Amendment 3 for Flagler County Neighbors: What Changes on Your Tax Bill, City by City

Florida votes on Amendment 3 on Tuesday, November 3. It would raise the homestead exemption on county, city and special-district taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, and it needs 60 percent of the vote to pass. If it does, the change starts January 1, 2027.

I am not here to tell anyone how to vote. A lot of neighbors have asked me what it would actually do to their bill, so I pulled the numbers for Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell, what the City of Palm Coast says it would cost, and the fine print that matters if you are buying, selling or moving here. If you want the full background, my October 19 post covers how the amendment came together.

What is on the ballot

The official title is "Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homestead Property Assessments." In plain terms, it does three things:

• A much larger homestead exemption on non-school taxes. Today a homesteaded home gets $25,000 off for every taxing authority, plus a second exemption that brings the non-school total to about $51,000 this year. Amendment 3 raises the non-school exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then adjusts it for inflation starting in 2029.
• School taxes stay as they are. The $25,000 school exemption does not change, and for most owners the school line is the single largest part of the bill. Nobody's bill goes to zero.
• A lower cap for everything that is not a homestead. Second homes, rentals, commercial buildings and vacant land are capped at a 10 percent assessment increase per year now. That becomes 5 percent.

It also tells the Legislature to write a procedure that would let counties and cities raise the exemption further, up to a home's full assessed value, for their own levies. That is a door being opened, not an automatic change.

What the savings could look like in Flagler County

Florida TaxWatch published estimated annual savings for a homesteaded owner in every city in the state, based on each city's non-school tax rates. ClickOrlando printed the Central Florida table on October 5. Here are the Flagler County lines:

• Palm Coast: about $1,227 in 2027 and $2,472 in 2028
• Flagler Beach (Flagler County side): about $1,361 in 2027 and $2,742 in 2028
• Bunnell: about $1,606 in 2027 and $3,235 in 2028
• Beverly Beach: about $927 in 2027 and $1,867 in 2028
• Unincorporated Flagler County (the Hammock, parts of the west side): about $824 in 2027 and $1,660 in 2028

Two cautions on those figures. First, they assume your home has enough assessed value to use the whole new exemption. If your assessed value is under $150,000 in 2027, or under $250,000 in 2028, your county, city and special-district lines would drop to zero and you would save less than the table shows, but you would also be paying only school taxes. Second, they assume today's tax rates. Rates get set every summer, so the real number will move.

One local point worth knowing: assessed value is not market value. Save Our Homes has capped assessment growth on homesteads at 3 percent a year since 1995, so a lot of longtime Palm Coast owners carry assessed values well below what their homes would sell for. Pull up your TRIM notice or your bill and look at the "assessed value" line, then subtract your current exemptions. That is the number the new exemption works against.

The newcomer rule

This is the part most people have not heard about. Anyone who is a Florida resident on December 31, 2026 gets the full new exemption as soon as they qualify for homestead. Anyone who becomes a Florida resident after that date gets the current exemption of about $50,000 first, and the larger exemption starts in their fifth year of homestead. The five years run from the year the exemption is first claimed, not from the move date. Starting in 2030, a county or city could shorten that wait for its own taxes with a two-thirds vote of its board.

If you are already here and homesteaded, none of that applies to you. If you have friends closing on a home this winter and moving from out of state, the December 31 date is the one to pay attention to. The Flagler County Property Appraiser's office is the right place to ask what counts as establishing residency.

What the City of Palm Coast says it would cost

The city posted its own analysis in early October, and it was careful to say it is not taking a side. Using Florida League of Cities estimates, Palm Coast expects about $12.4 million less property tax revenue in 2027 and about $21.7 million less in 2028. For scale, property taxes bring in roughly $45.5 million of the city's general fund, and this year's budget has about $15.2 million for fire services and $11 million for law enforcement. The city says no decisions have been made, and that a revenue drop that size could mean hard choices on service levels, capital projects and staffing.

On the county side, Clerk and Comptroller Tom Bexley told a Flagler Tiger Bay Club town hall on September 30 that the county collects about $136 million in property taxes a year, with nearly $65 million of that supporting the constitutional officers. Sheriff Rick Staly, whose office runs on a $66 million budget with 377 full-time employees, said he thinks every sheriff in Florida agrees property taxes need reform, but his office is not sure this is the right way to do it. Council member Theresa Pontieri supported it at the same event, saying it would force local officials to prioritize.

Statewide, the Legislature's economists put the drop in local collections at about $5 billion in the first year and about $11.9 billion a year once fully in place.

Could the city or county just raise the rate to make it up?

Not easily. A companion law passed with the amendment limits how far a local board can go. A simple majority can only set a rate up to the "rolled-back" rate, which is the rate that brings in the same dollars as the year before. Going above that takes a two-thirds vote, and going more than 10 percent above it takes a unanimous vote or a referendum. Fees are a different story, and the city's own page lists them as one of the options it would have to look at.

What this means for Palm Coast homeowners, buyers and sellers

If you own and homestead here: you would see the first change on the bill that arrives in November 2027, and the full exemption on the November 2028 bill. Nothing changes on the bill the Tax Collector just mailed. Pay it in November for the 4 percent discount either way.

If you are buying: property taxes are part of the monthly payment a lender qualifies you on. A lower non-school bill helps that math for anyone who is a Florida resident by year end. Ask what the current owner pays, then ask what the bill resets to after the sale, because a purchase wipes out the seller's Save Our Homes savings and the home is reassessed at market value.

If you own a second home or a rental: you do not get the larger exemption. The 5 percent cap is the piece aimed at you, and as Property Appraiser Jay Gardner put it at the town hall, it does not lower taxes, it slows the increase. The City of Palm Coast also notes that owners of rentals may pass higher costs through to tenants.

If you are thinking about selling in 2027: a lower tax bill makes a home easier for a buyer to afford. Nobody knows how prices here will react, so plan around your own numbers rather than a prediction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Amendment 3 get rid of my property taxes?

No. It raises the exemption on non-school taxes only. School taxes continue for everyone, and owners of rentals, second homes and commercial property keep paying on the full taxable value with a slower 5 percent assessment cap.

What happens if it fails?

Nothing changes. The current exemptions, the 10 percent non-homestead cap and the existing millage rules stay in place. The Florida Chamber's president has said he expects the state's 2027 Taxation and Budget Reform Commission to look at a different property tax proposal for the 2028 ballot, so the conversation would not be over.

I am moving to Palm Coast next year. Do I get the bigger exemption?

Under the amendment, only if you are a Florida resident by December 31, 2026. Otherwise you receive the current exemption first and the larger one beginning in your fifth year of homestead. Either way, file for homestead with the Flagler County Property Appraiser by March 1 of the year after you move in.

Whatever Tuesday brings, the numbers that matter most are your own: your assessed value, your exemptions and what your home would sell for today. If you would like to walk through them, call or text me at (386) 627-3612, or start with a free home value estimate. This post is general information, not tax or legal advice; a CPA or the Property Appraiser's office can confirm your exact situation.