Florida Amendment 5: The Inflation-Indexed Homestead Exemption in 2026

Last updated: July 2026

The Florida Amendment 5 homestead exemption change means the second $25,000 band of your homestead exemption now grows a little each year with inflation, instead of sitting frozen at a flat number. Voters approved Amendment 5 on November 5, 2024, and it took effect January 1, 2025. It amended the Florida Constitution to require that the additional homestead exemption, the second $25,000 that applies only to non-school property taxes, be adjusted annually by the change in the Consumer Price Index whenever that change is positive [3]. The Florida Department of Revenue publishes the new maximum each year. For the 2025 tax year the second band rose to $25,722 on a 2.9 percent CPI change, and for the 2026 tax year it rose again to $26,411 on a 2.7 percent CPI change [1].

In practice that lifts the total homestead exemption on a fully eligible Miami-Dade home from a flat $50,000 to $50,722 in 2025 and $51,411 in 2026 [1][2]. The dollars are modest, but the mechanism is the story: for the first time, a Florida homestead exemption keeps pace with inflation on its own rather than requiring a new ballot measure every time prices climb.

How the two homestead exemption bands actually work

Florida's homestead exemption comes in two $25,000 layers, and they do not behave the same way.

The first $25,000 applies to the first $25,000 of assessed value and reduces every taxing line on your bill, including the school district levy. That band is not touched by Amendment 5.

The second $25,000 is narrower. It applies only to assessed value above $50,000, and it is excluded from school district taxes. So a home assessed at $75,000 or more receives the full second band, a home assessed between $50,000 and $75,000 receives a partial amount, and a home assessed at $50,000 or less receives none of it [2]. Because most Miami-Dade single-family homes are assessed well above $75,000, the typical homesteaded owner here gets the full second band.

Amendment 5 indexes only that second band, and only for the non-school portion of the bill. School taxes, which the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser notes can run up to roughly 40 percent of a tax bill, are carved out entirely [2].

What Amendment 5 changed, and what it did not

Before 2025, the second band was a flat $25,000 written into the constitution. Inflation quietly eroded it every year. Amendment 5 added a line to Section 196.031 of the Florida Statutes requiring the Department of Revenue to recalculate that band each January 1 using the percentage change in the CPI for all urban consumers reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [1][3].

Two guardrails are built in. The adjustment only happens when the CPI change is positive, so the exemption never shrinks in a deflationary year, and the value cannot fall below $25,000 [1][3]. The first band and the school-tax treatment are unchanged.

Here is the published progression from the Department of Revenue [1]:

2024 (base year): $25,000
2025: 2.9 percent CPI change, $25,722
2026: 2.7 percent CPI change, $26,411

What it saves a Miami-Dade homeowner

The extra exemption only offsets non-school millage, so the savings depend on your municipality's non-school rate. Countywide, non-school levies in Miami-Dade run in the range of roughly 11 mills once you strip out the school board's portion, though the exact figure varies by city and special district [4].

Using about 11 non-school mills as an illustration, the full second band of $26,411 shields roughly $290 a year in non-school taxes in 2026. But most of that value existed before Amendment 5. The piece Amendment 5 actually added is the increment above the old flat $25,000. That increment is $722 of assessed value in 2025 and $1,411 in 2026, which at about 11 mills is on the order of $8 in 2025 and $16 in 2026 [1][4].

So the honest framing is this: Amendment 5 is not a large one-year tax cut. It is a structural fix that stops inflation from eating your exemption. The benefit compounds. Each positive CPI year stacks on the last, and over a long hold the indexed band drifts steadily higher while the old flat number would have stayed put. For an owner underwriting a decade-plus hold in a market like Coral Gables or Pinecrest, that is a small, permanent, automatic reduction in carrying cost.

How it stacks with Save Our Homes

Amendment 5 and the Save Our Homes assessment cap solve two different problems, and they work together rather than overlapping.

Save Our Homes limits how fast your assessed value can rise, capping annual increases on homesteaded property at 3 percent or the change in CPI, whichever is lower. It controls the assessment, the base your taxes are calculated on.

The homestead exemption, including the Amendment 5 band, is subtracted after the assessment is set. It reduces the taxable value that remains.

So the order of operations is: Save Our Homes holds down how high your assessed value can climb, then your homestead exemptions, first band plus the inflation-indexed second band, come off the top before the millage is applied. Amendment 5 does not change the Save Our Homes cap, and the cap does not change the exemption. A long-tenure Miami-Dade owner benefits from both at once, a suppressed assessment and an exemption that no longer loses ground to inflation.

Frequently asked questions

Does Amendment 5 lower my school taxes?

No. The band Amendment 5 indexes applies only to non-school levies. The school district portion of your bill, which the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser notes can be up to about 40 percent of the total, is excluded from the second exemption entirely [2].

Do I need to file anything to get the inflation adjustment?

No. If you already hold a Florida homestead exemption, the Department of Revenue recalculates the second band automatically each year and county property appraisers apply it. There is no separate application for the CPI adjustment. If you do not yet have a homestead exemption, you still need to file for homestead itself [2].

Can the exemption ever go down?

No. The adjustment is applied only when the CPI change is positive, and the constitution and statute set a floor so the second band cannot drop below $25,000. In a year with no inflation or falling prices, the value simply holds steady [1][3].

What is the 2026 exemption amount?

For the 2026 tax year the second band is $26,411, reflecting a 2.7 percent CPI change. Combined with the unindexed first $25,000 band, a fully eligible homesteaded home carries a total exemption of $51,411 [1].

How much will this actually save me in Miami-Dade?

The portion that Amendment 5 newly adds, the amount above the old flat $25,000, is small in any single year, on the order of a few dollars to low double digits at current non-school millage. The larger value is structural: it compounds each positive CPI year and prevents inflation from steadily shrinking your exemption over a long hold. If you want your specific numbers modeled against your assessment and municipality, request a property valuation or review the property tax basics in our FAQ.

Gabriel

Sources

Florida Department of Revenue — Additional Homestead Exemption Adjustment (CPI table, 2025 and 2026 maximum exemption amounts)

Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser — Second Homestead Exemption

Ballotpedia — Florida Amendment 5, Annual Inflation Adjustment for Homestead Property Tax Exemption Value Amendment (2024))

Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser — 2025 Proposed Millage Rate Table

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Gabriel A. Moyers, PA. eXp Realty. Florida License #3407280. Equal Housing Opportunity. This article is general information as of July 2026 and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Verify current figures against authoritative sources before acting.