by at least 60 percent for any of it to take effect, and if they do, most of it starts January 1, 2027.
Here is what it would do for homesteaded properties, meaning homes where you live as your permanent residence:
- Exempt the first $150,000 of assessed value from non-school property taxes in 2027
- Increase that to the first $250,000 in 2028 and after, indexed to inflation starting in 2029
- Lower the annual assessment growth cap on non-homestead property from 10 percent to 5 percent
For comparison, today’s homestead exemption is $25,000 on all levies plus an additional inflation-adjusted exemption of roughly $25,700 on the assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000, which does not apply to school taxes.
So the jump is substantial. Florida’s Revenue Estimating Conference put the recurring cost to local non-school property tax revenue at about $11.86 billion a year.
The Part That Affects You Specifically
Now the provision I actually want you to see.
The amendment creates a separate, smaller exemption for property owners who are not permanent residents of Florida as of December 31, 2026. Those owners get an exemption on just the first $50,000 of assessed value, split as $25,000 against school levies and $50,000 against non-school levies.
That smaller exemption lasts five years. After five years of Florida residency, you move up to the same full exemption everyone else is getting.
Read that again, because the implication is not subtle. If the amendment passes:
- Establish Florida permanent residency on or before December 31, 2026 and you are in line for the full $150,000 exemption in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028
- Establish it on January 1, 2027 or later and you get $50,000 for five years before you catch up
Two identical houses on the same street, two buyers a few weeks apart, and a five-year gap in how much of the home’s value is shielded from non-school taxes.
What “Permanent Resident” Means to a Property Appraiser
This is where people get tripped up. Buying a house in Florida does not make you a Florida resident. The property appraiser makes a fact-based determination, and Florida statute lists the things they look at:
- A formal declaration of domicile recorded in the county
- Where your dependent children are registered for school
- Where you are employed
- Where you previously lived and when that residency ended
- Florida voter registration matching the property address
- A valid Florida driver license or ID, plus evidence you gave up out-of-state licenses
- Florida license tags on vehicles you own
- The address on your federal income tax returns
- Where your bank and checking accounts are registered
- Proof you are paying utilities at the property
Nobody expects every single item. But the picture has to add up to Florida being your true, fixed, permanent home, not a place you own and visit.
That takes time. Getting a Florida driver license, surrendering the old one, registering vehicles, filing a declaration of domicile, changing your voter registration. None of it is hard, but it is not a same-day errand either.
Why This Changes the Calendar
I work with a lot of buyers who plan around the school year or around selling their current home first. That instinct is usually right. Moving in June is easier than moving in December.
If this amendment passes, that calculus shifts for the 2027 tax year specifically. You are weighing the convenience of a spring move against five years of a materially smaller exemption.
I am not going to tell you the tax provision should override every other consideration. It should not. If you cannot sell your current house, you cannot buy here, and nothing about a ballot measure changes that. If your job does not release you until March, it does not release you until March.
What I will say is that this deserves to be a conscious decision rather than something you discover in a TRIM notice in August of 2027.
The Honest Caveats
A few things I want to be straight about.
None of this is law yet. The amendment needs 60 percent voter approval on November 3, 2026. That is a high bar. Florida has rejected constitutional amendments that polled well. If it fails, the current homestead exemption stays exactly as it is and the December 31 date means nothing.
This applies to non-school taxes. The big new exemption does not touch the school portion of your bill, which is a meaningful share of it. Anyone telling you your property taxes go to zero is oversimplifying.
It does not help vacation homes, rentals, or investment property. Those are not homesteads. They do get the improved assessment cap, dropping from 10 percent to 5 percent annually, which is real but different.
I am a REALTOR, not a tax attorney or CPA. The residency determination is made by the county property appraiser, and the specifics of your situation, particularly if you own property in another state or have complicated domicile questions, deserve professional advice. St. Johns County and Duval County both have property appraiser offices that will answer questions directly.
What I Would Do
If you were already planning to move to Northeast Florida in 2027, I would take a hard look at whether late 2026 is feasible instead. Not because I want to rush you into a purchase, but because the gap between those two timelines may be worth more than anything you would negotiate off the price of a house.
If you are on the fence about Florida entirely, this should not be the thing that decides it. A tax provision is a poor reason to move somewhere you do not want to live.
And if you already own here and are not yet a permanent resident, the residency question is worth sorting out well before December regardless of how you feel about the amendment.
Want me to look at what this would mean for a specific price point in Nocatee, Silverleaf, Beacon Lake, or anywhere else in St. Johns or Duval? Message me and I will walk through the numbers with you, and tell you honestly if I think the timeline pressure is worth it in your situation.