In Boca Raton, Amendment 3's Tax Cut Depends on When You Became a Floridian

If Florida voters approve Amendment 3 on November 3, the most important date for a Boca Raton buyer won't be the closing date. It will be December 31, 2026. People who are not Florida residents on that day get the existing homestead exemption when they qualify. The larger exemption starts only in their fifth year of exemption, "to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution," according to the ballot summary on file with the Florida Department of State.

The headline terms are well covered elsewhere. For non-school taxes, the homestead exemption rises to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then adjusts for inflation. The annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property drops from 10% to 5%. The amendment needs 60% of the vote, and if it passes it takes effect January 1, 2027. Boca Raton has published its own math, and it shows who receives the cut and whose share of the bill grows.

Where the December 31 line falls

Under the new-resident rules, the exemption is tied to residency, not to the date of purchase. The Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Amendment 3 FAQ says someone who becomes a Florida resident by December 31, 2026 but hasn't bought yet would still get the higher exemption when they later buy and apply for homestead. Someone who becomes a resident on or after January 1, 2027 would start at $50,000, adjusted annually by CPI beginning in 2028. After holding a Florida homestead exemption for four years, that owner would become eligible for the larger exemption on January 1 of the fifth year.

What counts as residency on that date is still unsettled. The appraiser's office says administrative procedures may come through implementing legislation. In a July 21, 2026 analysis, the Florida Policy Institute pointed out that HJR 1-F doesn't define "establish Florida residency" for someone who owns no property, because current homestead law describes permanent residence in terms of a property owner.

Current practice shows what evidence might matter. The Florida Department of Revenue's homestead guide says county property appraisers decide eligibility. They may ask for a Florida driver license or ID, vehicle and voter registration, a declaration of domicile, employer and IRS addresses, utility payments, and proof of when the prior out-of-state residency ended. In a September 2, 2026 alert, lawyers at Bilzin Sumberg listed similar evidence and cautioned that the cutoff is not merely a paperwork deadline.

The savings come in equal dollars, so percentages vary widely

Boca Raton staff took the measure to a June 9, 2026 council workshop and posted the impact analysis on July 17. The presentation uses 2025 tax data to compare four Boca homes. The two standard homesteaded houses get the full $250,000 exemption. The non-homesteaded house and the house with a qualified exemption show no change in their bills.

Both homesteaded houses save the same $2,137. For the 1992 owner, that is a 42.3% cut. For the 2023 owner, it is 16.3%. The city's own note says homesteaded properties with the same taxing agencies benefit by the same dollar amount, and longer-term homesteads benefit by a larger percentage.

The reason is that Save Our Homes has already been holding down the 1992 owner's assessed value for decades. Their house is assessed at $314,185, against $787,475 for the 2023 house. Remove the same flat exemption from both, and the older owner's taxable value falls to $63,463. School taxes don't change in either case. The 1992 owner still pays $1,828 and the 2023 owner $4,820. Leon County's FAQ notes that for most homeowners the school portion is usually the largest part of the bill.

Now consider someone who becomes a Florida resident in 2027 and buys a house like Property 2. Under the new-resident rules, their exemption starts from the existing amount. For their first four years of exemption, their bill would follow the structure of the table's "current" column, not the post-amendment column. The same applies to a buyer who already lives in Florida and is moving within the state. If they become residents after the cutoff, they wait.

As the base shrinks, non-homestead owners carry more of it

The $18,121 bill on Property 3 doesn't change. The share of the city that bill belongs to does. Boca's presentation puts non-homestead property at 59.71% of the city's current taxable value, about $24.87 billion of $41.65 billion. After the amendment, homestead taxable value drops to about $12.19 billion, the total base shrinks 11.01%, and non-homestead property becomes 67.10% of what remains. The city's slide names who that group is: commercial, industrial, snowbird and rental properties.

The city's average figures show the same gap from another angle. A homesteaded single-family house averages $1,401,857 in market value. Today about 55.19% of that is taxable by non-school levies, and after the amendment the figure would be 40.92%. A non-homestead single-family house averages $1,290,670 in market value, and 91.65% of it is taxable.

Second-home owners and investors also get something in return. Their annual cap on assessment increases drops from 10% to 5%. The city lists the revenue effect of that change as "TBD." A seasonal owner in Boca would therefore hold a larger share of a smaller base, with slower growth in their own assessment. The city hasn't estimated how those two effects net out.

The companion bill, SB 4-F, affects what happens next. It changes the maximum millage calculation by removing the per capita personal income growth factor, which further limits future millage growth. Bills will also include charges the amendment doesn't touch. Non-ad valorem assessments for fire rescue, stormwater, solid waste and street lighting are unaffected, according to the city. That's why Property 4's $408 bill stays at $408.

What the city says it would lose

Boca Raton estimates annual revenue losses of $8.14 million at the $150,000 exemption and $16.73 million at $250,000. The effects would start in FY 2027–28 and phase in over two fiscal years. The $16.73 million figure equals 11.56% of the city's property tax revenue and 6.10% of its total general-fund revenue. In the July draft, property taxes were 52.77% of FY 2026–27 general-fund revenue, or $144.68 million of $274.16 million. The August proposed budget puts that share at about 52.47%.

The city also modeled one illustrative way to absorb the full $16.73 million. It would take about $5.31 million from Police Services, $4.99 million from Fire/Rescue and $2.56 million from Recreation Services. None of those are adopted cuts. Other service areas staff listed as possibly affected include recreation programming, street upkeep, library hours, parks maintenance and homelessness response.

For now, the city's tax rate is set. The Boca Raton Tribune reported on September 22 that the council approved a final FY 2026–27 operating millage of 3.6476 mills. The total is 3.6639 mills, including 0.0163 mills for voter-approved debt service. The county is a separate levy with its own math. Palm Beach County estimates a recurring reduction of about $233.3 million a year in County General Fund property tax revenue once the amendment is fully in place. The county says no decisions have been made on services, fees or taxes.

The five-year wait may not hold up

Florida has tried a five-year residency wait before. As the Miami Herald reported in June, a 1980 amendment raised the homestead exemption only for residents who had lived in the state for five years. The Florida Supreme Court struck it down on equal protection grounds. The Herald quotes the justices:

"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."

In the same Herald piece, Robert McNamara of the Institute for Justice said the proposal "looks pretty unconstitutional" at first blush. Senate sponsor Bryan Avila cited a 2000 decision from the 1st District Court of Appeal that upheld a different residency requirement. That case did not address treating established residents differently from one another.

A separate court fight over the ballot language has ended without removing the measure. A Leon County circuit court ordered the ballot title and summary rewritten, and revised language was filed in mid-August. Leon County says the amendment itself was unchanged and remains on the November 3 ballot as Amendment 3. The Department of State lists it as active.

Quick answers

Does Amendment 3 change Save Our Homes or portability? The Pinellas County Property Appraiser says the proposal does not change Save Our Homes or portability. Portability lets an owner move all or part of their Save Our Homes assessment difference from an old Florida homestead to a new one, within the window described in the Department of Revenue's portability guide.

Would homesteaded owners stop paying property tax? No. The exemption applies only to non-school levies, so school taxes and non-ad valorem assessments stay on the bill.

Could local governments go further? Yes. The amendment directs the Legislature to set a uniform process that would let counties and municipalities raise the homestead exemption on their own levies, up to full assessed value.

This post explains how a proposed amendment would work. It is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, so please confirm how it applies to your residency, property and timing with a qualified attorney or tax professional.

If a Boca Raton purchase, sale or second-home hold falls on either side of December 31, Illustrated Holmes can model how the city's figures would affect your carrying costs before you commit. Schedule a private consultation.