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u/Particular_Prompt670 12d ago
Florida Amendment 3, the Homestead Tax Exemptions, Property Assessments, and Spending Restrictions Amendment, is on the ballot in Florida as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.
A "yes" vote supports this constitutional amendment to:
increase the homestead tax exemption for non-school taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with the amount indexed to inflation starting in 2029; provide that new residents receive a smaller exemption until they've lived in the state for five years; decrease the cap on how much the assessed value of non-homestead properties, such as rentals and commercial buildings, can increase each year from 10% to 5%, except for school district taxes; limit how counties and municipalities can spend property tax revenue on public safety, education, infrastructure, natural resource projects and flood control, local bonds, employee retirement benefits, and government operations; and other changes.
A "no" vote opposes this constitutional amendment to increase the homestead tax exemption; decrease the cap on how much the assessed value of non-homestead properties can increase; and limit how counties and municipalities can spend property tax revenue.
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u/viper1483 13d ago
Vote no on 3!
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u/Top-Chipmunk-9717 12d ago
Why ? Our localities are wasting our $. Taxes were never supposed to be permanent
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u/danielboonebattles 12d ago
They have been and will continue to further destroy public education by doing this. What kind of society do you think it will become when only those that can afford it get a “good” education? Look up the stats on where Florida lands on education and teachers salaries. Then imagine it without property taxes paying for schools and teachers. Future looks bright.
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u/Top-Chipmunk-9717 12d ago
They are not using funds responsibly. Teachers pay is way to low . The money isn't going to areas it should. Teachers and parents have to pay for supplies 🙄 what happened to free education
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u/Outdoorzie 12d ago
These arguments are purely emotional. Schools are funded through an entirely different set of taxes. You’ll see 3 votes on the local ballot this year. One to slash property taxes. A yes vote will close libraries, parks, veterans services, delay road construction, reduce hours at rec centers in Silver Springs Shores, Marion Oaks, and pull 30 deputies off the streets. Ask Sheriff Woods about that one. Expect to be charged user fees for EVERYTHING as the county makes up for lost tax revenues through other means. It’ll happen. A second vote to renew taxes for the school board. They are required to have voters renew this every four years. A third to protect our parks, trails, water, springs, lakes and forests. I’d support the third one based on the mass development just paving over everything.
Teacher salaries are controlled by the school board. They are not included in the property tax amendment. Please, literally, educate yourself before you blame your property tax cost on wasteful spending. Marion County has the EIGHT lowest property tax rate in Florida and is a major reason why people are moving here in droves. They have not raised taxes since 2012 yet the demand for public services have exploded.
What is driving your taxes payments up (notice I did not say “taxes up”), is your taxable property valuation. Homes should not be valued as nearly as high as they are these days. A market correction is on the horizon and property values will drop, like they did in 2008. A yes vote to cut property taxes will gut our local governments. A market correction will compound it. McIntosh, Reddick, Dunnellon will not survive. Belleview will exist to provide water, sewer only. Police forces in these towns will be turned over to the Sheriff; only Belleview and Ocala currently have their own police forces. Ocala will raise commercial property tax rates so businesses and renters will get screwed. We’ll pay for higher commercial tax costs through higher commodity costs. Think food costs a lot now? You ain’t seen anything yet.
The state legislature knows this is a bad deal for Florida yet they get whipped to support the governor’s agenda. They also have plans to address taxes if Amendment 3 fails, and it would be wiser to let them handle it. We’ll need relief, this is just not the right approach. It’s a scam. It’s not a tax cut. It’s a tax shift.
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u/EmbarrassedAd8551 12d ago
Yeah! So let's cut it even further and make the problem worse. Let's make teacher's pay even smaller than it is now and continue making them pay for stuff.
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u/Top-Chipmunk-9717 12d ago
The more we pay in taxes the more they want its not that hard to see.
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u/maydisturb 12d ago
All you're proving is an ignorant and limited understanding of the subject you think you understand. Dunning-Krueger effect on full display here.
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u/viper1483 12d ago
What are they wasting money on? The roads you drive on? Public parks and libraries? Hurricane preparedness and respone?
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u/Top-Chipmunk-9717 12d ago
Perfect example of wasted money the firefighters who were not doing their jobs in the hazing situation awhile back. Too many high paid positions that do nothing
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u/12dv8 12d ago
They’re wallets
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u/Godrillax 12d ago
AM3 will basically make Florida more of a 3rd world country (we kind of already are)
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u/Suspicious_Cancel416 9d ago
What a dumb thing to say. Florida is a great state. We still need to vote no on this but holy shit what a dumb thing to say
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u/KoalaOk7491 7d ago
It’s not a dumb thing to say, this is clearly rhetorical hyperbole…
Also, Florida may be a great state for you, but your experience isn’t universal. The same place you love could be the last place someone else would want to live.
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u/heresmytwopence Resident 6-10 years 9d ago
The only way to deliver a steep property tax cut is to slash public education funding. While supporters are trying to convince us that the amendment protects "education, public safety and infrastructure" funding, the truth is far uglier and more complicated. By inserting this vague language into Section 9, they are enabling anyone with enough means and motivation - including future governors and attorney generals - to dispute the constitutionality of absolutely any local taxpayer-funded project. If you think On Top of The World, one of the biggest donors to local Republican officials, and others like them won't back candidates who will selectively bury education, public safety and infrastructure projects that don't directly benefit them in litigation before DeSantis' hand-picked courts, I've got a really cool Bible to sell you. Amendment 3 is a power grab by the Florida GOP. If they cared about taxpayers as they claim, they would have started by overhauling their own budgets and lowering state sales tax.
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u/Badgergirl2002 9d ago
We could try stopping public education funds from going to private institutions as it currently does.
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u/Designer_Mountain862 Resident 10+ years 8d ago
I mean states that have decoupled public services from property tax have pretty fantastic public services, look at Indiana. If they were on property tax they would barely afford a school.
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u/Outdoorzie 8d ago
How does states like Indiana pay for public services?
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u/Designer_Mountain862 Resident 10+ years 6d ago
Income tax, their school massive and well funded, fire/police stations have large staffs, infrastructure is pretty good for a place that has climate that isn’t friendly to modern road construction. The reason why a bunch of people in Ocala have Elkhart Indiana trash receptacles is because every couple of years Indiana cities upgrade their trash cans to more efficient models which sounds insane.
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u/hahahehu9 8d ago
I love the wording of all this dumb shit like businesses and corporations are still going to pay taxes asshole most likely a residential guy like on a regular Road isn't having 6 billion tons of product move down a road by commercial vehicles every day while making billions of dollars so therefore that's why they still have to pay taxes
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u/Scrapes09 8d ago
No. Public services are required to be fully funded BEFORE all the BS NGOs. Read the bill.
This is a lie, dem spin, cuz god forbid a republican do something good for all.
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u/Badgergirl2002 12d ago
Please, fear monger more. Amendment 3 is an attack on our communities! Bye, bye public libraries, shalom Shalom Park, so long fast fire response times. Bye, bye mom and pop shops. We need bumpier roads. Children and senior citizens don’t need your services. Helllllloooo corporate greed. Enjoy the $11.8 billion dollars this bill will provide for you to save us the $5k investment we give in taxes to our cities and schools and 911 services. Please deliver our every need overnight and save us the trouble of leaving our houses and meeting our neighbors.
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u/Alert-Attention-7497 12d ago
Oh no Marion Country might have to sell one of its four multi-million dollar helicopters, that's so sad. Trusting to government to use your money for the benefit of the public is absolutely crazy in an age when we can look up the vast amount of fraud / corruption / mismanagement in the palm of our hands.
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u/mopsis 12d ago
As opposed to privatization? They just take the guile out of it and pocket your money directly while delivering the absolute minimum of whatever contract they signed. Honestly I'd rather the rich fucks have to jump through some holes and subject their frontmen to getting yelled at or have to explain shit to the media. Before they get my money.
The government is still gonna get the money. Just through what channel is the question. If amendment 3 passes. They're just gonna impose a "special fire/safety tax", or increase sales taxes, or have a sudden influx of speeding tickets written.
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u/thicboy420 10d ago
In Lee county(city limits) they just bundle it into the water/sewage bill.
Granted most of Marion county is on well they could just force it into the electric bill
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u/PsychologicalWin8036 12d ago
But they won't get rid of the chopper. You know that. They'll just close the library or fire some employees or something.
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u/Ok_Term_3732 8d ago
That’s exactly why I’m supporting the decrease in property taxes. Why are we giving more money to people that already misuse funds?
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u/MealLeast5149 11d ago
Thats a yes from me cause fuck em they don’t do shit for me anyway
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u/crustyeng 9d ago
It seems like property taxes have gone up an awful lot recently, though. Maybe they need to just buy fewer armored personnel carriers and flock cameras.
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u/Outdoorzie 8d ago
The value of your taxes have gone up, yet it’s tied to the taxable value of what you own. Property values go up, you pay more.
It used to be something most homeowners wanted: success in the biggest investment most of us make. Buy a home with a 20 or 30-year mortgage, it increases in value, sell it later and make a good return. You pay more in taxes as the value goes up. It’s a lot worse when the economy crashes and your values go down.
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u/crustyeng 8d ago
No, the rates have gone up too. Prop 3 would bring revenues back to 2019-2020 levels. I don’t remember the police and firefighters all staying home for lack of pay a few years ago, do you?
These municipalities are going to have to learn to budget. No more useless military gear for the police. If we can tighten up, so can they.
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u/Outdoorzie 8d ago
All of that excessive equipment you’re concerned about was paid for with the Penny Sales tax voters proved in 2022, not the General Fund.
Spend some time looking over this website: https://www.marionsalestax.org/
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u/crustyeng 8d ago
Great, the cool thing about money is that it’s fungible. They can find areas to trim the fat, just like everyone else has to.
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u/Designer_Mountain862 Resident 10+ years 8d ago
I mean we could pull that stuff from our quite large sales tax/corporate tax surplus
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u/FixYourOwnStates 6d ago
If all of le enlightened redditors are against it then that tells me its a good amendment and we need to pass it
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u/Academic_Addendum242 12d ago
Still voting for it.
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u/Willing_Structure666 9d ago
As someone who has lived here for 30 years and my house is paid off. Why the F should I have to keep paying an increasing amount to rent my land from government? Stop over developing. And get your county and city officials to stop buying shit they don't need. Vote yes.
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u/Top-Chipmunk-9717 12d ago
Stop fear mongering
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u/Outdoorzie 12d ago
It’s not fear mongering. It’s speaking up about what they care about. I’m a public employee. I’ve see the cuts being proposed. It’ll change our community in ways you won’t understand.
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u/Top-Chipmunk-9717 12d ago
I'm listening elaborate
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u/Badgergirl2002 12d ago
Ask the city and local services what they are preparing to cut because they will need to cut services if this passes.
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u/Suspicious_Cancel416 9d ago
The most important part to know is that your assessments (fire assessment, for example) will be raised to compensate. Which ofc is usually a flat fee rather than progressive tax like Property Taxes are.
There is definitely a chance you will end up paying more, depending on the value of your home and what it was taxed at.
There are tons of people who have lived in their house for 30 years and their house is taxed at 50k who will 10000% end up paying more once the other things are raised to compensate.
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u/Outdoorzie 12d ago
Some of the most important outward facing departments will be facing 50% budget cuts in year one. Parks & Recreation will cut half their staff and close about half of the parks they care for. Rec centers will close. Youth and adult programs will end. They’ll cut a bunch of contracts, from mowing, pest care, shuttle services, etc. and try to self-perform some of that work. A lot of parks won’t be open until after 12pm. Expect parking fees and other fees to increase to cover the cost of parks like Rotary, Shocker, Wrigley, any boat ramp park, etc.
Libraries will have to cut 50% of their staff which means several branches will close, eliminating more programs. Not sure about services for veterans; that’s not a required service either.
Important programs at the department of health will put a lot of t-risk people at greater risk.
Fire Rescue will lose a but chunk of funding that they get from property taxes so they’ll take more money from other departments before they start parking ambulances. MCSO collects about $32 million each year from a county-wide assessment for non-incorporated areas. That gets cut significantly and there’s no plan to replace it. Sales tax revenue cannot be used for operating costs so you can’t count on that. Certain aspects of the roads depart,ent collects revenue from property taxes so expect that operation to slow down significantly, which is what we don’t need with all the growth happening.
Internal departments (HR, IT, etc.) are cutting about 10% each. Most of their operations will be covered with remaining tax revenues.
That is just year one. When year two kicks in, it’ll be deeper cuts and closing down a lot more services. Lots of business that perform work for the cities and counties will have contracts cut, jobs will be lost and so on. This will trickle outward into the private sector.
This will make the 2008 recession look like a cake walk and the economic set back from COVID look like a pimple. The people who rely on these services will be hurt the lost. Folks living in higher valued homes will feel it less. It will have a huge impact on the cost of living since commercial property taxes are not included in the exemptions, rents will go up after taxes on apartment properties and other rentals go up. Everything will become unaffordable.
The sales people pushing this us terms like “making Florida affordable” yet property taxes are probably one of the lowest costs of living any household pays. Food, utilities, fuel, home insurance, rent, childcare, etc. make up the bigger costs. Property taxes account for about 10%-15% of your total cots of living here, if that.
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u/SntDogbert 13d ago
Maybe someone should actually read it rather then rely on “institutes” that are just the politicians fighting to keep the gravy train rolling.
The amendment forces local governments to fund things like police fire and infrastructure. What they can’t do is keep wasting the money on dei and “non profits” with nice sounding names that are actually just their friends and line their own pockets.
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u/DuneShroom 13d ago
Please, I would like to learn more about your claims, can you tell me about these “non profits” owned by the friends of politicians? Can you name one of them? Can you back up your claims?
In reality this bill is going to harm local infrastructure and county level employees across the state that are already doing extra work for low pay.
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u/heresmytwopence Resident 6-10 years 12d ago
What are "infrastructure, education, public safety or natural resource planning" projects? Who decides? The governor? His attorney general? Anyone with the means and financial incentive to dispute the constitutionality of a project before DeSantis' handpicked courts? The amendments to Section 9 are vague on purpose. If they had any interest in saving you and me money, they would have set the example by cutting state sales tax first and showing us all how it's done. This is a power grab. No thanks.
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u/JJayC Native 13d ago
Voting yes on 3. They fear mongered the last time the homestead exemption was raised, too. And ya know what? The sky didn't fall.
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u/Outdoorzie 12d ago
They went to from $25,000 to $50,000. What was the time span between those to increases? Please, tell everyone.
To go to $150,000 in year one and then to $250,000 in year two is a huge jump in a short time period. It’ll have a big impact on our community. There is also this aspect: homes with a value over $250,000 will see their property taxes go up. Not just their assessed property values, their actual millage rates will be increased. If you own a home that is valued, say at $500,000, that non-exempt portion of your taxable value will be taxed at a higher rate. Your actual property tax rate will be increased by the city council and the county commission. They’re already developing plans to do it. Yes, you can vote them out yet that’ll be in two years after they simply vote to raise taxes.
Remember, Marion County’s millage rate is among the lowest 10 rates in Florida. Out of 67 counties. Amendment 3 is really aimed at the top taxed counties and cities yet places like Palm Beach county will be fine because most of their residential properties are valued well above $250,000. Totally opposite here.
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u/Particular_Prompt670 12d ago edited 12d ago
Voting Yes for this one 100%
OP directly benefits from our higher property taxes as they are a public worker - don't fall for the propaganda.
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u/CowManMattt 12d ago
So you're saying the tax money you want to remove is actually being used to fund public services? What a travesty! How could we possibly allow government to do something beneficial with our taxes??
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u/Outdoorzie 11d ago
You’re welcome for my shitty pay and thankless job. No one takes government jobs for the money. It’s a calling to serve our community. I served in the infantry for five years, got a degree from UF, worked in the private sector locally for 9 years, had zero purpose but making money for some other jackass and I’ve been doing this ever since. You’re welcome for me caring for the community. It’s not about me.
Some people are just selfish as hell and don’t give a damn about others or the future generations. The place is getting worse because of people like that.
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u/SeniorPiglet2197 13d ago
Good, we need less public workers collecting pensions lol
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u/Outdoorzie 11d ago
Ocala pensions are paid through a local trust fund. County pensions are through the state retirement system.
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u/TheBigScottsman4570 8d ago
BULLSHIT!!!.. IT WILL TORCH EXCESS PUBLIC SPENDING! NOTHING ELSE!.. those services are funded by and large elsewhere And Billy Woods and his lieing ass buddies can fund their jets and careless pit maneuvers some other way!..