Amendment 3, Explained: What Florida's Property Tax Vote Means for Jupiter Owners

by Matthew Pfohl

One ballot question. Four very different owners.

On November 3, Florida votes on Amendment 3, the property tax measure the Legislature placed on the 2026 ballot. If it passes, it changes how much of a home's value is taxed, and it changes it diffe rently depending on how you live here. Full-time. Part-time. Just arriving. Or as an investor.

Here is what it does, who it touches, and what we are watching in Jupiter, Tequesta and the Palm Beaches.

What is actually on the ballot

Amendment 3 needs 60% of the vote to pass. If it does, it takes effect January 1, 2027, and owners would first see it on the TRIM notices that arrive in August 2027.

A bigger homestead exemption for non-school taxes. The non-school exemption would rise to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then adjust with inflation starting in 2029.
School taxes stay where they are. The $25,000 school-tax exemption does not change. School districts keep taxing on assessed value as they do today.
A tighter cap for non-homestead property. For second homes, rentals and commercial property, the yearly cap on assessment increases would drop from 10% to 5%.
A waiting period for new residents. People who were not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 would start with today's homestead exemption. The larger exemption would begin in their fifth year of homestead.

The Pinellas County Property Appraiser's illustration, using 2025 millage rates, puts typical homestead savings at about $1,203 in 2027 and $2,423 in 2028. Your number depends on your city, your special districts and your assessed value.

If Jupiter is your full-time home

This is the group the amendment is built around. A larger slice of your home's value would be shielded from county, municipal and special-district taxes. Save Our Homes still limits how fast your assessed value can climb.

The open question is local. Counties and cities that lean on residential property for revenue may respond through their budgets and millage rates. A larger exemption on a higher rate is a different outcome than a larger exemption on a flat one. Watch your city's budget hearings next summer, not only the ballot.

If it is your second home

A second home does not qualify for homestead, so the bigger exemption does not apply. What changes is the cap. Today your assessed value can rise up to 10% a year for non-school taxes. Under Amendment 3, that ceiling would be 5%.

In a market where Jupiter's median sale price ran about 18.5% above last year over the three months through August, the cap matters more than it sounds. It does not lower your rate. It slows how fast the taxable value can catch up to the market.

We cover the rest of the carrying-cost picture in Seasonal Homeownership Costs in Palm Beach County and the Second Home Buyer's Guide.

If you are moving here in 2027 or later

Plan on two numbers, not one. For your first four years of homestead you would carry today's exemption. The larger one would begin in year five. If you are weighing a 2026 closing against a 2027 move, that timing is worth a conversation with your CPA.

Our Relocating to Northern Palm Beach County guide walks through the rest of the move.

If you own rental property

Long-term rentals and seasonal rentals are non-homestead. Like second homes, they would see the cap drop from 10% to 5% and no change to the exemption.

For investors buying income property in places like the Village of Tequesta, a lower cap means a more predictable tax line in the pro forma. It is one input, not the thesis. Rents, condition, insurance and the right tenant still decide the return. If you want the hands-off version of ownership, see how we handle property management and our investment work.

What we are watching

November 3. Whether the measure clears 60%.
Summer 2027 budgets. How Palm Beach and Martin County cities set millage once their taxable base shifts.
August 2027 TRIM notices. The first place owners will see the change on paper.
The new-resident clock. How it shapes timing for buyers relocating from New York, Washington and Boston, the metros Redfin's migration data shows feeding Jupiter.

How we think about it

Taxes are part of how you live in a place. They are rarely the reason you choose it. The water, the club, the walk to dinner, the drive to the barn. That comes first.

So we run every purchase both ways. With the amendment and without it. Then we let the lifestyle make the call. If you want that math done for a specific home, start the conversation.

Live with intention.