Your first deadline as an owner is March 1: file for the homestead exemption with the Orange County Property Appraiser. On a $400,000 Apopka home it cuts the bill by about $655 under 2026 rules, and by an estimated $1,608 in 2027 under Amendment 3.
File for homestead by March 1
You qualify for a tax year if you own the home and live in it on January 1, and you file by March 1 of that year. Close in 2026, move in before January 1, 2027 and file by March 1, 2027, and the exemption shows on your 2027 bill. Miss January 1 and your first year is taxed with no homestead.
- Save Our Homes. From the year after your first homestead year, your assessed value can rise by no more than 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. The cap was 2.7% for 2026.
- Portability. If you gave up a Florida homestead, you can move up to $500,000 of its Save Our Homes benefit to the new home. Establish the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you left the old one, and file Form DR-501T with your application.
What Amendment 3 changes
Voters approved Amendment 3 on November 3, 2026 with about 62% in favor. The result is unofficial until certified and the implementing law is not yet passed, so everything after 2026 is an estimate.
| Year | Exemption from non-school taxes | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| No homestead | None | $6,403.16 |
| 2026, current law | $25,000 plus up to $26,411 | $5,747.70 |
| 2027, estimate | $150,000 | $4,794.85 |
| 2028, estimate | $250,000 | $3,828.36 |
The 2027 math: $375,000 at the 6.3430 school mills is $2,378.62, and $250,000 at the other 9.6649 mills is $2,416.23. Total: $4,794.85.
Two cautions. Local governments may raise millage rates in response. And anyone who was not a Florida resident on December 31, 2026 starts with a non-school exemption of up to $50,000: $5,761.34 on this example.
Your tax and insurance calendar
Tax bills are mailed by November 1. Pay in November and you take 4% off; the discount falls to 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February, and the bill is delinquent on April 1. The 2026 example, $5,747.70, paid in November is $5,517.79.
When the insurance renewal arrives, re-shop it with an independent agent, and keep your wind mitigation report and roof permit on file. Citizens policyholders: the flood requirement starts January 1, 2027.
First-year maintenance list
Fannie Mae suggests budgeting 1% to 4% of a home's value a year for upkeep: $4,000 to $16,000 on $400,000.
- Change air filters on schedule and have the HVAC serviced before summer.
- Check the roof and clear gutters before hurricane season and after any major storm.
- Keep tree limbs off the roof, and re-caulk windows and doors where gaps open.
- File every permit, receipt and warranty for the next insurer and the next buyer.
Put March 1 on your calendar and file as soon as you move in. Filing late costs a full year of the exemption.
Before you go
- Read the homestead and Amendment 3 guide.
- Model your own bill for 2026, 2027 and 2028 in the property tax estimator.
- Bring your questions to Robert through the contact page.
Sources: Florida Department of Revenue PT-112, s. 193.155, F.S., Ballotpedia, Amendment 3 (2026), Orange County Tax Collector, Orange County final 2026 millage, Fannie Mae on maintenance budgets. Checked November 2026.
File by March 1 for the first January 1 you own and occupy the home. Amendment 3 sets the non-school exemption at $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028; $50,000 applies to people who were not Florida residents on December 31, 2026.
