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Bradenton · Manatee County
Florida Amendment 3 Passed. Here's What It Actually Means If You're Buying in Bradenton.
Posted November 4, 2026 · Ian Brooks-Miller, REALTOR®, Wagner Realty
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Start here
Florida voters approved Amendment 3 on November 3. The headline everywhere is a $250,000 homestead exemption. That number is real, but it does not do what most of the coverage implies, and two of the provisions underneath it matter far more to anyone buying here next year. This is the plain reading, taken from the constitutional text rather than the headlines.
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01 · What passed
What did Florida Amendment 3 actually do?
Amendment 3 came from CS/HJR 1-F, a joint resolution the Legislature passed in June 2026 and filed with the Secretary of State on June 16. It amends Article VII of the Florida Constitution and, if the results are certified as reported, takes effect January 1, 2027. Here is what the text does.
| Provision |
What the text says |
| Homestead exemption, school levies |
$25,000 — unchanged. |
| Homestead exemption, all other levies |
$150,000 beginning January 1, 2027; $250,000 beginning January 1, 2028. |
| Annual assessment cap, non-homestead property |
Drops from 10% to 5% beginning January 1, 2027, for levies other than school district levies. |
| People who become Florida residents after 2026 |
A reduced exemption — $25,000 school, $50,000 other levies — stepping up to the larger figure in the fifth year. |
Source: text of CS/HJR 1-F (2026F), amending Art. VII, ss. 4, 6 and 9, Fla. Const. Verify current language at leg.state.fl.us.
That table covers the provisions that affect a buyer or owner directly. The amendment does more than this — it also restricts what counties and municipalities may spend remaining property tax revenue on, and sets up a procedure for local governments to grant further relief. Those are real and consequential, but they are local-government questions rather than carrying-cost questions, so they are outside what this post covers.
02 · The correction that matters
Does the $250,000 exemption cut my school taxes?
No. The new exemption applies to every levy except school district levies, and the ballot summary says so in as many words: it exempts the first $250,000 of a homestead's value from taxation "for all levies other than school district levies." The school exemption stays at $25,000, exactly where it has been.
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Why this is the part to get right
School millage is a substantial share of a Manatee County tax bill, and this amendment does not change the school-tax exemption. That is narrower than saying your school taxes cannot change — millage rates are set by the taxing authorities every year, independently of this. Some of the early coverage described the exemption as applying to all property taxes, which is not what the text says. What stays the same is the school-tax exemption rule, not your school tax bill. That bill can still move with reassessment and with the millage the taxing authorities set each year — and if you are buying, it moves with the reset in assessed value too. Your Property Appraiser can show you the actual split on any specific parcel, and that is the number to work from rather than a statewide headline.
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The other thing worth noticing: the full $250,000 does not arrive in 2027. The text phases it — $150,000 in 2027, $250,000 in 2028. Note that this runs on tax years, not on your closing date. Florida homestead eligibility generally depends on ownership and permanent residency as of January 1 of the applicable tax year, so a buyer who purchases later in the year generally becomes eligible for the following tax year, provided all the requirements are met. Which exemption amount applies to you, and in which year, is a question for the Property Appraiser about your specific situation.
03 · Second homes and rentals
What changes if you own a second home or an investment property?
This is the provision getting the least attention and it may be the most structurally significant one in the amendment. Property that is not your homestead — a second home, a seasonal condo, a rental, most investment property — has had its assessed value capped at a 10% annual increase for non-school levies. Amendment 3 lowers that cap to 5%, beginning January 1, 2027.
The text applies it to residential property of nine units or fewer and to other real property, for levies other than school district levies. For an owner holding through a period of rising assessments, halving the rate at which the assessed value can climb compounds year over year.
If you own a second home on the island, a seasonal place you rent part of the year, or a small rental here, this is the line in the amendment that concerns you — not the homestead headline, which does not apply to you at all.
04 · If you are relocating
What if you're moving to Florida in 2027?
Not every 2027 buyer is affected — but if you are new to Florida, you do not get the big exemption right away. The condition in the text is about residency, not simply about when you buy: it applies to a person who takes title on or after January 1, 2027 and who had not maintained a permanent residence in Florida as of December 31, 2026. Someone already homesteading in Florida who moves house in 2027 is in a different position from someone arriving from out of state.
For a qualifying new resident, the exemption is $25,000 against school levies and $50,000 against other levies — not $250,000. The larger exemption becomes available beginning with the fifth year of the reduced exemption. You will see this described both ways in coverage: the Senate's own summary says $50,000 "for four years, after which they will be eligible" for the larger amount, which is the same rule counted from the other end. Four years at the reduced figure, larger exemption from the fifth.
Read that against the coverage. A family relocating from out of state and closing in Bradenton in, say, March 2027 is reading national headlines about a quarter-million-dollar exemption that will not apply to them for years. The carrying cost on the house they are looking at is meaningfully different from the one they have in their head, and the national coverage is not drawing that distinction.
One provision worth knowing if you are planning years ahead: beginning on or after January 1, 2030, a county or municipality may decide by a two-thirds vote of its governing body that a reduction to the five-year requirement is warranted for a critical local need. That is a local option, not a statewide entitlement, and nothing says any particular county will use it. But it means the five years is not necessarily fixed forever everywhere.
If you are relocating here, this belongs in your budget conversation before you write an offer, not after. It sits alongside the other carrying costs people underestimate in Florida — insurance, flood, and the fact that a seller's homestead exemption and accumulated assessment cap do not transfer to you. My guide to moving to Bradenton covers the rest of that picture.
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From Ian
I am not a tax professional and this is not tax advice. What I can tell you is which questions to ask and who to ask them of. On anything specific to a parcel, the Manatee County Property Appraiser is the authority, and they will walk you through your actual numbers.
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05 · Honest uncertainty
What is not settled yet?
A constitutional amendment sets the framework. The administrative detail follows in implementing statutes and Department of Revenue guidance, and anything written today can be overtaken by those — so check for current guidance before you rely on the finer points. Three things are worth understanding as you do:
| 01 |
How the inflation adjustment shows up in practice. The rule is set: the larger exemption is adjusted annually for positive inflation growth beginning January 1, 2029, and the new-resident amount beginning January 1, 2028. Note "positive" — it is an upward adjustment. What remains to be seen is purely administrative, in how the adjustment is published and applied each year. |
| 02 |
How the residency condition is administered in edge cases. The rule itself is clear enough — the reduced exemption runs four years and the larger one begins with the fifth. What is not spelled out is how it is applied to people whose circumstances are not tidy: a move between Florida homes, a change in who holds title, a part-year arrival. Those are administration questions for the Property Appraiser. |
| 03 |
How this sits alongside portability and Save Our Homes. To be clear, existing portability rules continue to apply unless and until the law changes — the ability to carry accumulated assessment savings to a new homestead is not suspended by this amendment. What is not spelled out is how that machinery and a much larger exemption interact in particular situations, which is a question for the Property Appraiser on your own facts. |
I would rather tell you these are open than guess at them. As additional implementing legislation or Department of Revenue guidance becomes available, I will review this article and update it where necessary.
06 · What to do now
Does this change what you should do if you're buying or selling here?
Probably less than the headlines suggest — and be skeptical of anyone telling you to rush or wait because of it. A few things are worth knowing:
If you already homestead here, the non-school portion of your exemption grows in 2027 and again in 2028. That should be applied by the Property Appraiser rather than requiring anything from you, but eligibility varies and it is worth confirming with their office rather than assuming.
If you are relocating from out of state, the residency date of December 31, 2026 is the one in the text. Whether that changes anything about your plans is a question for your tax professional, not for me, and I would be wary of anyone in real estate who tells you otherwise.
If you are buying a second home or a rental, the lower assessment cap is the provision that touches you. One thing to understand about it: a cap limits how fast an assessed value can climb while you hold the property. It does not carry over to you from the seller. A qualifying change of ownership generally triggers a reassessment at just value, and the cap then applies going forward from there. So do not read a seller's capped assessment as the number you will inherit.
Either way, the practical step is the same one I give every buyer: build a real carrying-cost picture for the specific address before you write, not a statewide average. Taxes at the reset value, insurance, flood, and any HOA or CDD obligation. The home buyers guide walks the whole process, and I am glad to pull the numbers on any particular house.
Questions
Amendment 3 questions, answered
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Does Florida Amendment 3 lower my school property taxes?
No. The new homestead exemption applies to all levies other than school district levies, so the school-tax exemption rule is unchanged. That is narrower than saying your school taxes cannot change — a school tax bill still moves with assessed value and with the millage the taxing authorities set each year, and for a buyer it also moves with the reset in assessed value on purchase. Since school millage is a substantial share of a Manatee County tax bill, the headline figure describes a smaller change to your total bill than it may appear to. Ask the Manatee County Property Appraiser for the levy breakdown on a specific parcel.
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When does the $250,000 homestead exemption take effect?
It phases in. The constitutional text sets $150,000 beginning January 1, 2027 and $250,000 beginning January 1, 2028, in both cases for levies other than school district levies. The amendment itself takes effect January 1, 2027. Note this runs on tax years rather than closing dates — Florida homestead eligibility generally depends on ownership and permanent residency as of January 1 of the applicable tax year, so a buyer who purchases later in the year generally becomes eligible for the following tax year, provided all requirements are met.
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Do I get the full exemption if I move to Florida in 2027?
Not right away. The condition is about residency rather than simply about when you buy. It applies to a person who takes title on or after January 1, 2027 and who had not maintained a permanent residence in Florida as of December 31, 2026. That person gets $25,000 against school levies and $50,000 against other levies, and the larger exemption becomes available beginning with the fifth year of the reduced exemption. The Senate's own summary describes the same rule as $50,000 for four years, after which the larger amount becomes available. One further wrinkle: beginning on or after January 1, 2030, a county or municipality may decide by a two-thirds vote of its governing body that a reduction to the five-year requirement is warranted for a critical local need — a local option, not a statewide entitlement. Confirm your own situation with a tax professional and the Property Appraiser.
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How does Amendment 3 affect second homes and rental property?
The homestead exemption does not apply to non-homestead property at all. What does apply is the annual assessment cap: for levies other than school district levies, the limit on how much the assessed value of non-homestead property can rise each year drops from 10 percent to 5 percent beginning January 1, 2027. The text covers residential property of nine units or fewer and other real property. Important caveat for a buyer: a cap limits growth while you hold the property and does not transfer from the seller. A qualifying change of ownership generally triggers a reassessment at just value, with the cap applying from there.
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Is Amendment 3 final, or can it still change?
The constitutional language is set by the text voters approved and takes effect January 1, 2027, subject to official certification of the results. The administrative detail follows in implementing statutes and Department of Revenue guidance, so check for current guidance before relying on the finer points. The headline amounts and dates are not in doubt. Existing portability rules also continue to apply unless and until the law changes — this amendment does not suspend them.
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How much will Amendment 3 save me?
That depends entirely on your parcel - its assessed value, your taxing authorities and their millage, which exemptions you already hold, and whether the property is homesteaded at all. Anyone quoting you a single statewide number is guessing. The Manatee County Property Appraiser can show you the levy breakdown on a specific property, and a tax professional can tell you what it means for you.
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