The Breakdown · November 3, 2026 ballot
Amendment 3 and your property tax
Homesteads: no non-school tax on the first $150,000 of assessed value in 2027, $250,000 from 2028. Most other property: yearly assessment increases capped at 5% instead of 10%. School taxes unchanged.
Example, not a real parcel
Median Cape Coral single-family homestead
The middle values of 55,365 such homes on the 2026 roll. Look up your address above to see your own.
- Market value
- $307,087
- Assessed
- $245,192
- Taxable (non-school)
- $193,781
2026 exemptions: Homestead $51,411
Your bill, three ways
2026 values and 2026 proposed tax rates in every column, so the only thing that changes is the amendment.
From market value to taxable value
Each bar is the property's market value. Each tax rate applies to the dark taxable part.
Schoolsschool board levies
Taxable $220,192 of $307,087 market value
Taxable $220,192 of $307,087 market value
Everything elsecounty, city, fire and other districts
Taxable $193,781 of $307,087 market value
Taxable $0 of $307,087 market value
Line by line, every taxing authority
Taxing district 057, 2026 proposed rates. One mill is $1 per $1,000 of taxable value.
| Taxing authority | Mills | Today | Amend. 3 | Change | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schools | |||||
| Public School - by Local Board | 2.2480 | $495 | $495 | $0 | |
| Public School - by State Law | 3.0230 | $666 | $666 | $0 | |
| Subtotal | $1,161 | $1,161 | $0 | ||
| Everything else | |||||
| Lee County General Revenue | 3.7623 | $729 | $0 | −$729 | |
| City of Cape Coral | 5.1988 | $1,007 | $0 | −$1,007 | |
| Lee County All Hazards Protection District | 0.0693 | $13 | $0 | −$13 | |
| Lee County Library District | 0.4218 | $82 | $0 | −$82 | |
| SFWMD-District-Wide | 0.0948 | $18 | $0 | −$18 | |
| SFWMD-Everglades Construction Project | 0.0327 | $6 | $0 | −$6 | |
| SFWMD-Okeechobee Basin | 0.1026 | $20 | $0 | −$20 | |
| Lee County Hyacinth Control District | 0.0200 | $4 | $0 | −$4 | |
| Lee County Mosquito Control District | 0.2201 | $43 | $0 | −$43 | |
| West Coast Inland Navigation District | 0.0394 | $8 | $0 | −$8 | |
| City of Cape Coral Parks Voted Debt Svc | 0.1554 | $30 | $0 | −$30 | |
| Subtotal | $1,961 | $0 | −$1,961 | ||
| Total | $3,121 | $1,161 | −$1,961 | ||
Today Amend. 3
Over time
Estimated bill each year through 2031. Tax rates stay at 2026 levels. The two sliders are assumptions you set, not forecasts.
- 2031, current law
- $3,621
- 2031, Amendment 3
- $1,439
- Difference
- −$2,182
What Amendment 3 changes
- Homesteads: exempts the first $150,000 of assessed value from non-school taxes in 2027 and the first $250,000 from 2028, adjusted for inflation from 2029. It replaces today's two $25,000-range exemptions for those taxes.
- School taxes: unchanged. The homestead exemption for school levies stays at $25,000.
- Most other property (rentals, second homes, businesses, vacant land): the yearly cap on assessment increases for non-school taxes drops from 10% to 5%. Agricultural and conservation land is assessed on its use and is not capped.
- New residents: anyone not a Florida resident on Dec. 31, 2026 gets $25,000 (school) and $50,000 (non-school) for their first four years of homestead, then the full amount. From 2030 a county or city may shorten that wait for its own taxes.
- Spending: counties and cities may use property tax only for listed purposes: public safety, education, infrastructure, natural resources, debt service, employee retirement, and the operations and expenses of their governments not barred by state law.
- To pass: 60% of the vote on Nov. 3, 2026. Takes effect Jan. 1, 2027.
How this is calculated
- Values and exemptions: Lee County's public parcel layer (county GIS, from the Property Appraiser's 2026 roll), read live when you search.
- Tax rates: the Property Appraiser's 2026 Taxing District Millage Book (proposed rates on the August TRIM notices). Final adopted rates can differ slightly.
- Amendment rules: the enrolled text of CS/HJR 1F and the House final bill analysis.
- Today's homestead exemption is $25,000 on all taxes plus $26,411 on assessed value between $50,000 and $76,411 for non-school taxes. Other exemptions (widow, disability, veteran) are kept as the roll applies them; a senior exemption is applied to county and city taxes only.
- Not included: non-ad valorem assessments (garbage, stormwater, CDD and other flat fees), which are not based on value.
- An estimate, not a bill. Your tax bill from the Lee County Tax Collector is the official figure.