Selling a Florida Home After Amendment 3: Save Our Homes, Portability and Pricing
If you own a Florida home and are thinking about selling, Amendment 3 may be on your mind. The amendment raises the homestead exemption, but it leaves several of the rules sellers rely on untouched. Here is what stays the same, what buyers will be asking about, and how to prepare.
What stays the same for sellers
- Save Our Homes. While you own and live in the home, the assessed value is still capped at the lesser of 3 percent or inflation each year.
- Portability. If you buy another Florida home and make it your homestead, you can still transfer up to $500,000 of accumulated Save Our Homes savings to the new home. The larger exemption applies on top of that.
- Reassessment on sale. The buyer will be assessed at market value after the sale. Your low assessed value does not transfer to them.
Why this matters to your buyer
Buyers sometimes look at the seller’s current tax bill and assume it is what they will pay. After a sale it will not be. A home you have owned for years may have an assessed value far below its market value. Be ready to explain that the buyer’s taxes will be based on the new purchase price, and encourage them to use the county property appraiser’s estimator. Buyers who understand this up front are less likely to be surprised later, and less likely to renegotiate.
Buyers may ask about residency and the exemption
Expect questions from out-of-state buyers about when they will qualify for the larger exemption. Under the amendment, people who were not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 first receive the existing exemption and move to the larger one in their fifth year of exemption. That is a cost for some buyers, and it can affect how much house they are comfortable paying for. It is helpful for sellers to have a broker who can explain the rules accurately without giving tax advice.
Second homes and rentals
If the home you are selling is a rental or second home, the cap on yearly assessment increases for non-school taxes falls from 10 percent to 5 percent starting in 2027. This is a small benefit while you hold the property, but the property still resets to market value when it sells.
Will Amendment 3 change pricing?
Some brokers believe lower expected carrying costs will draw buyers to Florida and push prices up. Others believe the effect will be small compared with mortgage rates and insurance costs. We do not think anyone can say for sure. What we can say is that pricing correctly for your neighborhood, preparing the home well and marketing it professionally matters more than any one headline.
Moving within Florida? Plan your homestead transfer
- Confirm your current homestead and assessed value on your county property appraiser’s site.
- Ask your broker and a tax professional how much Save Our Homes benefit you could port.
- File for homestead on the new home by March 1 of the following year, and file the portability form.
- Keep your closing statements and records handy.
Ready to sell?
Our selling process walks through each step, from pricing to closing.
Related reading: Amendment 3 explained for homeowners and Amendment 3 for home buyers.
Talk to a Florida broker before you decide
Thinking about selling your Florida home? Call (407) 790-7341 or send us a message and Jason Sirounis will help you work through the numbers for your situation.
This article is general information about a constitutional amendment that was approved by voters and is still being implemented. It is not tax or legal advice. Details can change when the Legislature passes implementing rules in 2027, so confirm figures and eligibility with your county property appraiser and a qualified Florida tax professional or attorney.