Florida's $250,000 Homestead Exemption Is on the November Ballot: What Homeowners Should Do Now

On June 2, 2026, the Florida Legislature passed what officials are calling the largest property tax change in state history, and sent it to voters. It is now a proposed constitutional amendment, HJR 1F, nicknamed "Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes." It will be on your ballot on November 3, 2026.

If you own a home in Florida, this is worth understanding now, because the size of the benefit you would eventually get depends on a status you have to claim and keep current: your homestead exemption. Let's walk through what the amendment does, what it does not do, and the practical steps that matter this summer.

What the amendment would do

Today, a homesteaded primary residence in Florida gets a $50,000 exemption off its assessed value before non-school property taxes are calculated. HJR 1F would raise that exemption in two steps:

• $150,000 starting in 2027, and
• $250,000 starting in 2028.

According to the Florida Senate, the larger exemption would wipe out non-school property taxes entirely for roughly 60 percent of homesteaded owners, because for many homes the new exemption is bigger than the home's taxable value.

The measure also tightens the cap on annual assessment increases for non-homestead properties (think second homes, rentals, and commercial parcels) from 10 percent to 5 percent, beginning January 1, 2027.

What it does not do

This is the part that gets lost in the headlines, so read it twice.

• Nothing has changed yet. This is a proposed amendment, not a law. No tax bill goes down until voters approve it and the future effective dates arrive.
• It needs 60 percent to pass. Florida constitutional amendments require a 60 percent yes vote, not a simple majority. It cleared the Legislature easily (75 to 26 in the House, 30 to 9 in the Senate), but November is a separate hurdle.
• School taxes are not touched. The exemption applies only to non-school property taxes. The portion of your bill that funds public schools stays the same. For many homeowners, school taxes are a large share of the total, so "no property tax" is not the right way to read this.
• New residents wait. If you establish Florida residency after January 1, 2027, you initially get only the old $50,000 exemption, and you have to keep Florida residency for five years before the larger exemption kicks in.

Why your homestead status is the whole game

Every dollar of this benefit flows through the homestead exemption. If your property is not properly homesteaded, none of it applies to you, no matter how the vote goes.

A lot of Florida owners assume they are homesteaded when they are not. It is easy to slip through the cracks if you bought recently, inherited a home, moved your primary residence, retitled the property into a trust, or simply never filed. The exemption is not automatic. You apply once with your county property appraiser, and the standard deadline to file for a given tax year is March 1.

So the single most useful thing you can do this summer is confirm two things: that your homestead exemption is actually on file, and that the name and address on the deed and the appraiser's records are correct. You can check your status on your county property appraiser's website in a few minutes. If it is missing or wrong, you have time before the next March 1 deadline to fix it.

A few more practical notes

Senior protections are preserved on top of the larger exemption. Counties and cities can still grant an additional $50,000 exemption to homeowners 65 and older whose household income falls below the state limit. And if you are 65 or older, have lived in your home for 25 years or more, and your home's just value is under $250,000, you may qualify for a full exemption from non-school taxes under existing rules.

Keep your paperwork. Whatever happens in November, the documents that prove your homestead claim (your deed, your Florida ID showing the property address, your voter or vehicle registration, your exemption confirmation) are the same records that protect you in an audit or a dispute. Owners sometimes lose an exemption over a paperwork mismatch, then spend months untangling it. The fix is boring but real: have the records, and know where they are.

How Canopy fits in

Property tax rules are one more example of a pattern Florida homeowners know well: the savings are real, but they go to the owner whose records are in order. Canopy is built for exactly that.

• One organized home record. Your deed, closing documents, homestead exemption confirmation, and annual tax notices live in one place, so when you need to prove your status, it is one tap away instead of a junk-drawer search.
• An AI that watches the calendar. Ask Canopy can flag time-sensitive items before they cost you, for example a homestead filing window or an insurance renewal that is about to lapse.
• Document vault that travels with the home. If you sell, refinance, or pass the home on, the full record goes with it, which keeps the next owner's exemption and history clean too.
• Trusted local pros when you need help, and any visit logs itself back into your home's record.

The November vote is months away, and you cannot control the outcome. You can control whether your home's record is ready to capture the upside if it passes. That is the part worth doing now.

Canopy is launching in Florida. Start your home's record. The home, handled.

Sources: Florida Senate, "Senate Passes Historic Property Tax Cut for Florida Homeowners" (June 2, 2026); Ballotpedia, Florida Homestead Tax Exemptions, Property Assessments, and Spending Restrictions Amendment (2026); GrayRobinson Government Affairs summary of HJR 1F and SB 4F; Florida Policy Institute ballot language summary. This article is general information, not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Confirm details with your county property appraiser before acting.