Amendment 3 on November Ballot Would Raise Homestead Exemption Statewide, Including Levy County

A statewide measure, not just an Alachua question

Florida voters will decide Amendment 3 on the November ballot, a constitutional change that would raise the state’s homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, then to $250,000 in 2028, according to reporting by WUFT News. Because the homestead exemption is written into the state constitution, the change applies everywhere in Florida, not just Alachua County, where WUFT’s reporting is based. That means Cedar Key and Levy County homeowners would see the same exemption schedule as anyone else in the state, assuming they claim homestead status on a primary residence.

The exemption reduces the taxable value of a primary home, not school district taxes, which are unaffected under the measure. New Florida residents who arrive after the end of 2026 would receive a smaller exemption until they have lived in the state five years, under the amendment’s language as reported.

What changes for non-homestead property

Amendment 3 would also lower the annual cap on how much the taxable value of non-homestead property can rise each year, from 10% to 5%. That cap covers rental homes, second homes and commercial property, a category that matters on a coast built in part on vacation rentals, charter operations and seasonal second homes. A tighter cap could slow the growth of taxable value on those properties even as market values climb, which supporters frame as relief and critics, per WUFT’s sourcing, frame as a cost that shifts rather than disappears.

The budget math is local, and Levy’s isn’t shown yet

WUFT’s reporting lays out Alachua County’s exposure in detail: property taxes make up about 23% of that county’s overall budget and 57% of its general fund, with a $250,000 exemption cutting general fund property tax revenue by at least $48.9 million and leaving an estimated $17 million funding gap, according to the Alachua County Democratic Party chair quoted in the piece. Those figures are specific to Alachua County’s budget structure and reserves. This article does not have comparable numbers for Levy County, Cedar Key or Yankeetown, and no official has yet published a local fiscal-impact estimate. Readers who want to know what the amendment would mean for the Cedar Key city budget or Levy County’s general fund should ask the Levy County Property Appraiser’s office and the county’s budget office directly, since those figures were not available in this source.

Core-services language cuts both ways

The amendment includes language requiring remaining property tax revenue to fund “core services,” which supporters describe as a guardrail protecting public safety and infrastructure, and critics describe as a vehicle for state-level interference in what counts as essential local spending. Both sides agree the designation of “core services” would determine whether items like parks, veterans services, libraries or even AI-assisted 911 call handling, already in use in neighboring Citrus County, per the WUFT report, expand or shrink locally.

What to watch locally

Amendment 3 needs 60% voter approval to pass, consistent with Florida’s constitutional amendment threshold. For Cedar Key and Levy County residents, the practical questions are the same ones Alachua County is already wrestling with: how much of the local general fund depends on property tax revenue, what services draw from that fund, and whether county commissioners would turn to sales tax increases, fee hikes or budget cuts to close any gap. Florida & Cedar Key News will seek Levy County-specific budget figures ahead of the November vote.