Key Takeaways
- • Florida voters approved Amendment 3 with 62% of the vote, overhauling the state's property tax system and tripling the non-school homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, rising to $250,000 in 2028.
- • The 10% annual cap on taxable value increases for non-homestead properties is halved to 5%, a provision real estate experts say matters most to ultra-wealthy owners of secondary homes, rentals and commercial holdings.
- • The flat-dollar homestead exemption delivers negligible savings on mega-mansions: per Raul Gastesi of Gastesi Lopez Mestre & Cobiella, a $50 million assessed estate's annual bill falls only from about $524,000 to $522,000.
- • Wealthy South Florida buyers including Larry Page, Larry Ellison, Ken Griffin, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg have concentrated large luxury purchases in the region, with the policy change arriving alongside that inflow.
Summary
Florida voters approved Amendment 3, an overhaul of the state's property tax system, passing it with 62% of the vote. The measure was pitched primarily as relief for residents facing rising living costs. For high-net-worth property owners, however, the more consequential element is a modified assessment rule rather than the homestead exemption.
Under Amendment 3, the state's homestead exemption on non-school property taxes rises from the current $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, then to $250,000 in 2028. New residents will also become eligible, on a phased-in timeline. Because the exemption is a flat dollar deduction, its value shrinks as a share of bills for very expensive properties. Raul Gastesi, a real estate attorney and co-founder of Miami law firm Gastesi Lopez Mestre & Cobiella, estimated that at the statewide average non-school tax rate, a typical $350,000 assessed home would see local services property taxes fall from roughly $3,135 to about $1,050. A $50 million luxury waterfront estate would see its annual bill decline only from about $524,000 to $522,000.
Real estate experts told Fortune that the bigger benefit for wealthy investors is the tightened cap on assessment growth for non-homestead properties. Previously capped at 10% annual increases in taxable value, these properties are now limited to 5%. In fast-appreciating markets such as South Florida, that restriction meaningfully slows tax growth on the secondary residences, investment properties and commercial tracts that multi-property owners hold.
The policy change coincides with significant recent luxury purchases in the region. Jeff Bezos relocated to Miami in 2023 and assembled a $237 million compound on Indian Creek, and is reportedly buying a $69.5 million oceanfront estate in Golden Beach. Citadel CEO Ken Griffin moved his investment and market-making firm from Chicago to Miami. Larry Page quietly acquired two Coconut Grove waterfront estates for a combined roughly $173.4 million. Larry Ellison bought a 22-acre estate in North Palm Beach for $173 million in 2022 and is relisting an oceanfront property in Seminole Landing for $165 million, more than double the $80 million he paid in 2021, according to The Wall Street Journal. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan purchased a $170 million waterfront estate in Florida.
Under Amendment 3, the state's homestead exemption on non-school property taxes rises from the current $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, then to $250,000 in 2028. New residents will also become eligible, on a phased-in timeline. Because the exemption is a flat dollar deduction, its value shrinks as a share of bills for very expensive properties. Raul Gastesi, a real estate attorney and co-founder of Miami law firm Gastesi Lopez Mestre & Cobiella, estimated that at the statewide average non-school tax rate, a typical $350,000 assessed home would see local services property taxes fall from roughly $3,135 to about $1,050. A $50 million luxury waterfront estate would see its annual bill decline only from about $524,000 to $522,000.
Real estate experts told Fortune that the bigger benefit for wealthy investors is the tightened cap on assessment growth for non-homestead properties. Previously capped at 10% annual increases in taxable value, these properties are now limited to 5%. In fast-appreciating markets such as South Florida, that restriction meaningfully slows tax growth on the secondary residences, investment properties and commercial tracts that multi-property owners hold.
The policy change coincides with significant recent luxury purchases in the region. Jeff Bezos relocated to Miami in 2023 and assembled a $237 million compound on Indian Creek, and is reportedly buying a $69.5 million oceanfront estate in Golden Beach. Citadel CEO Ken Griffin moved his investment and market-making firm from Chicago to Miami. Larry Page quietly acquired two Coconut Grove waterfront estates for a combined roughly $173.4 million. Larry Ellison bought a 22-acre estate in North Palm Beach for $173 million in 2022 and is relisting an oceanfront property in Seminole Landing for $165 million, more than double the $80 million he paid in 2021, according to The Wall Street Journal. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan purchased a $170 million waterfront estate in Florida.
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