Don't Tax the American Dream

We offer payment plans. We offer homestead deferral for qualifying seniors. People should not need a payment plan to stay in a house they already bought. That is why I am voting yes on Amendment 3.

The homestead exemption is broken.

In 1934, Florida voters set the homestead exemption at $5,000. That covered most of a normal house. In 1980 they raised it to $25,000. Then a typical Florida house was about $60,000. The exemption covered about 40 percent. In 2008 they added more on the non-school side. A typical house was about $195,000. The exemption covered less.

Today that non-school homestead is still in the $50,000 range. Houses here sell for around three times what they did in 2008. Values kept rising. Government kept taking more of your money and spending it. You got no relief.

Here is what Amendment 3 does. It raises the homestead exemption for non-school taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with future adjustments for inflation. Homeowners will still pay the school-tax portion of their bill. Apartments and storefronts would also see their annual assessment cap reduced from 10 percent to 5 percent.

Families who made Florida their home by the end of this year would receive the full new exemption. New residents would keep today’s exemption and qualify for the larger exemption in their fifth year. That approach protects local budgets from a rush of last-minute filings while ensuring that Florida remains a place where families can put down roots.

This is how renters become homeowners. Buying a first house is not only about saving for the down payment. It is also about managing the monthly cost of a mortgage, insurance, and, importantly, property taxes. A stronger homestead exemption helps a family that has been writing checks to a landlord begin building equity in a home of its own.

For a homeowner who qualifies for the full exemption, Amendment 3 could feel like finding nearly an extra $200 each month once the higher exemption takes effect in 2028. Families, not the government, know best how to spend their own money. That relief can help pay for groceries, car repairs, a new air conditioner, or a dinner out with family. When money stays in residents’ pockets, it circulates through local small businesses, supports jobs, and strengthens our economy.

Critics will say counties and cities cannot afford it. They will say renters and businesses get the bill. They will say police, fire, parks, and hospitals get cut.

Here is my answer. Miami-Dade’s tax base grew from $308 billion in 2019 to $541 billion in 2026, that is a government that already got a raise.

The taxpayers did not. The 5 percent cap is the brake so rentals and storefronts are not hit with 10 percent assessment jumps on top of it. And the Legislature did not leave public safety hanging.

The amendment instructs counties and cities to spend property-tax money on the essentials: public safety, education, infrastructure, natural resources, debt, pensions, and basic operations. School millage does not move. This is not the end of relief, either. The amendment directs the Legislature to build a uniform path so local governments can raise the homestead further.

Keep more of the home you already paid for. Give working families real property-tax relief. Let’s put residents first.

This amendment is not about government. It’s about people, saving homes and protecting the priorities that actually matter to our community.

This November, decide where the money goes. Vote Yes on Amendment 3.

Dariel Fernandez

Miami-Dade Tax Collector

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