Amendment 3 Draws a Residency Line Through Boca Raton: What the December 31 Cutoff Means for Buyers Arriving Next Year

"Persons who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026, will receive the existing homestead exemption upon qualifying for a homestead exemption, with the increased homestead exemption beginning with the fifth year of exemption, to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution."

That is the second sentence of the official ballot summary for Amendment 3. The first sentence carries the headline numbers. If voters approve the measure on November 3, the homestead exemption for non-school taxes would rise to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments after that. The amendment would take effect January 1, 2027.

For anyone planning a move to Boca Raton, the date in that second sentence matters more than either number. If the amendment passes, two owners of identical homes on the same street could get different exemptions for years. What separates them is whether each was a Florida resident on the last day of 2026, not when either one bought. Florida already has a lock-in under Save Our Homes. This would add a second one.

The date on the ballot is not a closing date

The House Final Bill Analysis for HJR 1-F, dated June 16, 2026, spells out the mechanics. Owners who were not permanent Florida residents on December 31, 2026 would get a five-year homestead exemption on the first $50,000 of assessed value. That breaks down to $25,000 for school levies and $50,000 for non-school levies. After that they would receive the same exemption as permanent residents. According to the Property Appraiser, the newcomer's $50,000 non-school amount would be adjusted for inflation each year starting in 2028. For comparison, qualifying homeowners in 2026 can receive up to $51,411 in total: $25,000 that applies to all levies, including school taxes, plus $26,411 for non-school taxes.

The two official documents describe the wait differently. The House analysis frames it as five years of Florida residency. The ballot summary says the increased exemption begins "with the fifth year of exemption." Those two descriptions are not the same, and the Legislature would have to settle the difference in implementing law. The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser notes that lawmakers would need to adopt procedures for portions of the amendment, and that current law stays in effect unless voters approve it.

Residency is not something a buyer simply declares. The same House analysis describes homestead residency as a fact-based decision made by the property appraiser. Factors listed in the document include a declaration of domicile, employment, where children attend school, prior residency and when it ended, voter registration, a Florida driver license or ID, vehicle tag, the address on federal tax returns, bank records, and utility payments. In a July 21 analysis, the Florida Policy Institute pointed out that the amendment does not explain how a person who owns no Florida property would establish residency by the cutoff.

Three owners, one Boca Raton house

The table below shows how the provisions would fall on three different owners if the amendment passes. Save Our Homes and portability are unchanged by Amendment 3, according to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser.

The first row is the lock-in Florida already has. Under Save Our Homes, a homestead's assessed value can rise no more than 3% a year after its first homestead year. The gap between market value and assessed value builds up as the owner's benefit. When a property changes hands, it is reassessed at just value, so a buyer can face a higher assessed value than the seller had, as the Florida Department of Revenue explains.

The second row shows the in-state mover's advantage. Through portability, eligible owners can transfer up to $500,000 of their Save Our Homes benefit to a new Florida homestead. If Amendment 3 passes, a family moving up within Boca would bring both that benefit and the larger exemption to the new house.

The third row gets neither. A buyer relocating from out of state already starts at just value with no benefit to transfer. Under Amendment 3, that buyer would also wait several years for the larger exemption.

What the gap looks like on the city line of a Boca bill

In its October 2 explainer, the Palm Beach Post worked through a Boca Raton example. The home has a $500,000 taxable value and the city rate is $3.65 per $1,000 starting October 1. At that rate, the city portion of the bill would drop from about $1,641 to about $1,277 in 2027 if the exemption triples from $50,000 to $150,000.

Now apply that example to the table above. The Post's baseline uses a $50,000 exemption, which matches the newcomer tier. So in 2027, a newcomer on that tier would stay near $1,641 for the city portion, while a resident neighbor would be near $1,277. In 2028, an exemption of $250,000 at the same $3.65 rate would bring the resident's city portion to roughly $913. Because of the inflation adjustment, the newcomer would come in slightly under $1,641, which still leaves a gap of roughly $700 a year on the city line alone. These are straight-line calculations at today's rate. They leave out every other taxing authority and assume the rate does not move.

That last assumption is weak. Amendment 3 would not raise the school-tax exemption, which stays at $25,000. The Property Appraiser's Office projects that Boca Raton would lose about $8.2 million in revenue in 2027. City spokesperson Ileana Olmsted told the Post that the city "has not determined any specific changes that would result from any property tax reform, although options have been discussed."

Estimates for the county vary depending on who is counting and what they assume. Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks told WPTV that the county's own revenue loss would be about $324 million. In projections reported by the Sun Sentinel, she put combined losses for the county and its special taxing districts at more than $400 million in 2027 and nearly $600 million in 2028. The Post's county figure is $248 million across fiscal years 2028 and 2029, assuming current millage and no growth in property values.

According to Florida TaxWatch, statewide property tax levies have more than doubled over the last ten years even though the average millage rate fell 10.9%. The group also reports that total property taxes collected have fallen year over year only once in at least 50 years, during the stretch from FY2007-08 to FY2012-13. TaxWatch's view is that exemptions limited to some properties shift taxes onto others more than they cut them. The groups it says absorb that shift include people moving to Florida, first-time owners, renters, businesses, and second-home owners.

Investors and second-home owners face a different provision

Owners of duplexes, seasonal condos, and other non-homestead property would not get the larger exemption at all. For them, the change is in the annual cap on assessment increases, which would fall from 10% to 5%. The Property Appraiser's Amendment 3 calculator is built for homesteaded properties and does not estimate this part of the amendment. TaxWatch says the lower cap "may help to slightly mitigate the tax shift to non-homestead properties," but will not reduce taxes for properties that have already taken the brunt of recent increases.

For investors, the effect is mostly about forecasting. A lower cap would put a ceiling on how fast an assessment can climb between purchases. It would not lower what a property is assessed at today, and it would not change the reset to just value when a property sells.

Two things could still erase the line

The first is the vote. Amendment 3 needs at least 60% approval. October polling has been inconsistent:

• St. Pete Polls for Florida Politics, October 5 to 7, 836 likely voters: 42% support, 35% oppose, 23% undecided. Among voters who had decided, support was 55%.
• Targoz for the James Madison Institute, September 28 to October 4: 63% support, 21% oppose, 15% undecided among likely voters.
• Mason-Dixon for NBC 6 and Telemundo, September 28 to October 1, 625 likely voters: 55% yes, 26% no, 19% undecided, as reported by the Sun Sentinel.
• McLaughlin & Associates for AIF, September 28 to October 1, 800 likely voters: 53% support and 28% opposed after respondents heard the full measure, according to Florida Politics.

UCF political scientist Aubrey Jewett told the Sun Sentinel that "it's probably going to be close," and that "60% is a pretty significant threshold."

The second is the residency rule itself. TaxWatch reports that in 1982 the Florida Supreme Court struck down a similar five-year waiting period for an increased homestead exemption, writing that "it is constitutionally prohibited for this state to impose different taxes on its citizens based solely on their length of permanent residence in the state." TaxWatch reads the phrase "to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution" in the ballot summary as an acknowledgment of that question. If the amendment passes, the residency line could still change before the first newcomer reaches the five-year mark.

A few direct questions

Does Amendment 3 change Save Our Homes or portability? No. According to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, the amendment does not change Save Our Homes, portability, or existing personal exemptions.

Is the cutoff tied to the purchase date? The ballot summary ties it to whether a person is a Florida resident on December 31, 2026. Under current law, residency for homestead purposes is decided by the property appraiser based on the facts of each case.

Can I estimate my own change? Owners who already have a homestead exemption can use the Property Appraiser's calculator. Its results are estimates, not an official tax calculation.

This post is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Please confirm how residency, exemptions, and any ballot outcome apply to you with a qualified tax professional or attorney and the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office.

If you are weighing a Boca Raton purchase in 2027, the tax bill you inherit is now part of comparing one home with another. The Weppner Group can walk you through recent assessment histories on the homes you are considering and bring in the right tax advisors as the ballot outcome becomes clear. Schedule a private consultation with The Weppner Group.