from Florida Realtors
Amendment 4 is a constitutional amendment on Florida’s ballot this year. This proposal will lower property taxes for new homebuyers and spur much-needed economic growth in the housing market by offering a healthy new exemption for first-time homebuyers.
Amendment 4 will also protect working families, small businesses and homeowners from unfair and unexpected tax increases by helping to stop “recapture,” a tax gimmick that increases property taxes even when property values decline.
Finally, Amendment 4 will lower assessment increases on non-homestead properties from a burdensome 10 percent to a more reasonable 5 percent.
Bottom line
• Amendment 4 creates an additional homestead exemption for first-time homebuyers for 5 years.
• Amendment 4 protects Floridians from increased property taxes when their property values have declined.
• Amendment 4 lowers the maximum yearly assessment increase on non-homestead properties from 10 percent to 5 percent.
Potential questions
Q: Does this new homestead exemption replace the exemption in current law?
A: No. The new homestead exemption in Amendment 4 is applied in addition to your current homestead exemption.
Q: Won’t creating an additional homestead exemption affect the funding of police officers and firefighters?
A: Amendment 4 is not retroactive and does nothing to affect the current budgets of local governments.
Q: Does Amendment 4 change or reduce “Save Our Homes”, which caps assessment increases at 3 percent per year for homestead property, at all?
A: No.
Q: If local governments are not able to raise the assessed value of a property that has gone down in market value, won’t they just raise millage rates?
A: It is the local government’s decision whether to raise taxes on Florida homeowners or not. Amendment 4 simply gives the Legislature the authority to protect homeowners from burdensome, unfair tax increases if the value of their home goes down.
Q: Exactly how much is this new homestead exemption?
A: The additional homestead exemption that Amendment 4 creates is equal to half of the home’s value, up to the median home value in the county.