Florida's Legislature approved a constitutional amendment for the November 3, 2026 ballot that raises the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, per the Florida Senate. What I tell relocating buyers is simple: if a Miami purchase will be your primary home, establish residency by December 31, 2026, because newcomers after that wait four years for the full benefit. Verify your homestead status before closing on any 2026 primary-residence deal.
Florida is doubling down on the low-tax pitch that has pulled buyers to Miami for a decade, and this week the move got real. The Florida Legislature approved a constitutional amendment that would raise the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and it now heads to the November 3, 2026 ballot. The vote was 30 to 9 in the Senate and 75 to 26 in the House, per NBC Miami. The same measure lowers the annual assessed-value cap on non-homestead properties from 10 percent to 5 percent, which directly touches Miami investors and second-home owners. It still needs 60 percent voter approval to pass, so nothing changes on a tax bill yet, but the timing rules already matter for anyone buying in 2026. The true cost of ownership framework is where I start with every buyer weighing how this fits their numbers.
The thing I tell buyers about this measure is to treat the December 31, 2026 residency deadline as a hard date, not a footnote. I have watched out-of-state clients delay a primary-home purchase for tax-year reasons and then realize the four-year wait for newcomers cost them far more than they saved by waiting. If Miami is going to be your primary residence, establishing Florida residency before the deadline is the cheapest tax move on the table.
What the Measure Actually Changes
The proposal does three separate things, and conflating them is where buyers get confused. First, it raises the homestead exemption on your primary residence in two steps: $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, up from $50,000 today. That exemption reduces the taxable value on the non-school portion of your bill, so the dollar savings depend on your local millage rate, not a flat number. Second, it lowers the annual assessed-value cap on non-homestead properties from 10 percent to 5 percent, a separate protection aimed at rentals, second homes, and investor-held condos. Third, it carves out school district taxes entirely, so school funding is not cut by the change. According to the Florida Senate, the amendment cleared both chambers in June 2026 and is now a ballot question, not law. Here is how the phase-in and eligibility rules line up:
| Provision | Today | 2027 | 2028 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homestead exemption (primary residence) | $50,000 | $150,000 | $250,000 |
| Non-homestead annual assessment cap | 10% | 5% | 5% |
| School district tax impact | No change | No change | No change |
| Residency deadline for full benefit | Establish Florida primary residency by Dec 31, 2026 (newcomers after wait four years) | ||
Who Actually Benefits, and Who Does Not
This is the part where the headlines oversell it for our market. The expanded exemption is a real win for owner-occupiers, but it does nothing for investors, and a Miami luxury buyer needs to know which side of the line their purchase falls on. Here is how it breaks down across the buyer profiles I work with:
- Primary-residence buyers win the most: If you homestead the unit, the extra $200,000 of exemption by 2028 trims the non-school portion of your annual bill. On a $1 million primary home the savings are real but bounded, because the exemption is a fixed dollar amount, not a percentage, so it shrinks as a share of the bill the higher you climb in price.
- Investors and second-home owners get the 5 percent cap, not the exemption: The homestead exemption does not touch a rental or vacation condo. What does help is the non-homestead assessment cap dropping from 10 percent to 5 percent, which slows how fast taxable value climbs year over year on property you do not live in.
- Out-of-state relocators face a clock: Establish Florida residency by December 31, 2026 and you are in line for the full benefit as it phases in. Move after that and you wait four years. For anyone weighing a 2026 Miami primary-home purchase, that deadline is a planning input, not a detail.
- Foreign buyers usually fall outside it: A non-resident foreign buyer holding a Miami condo as a second home or investment typically cannot homestead it, so the exemption rarely applies. The foreign national Miami real estate guide covers the FIRPTA and structuring questions that matter far more to that buyer than homestead rules.
- Ultra-luxury buyers see the smallest relative effect: A flat $250,000 exemption is a rounding line on a $10 million estate's tax bill. The bigger draw for that buyer remains Florida's no-state-income-tax structure, which the Miami tax guide by country breaks down by home jurisdiction.
"The homestead headline is great for a family buying a primary home in Miami. For the luxury and international buyers I work with most, the real story is the residency deadline and the 5 percent cap on investment property, not the exemption number itself."Gerardo Gonzalez, Licensed Real Estate Agent at Compass
Why Florida Is Doubling Down on the Low-Tax Pitch
Zoom out and this measure is one more brick in the wall that has drawn capital to Miami for a decade. Florida's no-state-income-tax structure remains the headline draw, and the migration numbers back it up: Florida gained roughly $20.6 billion in adjusted gross income as taxpayers moved in from other states, per new IRS migration data cited by Miami Realtors. International demand stacks on top of that, with foreign buyers accounting for roughly 15 percent of Miami-area purchases in 2025 versus about 2 percent nationally. A bigger homestead exemption sharpens the pitch for the owner-occupier slice of that flow, while the 5 percent non-homestead cap quietly protects the investor slice. Neither provision changes Miami's fundamental supply picture, though. Existing condo inventory sat near 12.9 months of supply in May 2026 per Miami Realtors, which already hands buyers negotiating room independent of any tax change. The Miami pre-construction buyer guide covers how to use that inventory cushion on a new-development reservation, and the new developments tracker shows live pricing across active Miami towers.
What Buyers Should Do Before the November Vote
Three moves make sense right now, before anyone knows the ballot outcome. First, if Miami will be your primary residence and you are relocating, establish Florida residency before December 31, 2026 so you are positioned for the full benefit rather than the four-year newcomer wait. Second, plan your numbers on the current $50,000 exemption, since nothing is law until voters approve it at 60 percent on November 3, and treat any 2027 to 2028 savings as upside, not a budget assumption. Third, if you are buying an investment condo or second home, factor the 5 percent non-homestead cap into your hold model, because it meaningfully slows taxable-value creep over a long hold. The Miami real estate tax guide by country and the true cost of ownership framework are the two resources I point buyers to when we map this against an actual purchase. For a read on how the homestead timing affects your specific Miami deal, reach out to me directly at (305) 964-8614.
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