Amendment 3 and Your Villages Tax Bill: Who Gets the $150,000 Exemption, Who Waits Five Years, and What Never Changes

What does Amendment 3 change for homeowners in The Villages?

For a homesteaded home, Amendment 3 removes much more of the assessed value from non-school taxes: $150,000 for 2027 and $250,000 for 2028, adjusted for inflation after that. It also lowers the yearly cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property to 5 percent and limits what counties and cities may spend property tax on.

The amendment is short, and the official ballot summary from the Florida Division of Elections lists five moving parts:

• A bigger homestead exemption for non-school levies: $150,000 of assessed value in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments after that.
• A path to go further: the Legislature must create a uniform procedure counties and cities can use to raise the exemption for their own levies, up to the full assessed value. Special districts can do the same, but only with voter approval.
• A newcomer rule: anyone who was not a Florida resident on December 31, 2026 receives the existing exemption until the fifth year of exemption.
• A lower cap for non-homestead property: annual assessment increases for non-school levies are capped at 5 percent instead of 10 percent.
• Spending limits: counties and cities must use property tax for listed purposes such as public safety, schools, infrastructure, natural resources, debt service, employee retirement, and operations.

It takes effect January 1, 2027. Today, the Sumter County Property Appraiser describes the exemption as up to $50,000: the first $25,000 against all property taxes, and a second $25,000 against non-school taxes on assessed value above $50,000. Statewide, the measure passed with about 62 percent, above the 60 percent a constitutional amendment needs. Villages-News reported 70 percent support in Sumter County, 65 percent in Lake and 69 percent in Marion.

Who gets the bigger exemption, and who waits five years?

The deciding fact is where you lived on December 31, 2026. A Florida permanent resident on that date gets the full $150,000 and then $250,000 non-school exemption once they homestead. Someone who was not a Florida resident that day gets a $25,000 school and $50,000 non-school exemption until their fifth year of exemption.

The ballot text ties the newcomer rule to whether a person maintained a permanent residence in Florida as of December 31, 2026. It is a residency test, not a test of whether you already own a homestead. As written, someone who lived in Ocala or Orlando at the end of 2026 and buys in The Villages later appears to fall on the full-exemption side. How the rule is administered is left to the Legislature, so confirm your own case with the property appraiser.

Two qualifiers matter. The ballot summary says the newcomer rule applies only to the extent the U.S. Constitution permits, and the Tampa Bay Times reported that some have questioned the rule and a court challenge is likely. Also, starting in 2030, a county or city may vote by two thirds to shorten the five-year wait for a critical local need.

What on a Villages tax bill does Amendment 3 not touch?

School taxes keep the same $25,000 exemption. The Community Development District maintenance assessment and the infrastructure bond assessment are non-ad valorem assessments under Florida law, and the homestead exemption has never applied to assessments for special benefits, so neither shrinks. The monthly amenity fee is not a property tax at all.

A Villages property tax bill mixes two kinds of charges. Ad valorem taxes are a rate times taxable value, and those are where the exemption works. Non-ad valorem assessments are flat charges for a specific benefit, and Florida Statutes section 190.021 classifies community development district maintenance and benefit assessments as non-ad valorem. The constitution's homestead language exempts property from taxation except assessments for special benefits, and the amendment keeps that wording.

Millage: Sumter County Property Appraiser, certified 2026 millage, read November 7, 2026. Lake and Marion County parcels have their own rates.

The District's own pages describe the bond as infrastructure financed with tax-exempt bonds and repaid through an annual assessment on the property tax bill, which you can pay off early but are not required to. That is why the bond on a Villages home still matters after Amendment 3. If anything, it becomes a larger share of the bill for a homesteaded owner, because the taxes around it shrink and it does not.

How much could Amendment 3 be worth on a Sumter County home?

Using Sumter County's certified 2026 rates for the county and Water Board, 5.0731 mills combined, each extra $100,000 of exemption is worth about $507 a year. Moving from about $50,000 to $250,000 of non-school exemption would be about $1,015 a year, before fire district or city millage and before 2027 rates are set.

This is arithmetic, not a forecast. A mill is one dollar of tax per $1,000 of taxable value, so 5.0731 mills on $100,000 is $507.31.

Three cautions keep this honest:

• Rates will move. 2027 millage is set in next summer's budget hearings. Kaufman Rossin notes that a state law signed in June generally holds local governments to the rolled-back rate unless a supermajority votes higher.
• The savings stop growing once assessed value passes the exemption. A home assessed at exactly $250,000 and one assessed at $600,000 save the same non-school dollars, because the exemption is a fixed amount.
• Assessed value is not price. A homesteaded owner's assessed value can sit well below market because of the Save Our Homes cap, while a buyer's value resets on the January 1 after purchase.

For your own parcel, the Sumter, Lake or Marion property appraiser is the authority, and a CPA can tell you what it means for your overall picture. Nothing here is tax advice.

What does the December 31, 2026 date mean if I am moving from another state?

It means timing now carries a dollar value. If you were not a Florida permanent resident on December 31, 2026, the ballot text gives you today's smaller exemption until your fifth year of exemption. Residency is a factual claim your former state can examine, so the move itself, not a filing, has to establish it.

December 31 is under eight weeks away. Two points are worth reading slowly before anyone hurries.

First, residency is established by facts. Kaufman Rossin, a CPA firm, points out that a former home state can challenge a Florida residency claim, and that a rushed homestead application could create more income tax exposure in the old state than it saves in Florida property tax. A driver's license, voter registration and a declaration of domicile help document a move, but they do not settle the question alone.

Second, the homestead exemption itself still runs on Florida's January 1 rule. The Sumter County Property Appraiser asks first-time applicants to declare they lived in the home on January 1 of the tax year, and the Lake County Property Appraiser lists March 1 as the filing deadline each year.

Whether an earlier move makes sense is a question for a CPA or tax attorney. The Florida move guide covers the rest of the move, from licenses to the order of operations.

What happens to second homes and seasonal owners in The Villages?

A seasonal or second home in The Villages gets no homestead exemption, before or after Amendment 3. The change for those owners is a lower cap: from January 1, 2027, the assessed value for non-school levies can rise no more than 5 percent a year, down from 10 percent. School taxes still apply to full assessed value.

The lower cap helps while you own the home. It does not travel with it. The ballot text keeps the rule that a non-homestead home is reassessed at just value after a change of ownership, so a buyer of a seasonal home starts again at market value.

Kaufman Rossin also warns that the cap limits assessed value, not tax rates. If counties raise millage to replace revenue lost from homesteads, a non-homestead owner could pay more even with the lower cap. Whether that happens in Sumter, Lake or Marion depends on budget votes that have not been taken.

What could still change before Amendment 3 shows up on a tax bill?

A lot of the detail is still being written. Governor DeSantis said he will call a special session before his term ends in early January to pass implementing law, and the 2027 regular session follows. The first bills reflecting the change are expected in November 2027, after local governments set new budgets and rates.

Kaufman Rossin reports that the state's Revenue Estimating Conference treats the new exemption and the 5 percent cap as taking effect without new legislation, while the newcomer procedure and the local opt-in process need the Legislature.

Local budgets are the other unknown. Before the vote, Sumter County Chairman Don Wiley, speaking as a citizen at a forum reported by Villages-News, said lost revenue would push the county to cut services the state does not require, such as parks and libraries. Lady Lake's town manager projects about $1.2 million less in General Fund revenue. On the same ballot, Sumter voters revived a 2 percent tourist development tax on short-term lodging and kept an 8-cent local fuel tax for roads.

How does Amendment 3 change the way you read a Villages listing?

The tax figure on a listing was already the seller's bill, shaped by the seller's homestead, assessed value cap and residency. After Amendment 3 it can also reflect an exemption a newcomer will not get for years. Model taxes from your own purchase price and residency status, then add the District assessments, which do not change.

Before Amendment 3, the gap between a long-time owner's bill and a new buyer's bill came mostly from the assessment reset after a sale. Starting with 2027 bills, there can be a second gap: a seller who lived in Florida before 2027 carries the $150,000 or $250,000 exemption, while a buyer arriving from another state starts with the existing, smaller one.

That is why I build a buyer's estimate from three inputs instead of the listing line: the purchase price, the buyer's own residency date, and the fixed District assessments for that specific address. The true monthly cost page walks through the full stack of amenity fee, bond, maintenance assessment, taxes and insurance. If you are still choosing a section, the village directory lists all 109 villages by District. Confirm the county by address, because the county decides whose millage you pay.

The local take

I was born and raised in Marion County, I am a Navy Veteran, and I represent buyers independently. I am not a CPA or an attorney, and I will not tell you what Amendment 3 is worth to you. What I can tell you is where it changes the home search.

The trade-off people miss. Amendment 3 makes the parts of a Villages bill that do not shrink, the bond and the District maintenance assessment, a bigger share of the total for a homesteaded owner. Two homes at the same price can carry very different bond balances, and that difference now stands out more. A newer section with a large remaining bond and an older home with the bond paid off will compare differently than they did a year ago.

What I would check on any home. First, the county the village sits in, because Sumter, Lake and Marion set different rates and will make different budget choices. Second, the remaining bond balance and the maintenance assessment for that exact address. Third, your own residency date, so the tax estimate fits you and not the seller.

If you send me two or three addresses, I will lay out the bond, the assessments and the published millage side by side, with your residency situation noted, so you can take one clean page to your CPA.

Frequently asked questions

Does Amendment 3 eliminate property taxes in The Villages?

No. School taxes remain, with the same $25,000 exemption, and the non-school exemption is a fixed dollar amount, so value above $150,000 or $250,000 is still taxed. The District maintenance and bond assessments also stay. The amendment does let counties and cities raise their own exemption further once the Legislature sets a procedure.

Does Amendment 3 lower my Villages bond payment?

No. The bond is repaid through a non-ad valorem assessment on the property tax bill, and the homestead exemption does not apply to assessments for special benefits. The payment depends on the bond for your address, not on assessed value. Payoff questions belong with your CPA or financial advisor.

I closed on a Villages home in 2026 but moved here from another state. Which exemption do I get?

The ballot text turns on whether you maintained a permanent residence in Florida as of December 31, 2026, not on your closing date. If your move was complete by then, you appear to fall on the full-exemption side. The property appraiser decides eligibility, so confirm with Sumter, Lake or Marion directly.

Do I need to reapply for homestead because of Amendment 3?

Nothing read for this post says existing homestead owners must reapply, and the Legislature has not yet passed the implementing law. Watch for notices from your county property appraiser after the special session. New owners still file by March 1 for the year that begins on January 1.

Does Amendment 3 change Save Our Homes or portability?

The ballot summary does not list any change to the 3 percent Save Our Homes cap or to portability, which lets you move up to $500,000 of assessment difference to a new Florida homestead. Portability still requires a separate form with the property appraiser. Ask the appraiser how the two interact for your move.

Where do I check the numbers for my own Villages home?

Start with the property appraiser for the county the home sits in: Sumter County (sumterpa.com), Lake County (lakecopropappr.com, 352-253-2150) or Marion County (pa.marion.fl.us, 352-368-8300). They publish assessed value, exemptions and millage. The District's website lists bond amortization schedules by district.

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