Picture a family that moves from out of state and closes on a Windermere home in spring 2027. If Florida voters approve Amendment 3 on November 3, the family's new neighbors would get a $250,000 non-school homestead exemption starting in 2028. The family would start with the current $50,000 exemption and would only qualify for the larger amount in their fifth year of exemption.
The vote is five days away. For anyone buying, selling or holding property in Windermere, the amendment would sort homeowners on the same street into tax groups based on residency date and how each home is held. And the Town of Windermere has spent the past three months showing what its own budget looks like when it plans for that outcome.
The Residency Date Counts More Than The Closing Date
The official ballot title is "Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments." It is listed as No. 3 in the Florida Division of Elections ballot booklet, which was updated September 3, 2026. That update followed an August 3 ruling by a Leon County circuit judge ordering the original summary rewritten, according to the Florida Policy Institute. It needs 60% of voters to pass. If it does, it takes effect January 1, 2027.
The line in the amendment text that matters most for buyers applies the waiting period to anyone who "had not maintained a permanent residence in this state as of December 31, 2026." So the line is drawn by when you became a Florida resident, not by when you bought the house. Under that wording, a Dr. Phillips family that becomes Floridian before year-end and moves up to Windermere in 2028 is in a different group from a family relocating from Chicago the same month.
Here is how the text sorts owners:
| Owner situation | Non-school homestead exemption | Assessment cap |
|---|---|---|
| Florida resident by December 31, 2026, homesteading a home | $150,000 in 2027, $250,000 in 2028, then adjusted for inflation | Save Our Homes: 3% or CPI, whichever is lower |
| New Florida resident after December 31, 2026 | Current $50,000 exemption, with the larger exemption starting in the fifth exemption year | Save Our Homes: 3% or CPI, whichever is lower |
| Second home, rental or investment property | No homestead exemption | 5% annual cap, down from 10% |
School-district levies are excluded from the larger exemption in every row. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the amendment lets local governments shorten the five-year wait if it "is warranted for a critical local need." Florida TaxWatch says that option would become available after 2030.
Neighbors On The Same Street Already Pay Different Amounts
The table above adds a new layer on top of a gap that already exists. At a West Orange town hall covered by the West Orange Times & Observer on September 24, 2026, Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph explained how Save Our Homes has split long-term owners from recent buyers. Orange County's median market value rose $150,000 from 2020 to 2025. Because 68% of county homeowners have owned the same home since 2020, the median-valued owner in that group pays only about $193 more per year than five years ago.
"Our property tax structure pushes property taxes onto people coming into the marketplace for the first time — whether that be retirees moving from out of state, a new homeowner, a younger person or somebody mid-career moving to Florida for the first time."
Randolph told the town hall that Amendment 3 leaves that gap in place. New homeowners would get the bigger exemption, but they would still pay more than neighbors who bought years ago. He also noted that the amendment does nothing to reduce existing taxable values beyond the lower cap. Add the residency cutoff, and a 2027 out-of-state buyer would sit below both groups for four years.
Two parts of the current system stay the same. Florida TaxWatch confirms that Save Our Homes and portability are unchanged. The amendment text caps the portable assessment difference at $500,000. The Orange County Property Appraiser notes that portability is not automatic. You have to request it when you file the new homestead application. For a Windermere seller moving up within Florida, that application step matters as much as the vote.
Windermere Started Budgeting For The Vote In July
The cost to local services is already showing up in town. At a July 28 budget workshop, Windermere staff proposed eliminating or suspending two town-sponsored events, Light Up Windermere and Food Truck Nights, to prepare for cuts if Amendment 3 passes, the West Orange Times & Observer reported. Here is what changed in the September hearings:
- Light Up Windermere returned to the budget. Council Member Tom Stroup pushed to restore it at the September 3 hearing. Town Manager Robert Smith said the event could be absorbed into the current budget, with Family Church of Windermere and White Swan Academy providing activities and performances for free.
- The holiday lights got a smaller budget. Last year the town paid $35,955.27 to Humbug Holiday Lights. On September 8, council voted 4-1 to authorize up to $25,000. A reduced-scope quote covering the town square area came in at $24,997. Mayor Andy Williams said he has been talking with residents who are willing to contribute toward holiday costs.
- Sidewalks and signage shrank. The sidewalk repair and construction budget dropped from $100,000 to $20,000, with extensions deferred until the amendment's outcome is known. Signage fell from $44,000 to $5,000.
- The final budget passed unanimously. On September 16, council adopted a FY 2026-27 budget of $12,464,394.17 with an operating millage of 3.7425.
Food Truck Nights also helps fund the Historic Preservation Board, so cutting it would reach past the event itself.
Why A Small Town Feels It Sooner
Randolph told the town hall that each city's revenue loss depends on its tax base. A bedroom community with many homesteads is more exposed than a larger taxing authority with a lot of commercial property. Smith gave Windermere's General Fund as about $9.6 million, with $4.6 million coming from property tax. That is roughly 48%.
Public safety makes up 35% of Windermere's overall budget. The town's fire and EMS contract with the Ocoee Fire Department is rising from $825,000 to $1.1 million, and the town already charges a fire assessment to help cover it. Randolph warned that Amendment 3 could raise costs for longtime homeowners through non-ad valorem assessments such as fire assessments, and that renters and commercial owners would carry any millage increases. A homestead exemption doesn't reduce an assessment. For an investor, the 5% cap slows how fast assessed value can rise, but it does nothing about the millage rate applied to it.
Smith said Windermere might take money from parks or new sidewalks to protect public safety, and that capital projects could be pushed back another 10 years.
Winter Garden, ten minutes west, has published its own numbers on its Amendment 3 page. About 70% of its 15,226 residential properties are homesteaded. The city estimates property-tax revenue would fall by $5.2 million in 2027 and $8.5 million in 2028, which is 17% and 28% of its FY2026 ad valorem revenue of $30.3 million. Its FY2026 public safety budget of $38.4 million is larger than all of that property-tax revenue. City Manager Jon C. Williams said that keeping police and fire whole would require other departments to cut about 29%. An across-the-board cut would be about 15%. Countywide, Orange County estimates losses of $165 million in 2027 and $275 million in 2028.
The Five-Year Wait Faces An Open Legal Question
The ballot summary says the new-resident wait applies "to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution." The Tampa Bay Times reported that in 1983 the Florida Supreme Court struck down a nearly identical five-year waiting period attached to a 1980 homestead increase. The justices wrote that "it is constitutionally prohibited for this state to impose different taxes on its citizens based solely on their length of permanent residence in the state." In the same article, Robert McNamara of the Institute for Justice said, "At first blush, this looks pretty unconstitutional."
Quick Answers
Does the amendment eliminate homestead property taxes? No. The official text raises the non-school exemption and requires the Legislature to create a procedure that counties and cities may use to increase their own exemptions up to full assessed value. Some local FAQs describe it as elimination. The text does not require every locality to go that far.
Would a Windermere rental or second home get the larger exemption? No. Non-homestead property would get the 5% assessment cap instead of 10%.
Does the state replace the lost local revenue? Florida TaxWatch says the amendment includes no dedicated state funding to replace it, and local governments could still raise fees or other taxes.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm how any of this applies to your property with the Orange County Property Appraiser or a qualified tax professional.
If your Windermere purchase, sale or relocation spans this vote and the December 31 cutoff, Nickolas Amburgey can help you map out the timeline, from the homestead application to the portability request. Schedule your free consultation.
