Florida Non-Homestead Assessment Cap Calculator

Amendment 3 (CS/HJR 1F) is a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution on the November 3, 2026 general election ballot. Among other property tax changes, it would lower the annual assessment growth cap on non-homestead property from 10 percent to 5 percent. Like all Florida constitutional amendments, it requires 60 percent voter approval to pass. If approved, this provision would take effect January 1, 2027 and would first appear on August 2027 TRIM notices and the tax bills mailed in November 2027. Verify current status before relying on this, since the ballot language has been subject to litigation.

Florida limits how much the assessed value of non-homestead property can rise each year, regardless of how fast market value climbs. Non-homestead means property that is not your primary residence with a homestead exemption, so second homes, vacation properties, rental and investment property, and certain non-residential property. The cap is currently 10 percent per year. It applies to non-school taxes only.

No. This is the detail most people miss. The non-homestead assessment cap applies only to the non-school portion of your tax bill. School district taxes continue to be calculated on full just or market value with no cap. That is why this calculator asks for your non-school millage rate specifically, and why the result is not your total tax bill.

Not necessarily, and this is an important distinction. The cap limits how fast your assessed value grows, not what you pay. Your actual bill is assessed value multiplied by the millage rates set each year by your county, city, and other taxing authorities. If those authorities raise millage rates, your bill can still rise even with a slower-growing assessed value. What a lower cap does reliably is reduce how quickly the taxable value climbs in a fast appreciating market.

The cap protection resets when the property changes ownership or control. On a qualifying change, the property is reassessed at full just value the following January 1, and the cap starts over from that new base. This is why a buyer cannot assume the seller's capped assessed value carries over. Budgeting from the seller's current tax bill is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes buyers make on Florida investment property.

Property taxes are escrowed into your monthly payment, so an assessment reset after purchase directly raises PITI. On coastal Florida investment property, where a reset can move assessed value substantially and insurance is already heavy, an underwriter using the seller's old tax figure produces a payment that does not survive the first tax bill. Financing on non-homestead coastal property should be modeled on post-reset taxes plus realistic wind and flood insurance, not the current owner's numbers.

No. It is an educational scenario tool. It does not calculate an official tax bill, determine eligibility, or account for every exemption, reassessment event, ownership change, special assessment, taxing district, school tax, or portability rule. Confirm all figures with your county property appraiser and tax collector, and with a CPA or attorney for tax advice.