Property taxes are the biggest single line in many Hillsborough County household budgets, and in 2026 the debate stopped being theoretical: on June 2, the Legislature placed a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would deliver the largest homestead-exemption increase in Florida history. For homeowners across Florida’s 14th Congressional District, this guide explains what Amendment 3 actually does, what it would save you, what it would cost local services, and which parts of your bill it does not touch.
Every number below is sourced to the enrolled amendment text, the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser’s final 2025 millage tables, or attributed official estimates — and where the estimates differ, we say so.
What Is Florida Amendment 3?
Amendment 3 — ballot title “Save Our Homes From Excessive Property Taxes” — was placed on the November 3, 2026 ballot by the Legislature as HJR 1F, passing the House 75–26 and the Senate 30–9 on June 2, 2026. Like every Florida constitutional amendment, it needs 60% voter approval to pass. Per the enrolled text, it would:
- Raise the non-school homestead exemption. Beginning January 1, 2027, the first $150,000 of a homestead’s assessed value is exempt from all property-tax levies except school district levies; beginning January 1, 2028, that rises to $250,000 (inflation-adjusted annually starting in 2029). This replaces today’s second exemption of up to $25,000 on the value between $50,000 and $75,000.
- Leave school taxes unchanged. The existing $25,000 exemption against school levies stays exactly as it is. School district taxes — about a third of a typical Hillsborough bill — are not reduced.
- Cut the non-homestead assessment cap from 10% to 5% per year, beginning January 1, 2027 — the piece that affects rental and commercial property.
- Add a residency rule. Anyone establishing Florida residency after 2026 gets only a $50,000 non-school exemption until their fifth year of homestead exemption.
- Point toward elimination. The amendment directs the Legislature to set, by general law, a schedule for fully eliminating non-school homestead property taxes, and requires local governments to spend remaining property-tax revenue on core services such as public safety, schools, infrastructure, and natural resources.
What Would Your Bill Actually Look Like?
Here is the math for a homesteaded house in unincorporated Hillsborough County (Brandon, Riverview, Valrico) with a $400,000 assessed value, using the Property Appraiser’s final 2025 millage rates:
| Today | 2027 ($150k exemption) | 2028 ($250k exemption) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| School taxes | ~$2,378 | ~$2,378 | ~$2,378 |
| Non-school taxes | ~$4,169 | ~$2,978 | ~$1,787 |
| Total | ~$6,547 | ~$5,355 | ~$4,164 |
That is a savings of roughly $2,382 a year — about 36% — once fully phased in. The same house inside the City of Tampa (higher millage, including the city’s own levy): about $7,103 today, falling to about $4,403 in 2028, roughly $2,701 in savings.
Three honest caveats: the figures use your assessed value (usually below market value thanks to Save Our Homes), hold 2025 millage rates constant, and exclude non-ad-valorem assessments like CDD fees — which Amendment 3 does not reduce.
One more number worth knowing: the Property Appraiser’s analysis found 59% of homesteaded properties in Hillsborough County would owe zero non-school property tax at the $250,000 exemption level.
Why Is Hillsborough County Property Tax So High?
The question Hillsborough homeowners ask most has a structural answer: your bill is a stack of separate levies, not one tax.
For unincorporated Hillsborough, the 2025 stack totals 18.2515 mills (a mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value): the countywide levy, the unincorporated-area MSTU — the “city-services” tax for places like Brandon and Riverview that have no city government — the library district, school district taxes (6.34 mills, the largest single layer), the port authority, transit (HART), the Children’s Board, and the water management district. Inside the City of Tampa, the MSTU drops off but the city’s 6.2-mill levy takes its place, for a higher total of 19.8428 mills.
On top of the millage stack, many newer communities — much of Riverview, FishHawk, and parts of southern Hillsborough — also pay CDD (Community Development District) assessments on the same bill. Those are not property taxes at all; they repay the bonds that built the neighborhood’s roads, ponds, and amenities, and no exemption or amendment reduces them.
Finally, timing matters: if you bought recently, you pay taxes on a much higher assessed value than a longtime neighbor in an identical house, because their assessment has been capped at 3% growth per year — which brings us to the homestead exemption and Save Our Homes.
Florida Homestead Exemption: What Every Homeowner Should Claim Now
Whatever happens with Amendment 3, Florida’s existing protections are some of the strongest in the country — and under-claimed in Hillsborough County.
The current homestead exemption removes up to $50,000 from the taxable value of a primary residence: the first $25,000 applies to all levies including schools, and a second exemption of up to $25,000 applies to non-school taxes on the value between $50,000 and $75,000. To claim it:
- Be the legal owner of the property as of January 1 of the tax year.
- Use the property as your permanent primary residence.
- File the homestead application with the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser by March 1.
Once granted, it renews automatically each year — but if you move, you must refile. If your home is your primary residence and you have not filed, you are leaving real money on the table, and you would also miss out on Amendment 3’s larger exemption if it passes.
Save Our Homes: The Cap That Protects Long-Term Homeowners
Since 1995, the Save Our Homes (SOH) benefit has capped annual increases in a homestead’s assessed value at 3% or the CPI increase, whichever is lower. Over a decade of rapid Hillsborough appreciation, that cap is why longtime Brandon and Sun City Center homeowners often pay taxes on assessed values far below market value.
Portability is the part most homeowners miss: if you sell a homesteaded property and buy a new Florida primary residence within three tax years, you can transfer up to $500,000 of accumulated SOH benefit to the new home.
Amendment 3 layers on top of this: SOH limits how fast your assessed value grows, and the new exemption would remove the first $250,000 of that assessed value from non-school taxation entirely.
What Amendment 3 Would Cost Local Government
Cuts this large have a cost side, and the estimates vary by scope — they are different measurements, not one number:
- The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser’s office, using the 2025 tax roll, estimated the higher homestead exemption would mean about $478 million less revenue in Hillsborough in 2028 alone, plus roughly $83 million more from the lower non-homestead assessment cap (reported by FOX 13, June 2026).
- Separately, a June 2026 report by county officials put the potential annual hit to county government funds at $367 million, and Property Appraiser Bob Henriquez has said losses could reach $500 million a year if the full cut takes effect (WUSF, June 17, 2026).
- Statewide, Florida’s Revenue Estimating Conference put the recurring cost at nearly $12 billion a year, with county revenue losses ranging from 2% to 24% depending on the county (Florida Policy Institute).
Those dollars currently fund sheriff’s deputies, fire rescue, parks, libraries, and road maintenance across Hillsborough. The amendment’s core-services clause requires remaining property-tax revenue to go to those needs first; how budgets adjust is the question county officials are working through now. That trade-off — meaningful relief for homesteaded families against a real revenue reduction for local services — is what voters weigh on November 3.
The SALT Deduction Cap: The Piece Congress Controls
Amendment 3 is a state question, but part of the property-tax squeeze runs through Washington: the SALT deduction cap limits the state and local taxes — including property taxes — a household can deduct on its federal return. Hillsborough homeowners whose combined property-tax and other local-tax bills exceed the cap lose federal deductibility on every dollar above it, a hidden federal add-on to the cost of homeownership that has been in place since 2018.
Property tax policy is set in Tallahassee. The SALT cap is set in Washington — by the people FL-14 sends to Congress.
What Congress Can Do — and John Peters’ Position
John Peters’ positions on the federal side:
- Repeal or substantially raise the SALT deduction cap. A cap that has not been adjusted for inflation since 2018 is a hidden tax increase on Hillsborough County homeowners. The federal government should not punish states for funding their own local services.
- Defend the mortgage interest deduction for primary residences against repeal proposals that would destabilize Hillsborough County’s housing market.
- Preserve casualty-loss deductions for hurricane and storm damage. Hillsborough homeowners face real exposure; the tax code should reflect that. Pair this with our hurricane preparedness analysis and the insurance crisis analysis.
- Respect Florida’s authority to set its own property tax policy. Amendment 3 is a decision for Florida voters, and this guide’s job is to give FL-14 homeowners the verified numbers to make it. Washington’s role is to fix the federal tax interactions that hurt Florida homeowners — not to preempt state policy.
After nine terms — eighteen years — Kathy Castor has not delivered on the SALT cap fix that would put real money back in Hillsborough County homeowners’ pockets. FL-14 deserves a representative whose fight in Washington matches the priorities of homeowners back home.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do Floridians vote on Amendment 3?
On the November 3, 2026 general election ballot. It requires 60% approval to pass. If approved, it takes effect January 1, 2027 (the $150,000 exemption), with the $250,000 exemption beginning January 1, 2028 and inflation indexing from 2029.
Does Amendment 3 cut school taxes?
No. School district levies are expressly carved out. The existing $25,000 homestead exemption against school taxes is unchanged, and the new $150,000/$250,000 exemption applies only to non-school levies.
Does Amendment 3 reduce CDD fees or other assessments?
No. The exemption excludes assessments for special benefits, so CDD assessments and other non-ad-valorem line items on your TRIM notice are not reduced.
How much are property taxes in Hillsborough County?
For a homesteaded home assessed at $400,000, the 2025 final millage works out to about $6,547 a year in unincorporated Hillsborough (18.2515 mills) and about $7,103 inside the City of Tampa (19.8428 mills), before any non-ad-valorem assessments such as CDD fees. Bills vary with assessed value, jurisdiction, and exemptions — your assessed value is often well below market value because of Save Our Homes.
I’m moving to Florida — would I get Amendment 3’s full exemption?
Not immediately. Anyone establishing Florida residency after 2026 receives the $25,000 school exemption plus a $50,000 non-school exemption until their fifth year of homestead exemption.
What is Save Our Homes and how does it protect Florida homeowners?
Save Our Homes limits annual increases in the assessed value of a homesteaded primary residence to 3% or the CPI increase, whichever is lower. Portability lets homeowners transfer up to $500,000 of accumulated benefit to a new Florida primary residence within three tax years. It is also why a recent buyer often pays far more tax than a longtime neighbor in an identical house.
Stand for FL-14 Homeowners
Housing costs — taxes, insurance, and inflation — are the kitchen-table issue in this district, and the federal half of the fix runs through the FL-14 seat on the ballot this year. See where John stands on the economy, check the full 2026 candidate field, and donate or contact the campaign to help.