2026-07-16 · Josh Douglas
The short version: On November 3, Florida votes on raising the homestead exemption from roughly $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. It applies only to the non-school part of your bill, and in Brevard the school part is bigger than most people expect. It needs 60% to pass. If you are moving here from out of state, a five-year waiting period applies.
What's actually on the ballot
The Legislature passed HJR 1F on June 2 (House 75-26, Senate 30-9) and filed it with the Secretary of State on June 16. It appears under the title "Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes." The state assigns ballot numbers closer to the election, so look for the title. Like every Florida constitutional amendment, it needs 60% approval, not a simple majority. It would take effect January 1, 2027.
Three things would change:
- The homestead exemption rises, for non-school taxes only. Up to $150,000 of assessed value beginning January 1, 2027, then up to $250,000 beginning January 1, 2028. The $250,000 gets adjusted for inflation starting in 2029.
- The school exemption stays at $25,000. That one does not move.
- The cap on non-homestead assessment increases tightens from 10% to 5% per year beginning January 1, 2027. That covers rentals, second homes, and commercial property, again on non-school levies only.
Today's exemption is $25,000 against school taxes and roughly $50,000 against everything else. The exact non-school figure for 2026 is $51,411, because part of it is indexed to inflation.
Why the school carve-out matters more in Brevard
You will read that school taxes are "about 40%" of a Florida tax bill. In Brevard, that national average undersells it.
Brevard Public Schools levied 6.3100 mills in 2025, identical everywhere in the county: 3.0620 required by state law, 0.7480 by the local board, 1.5000 for capital outlay, and 1.0000 for voted teacher pay. Your total millage depends on your address, and in 2025 it ran from about 10.08 to about 18.11 mills. So in unincorporated Brevard, where totals land near 12 mills, schools are more than half your bill. Inside Palm Bay or Melbourne, where city millage pushes totals toward 17 or 18, schools are closer to a third.
Here is the math on a homesteaded house assessed at $300,000 in unincorporated Brevard at roughly 12 mills. Today the school side taxes $275,000 and the non-school side taxes about $248,600, which comes to roughly $3,150. In 2028, with the full exemption, the school side is unchanged and the non-school side taxes $50,000. The bill lands near $2,020. You save about $1,130 a year, and the school portion goes from a bit over half your bill to roughly 86% of it.
That is a real cut. It is not the end of your property tax, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. Run a real address through the property-tax estimator. Your millage code is on your TRIM notice, which mails in August.
The five-year rule if you're moving here
This is the part that gets missed. If you were already a Florida permanent resident as of December 31, 2026, you get the larger exemption. If you were not, your non-school exemption starts at $50,000 and does not step up to the full amount until the fifth year of your exemption. The ballot language says it directly: anyone who establishes Florida residency after January 1, 2027 has to maintain it for five years before receiving the increased exemption.
So two neighbors on the same street, same house, same assessed value, can owe very different taxes for years. If you are relocating for a space or defense job, that gap belongs in your budget now, not as a surprise later. Beginning January 1, 2030, counties and cities can vote by a two-thirds majority to shorten the wait for a critical local need. That is an option, not a promise.
Moving within Florida is a different story. Save Our Homes portability lets you carry up to $500,000 of accumulated benefit to your next homestead, and this amendment leaves that alone. The portability calculator shows what yours is worth.
The honest fine print
The money comes from somewhere. Florida's Revenue Estimating Conference reviewed the resolution again on July 10 and put Brevard's recurring reduction at about $272 million a year in non-school revenue once fully phased in. Palm Bay's share grows to roughly $44 million a year, Melbourne's to about $24 million. The amendment also limits what counties and cities may spend remaining property tax on: public safety, education, infrastructure, natural resources, debt service, retirement obligations, and their own operations. Whether that tradeoff is worth it is your call. I am not here to tell you how to vote, and any agent who does is out of their lane.
What I will say: do not buy or sell on the assumption this passes. It needs 60%. The first increase would not reach your bill until 2027, and the full $250,000 not until 2028. Budget on today's rules and treat this as a bonus if it happens. Most people reading this need no help from me to vote or to file a homestead exemption. Both are free, and neither needs an agent.
Want to know what a specific address would owe, under today's rules or the new ones? Text me at (321) 576-2239. I usually answer within the hour, 8am to 8pm. No pressure either way.