Amendment 3 and Lakewood Ranch Taxes: Why Dec. 31 Matters | Sarasota Real Estate

On November 3, Florida voters approved Amendment 3 with about 62 percent of the vote in unofficial results. That cleared the 60 percent threshold the state requires to change its constitution, and the amendment takes effect January 1, 2027. For someone comparing Lakewood Ranch homes this fall, the size of the cut depends on the owner's history. Under the ballot language, the largest savings depend on when the owner became a Florida resident. The house itself doesn't decide it.

By mid-November, that date is seven weeks away. Several parts of a Lakewood Ranch tax bill also sit outside the amendment entirely. Put those two facts together and the tax figure on a listing becomes a much weaker guide to what the next owner will pay.

The sentence in the ballot summary that sets the clock

The amendment raises the homestead exemption for non-school taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then adjusts it for inflation. The official ballot summary published by the Florida Division of Elections also includes this sentence:

Persons who are not Florida residents on December 31, 2026, will receive the existing homestead exemption upon qualifying for a homestead exemption, with the increased homestead exemption beginning with the fifth year of exemption, to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution.

The Manatee County Property Appraiser hosts an FAQ prepared by the Property Appraisers' Association of Florida that explains how this works. Someone who becomes a Florida resident by December 31, 2026 qualifies for the larger exemption whenever they later buy a home and apply, even if they don't own Florida property yet. Someone who becomes a resident on or after January 1, 2027 starts with the new-resident amount of $50,000, which applies to non-school taxes and is adjusted by CPI beginning in 2028. After four years of keeping a homestead exemption, that owner moves to the larger exemption on January 1 of the fifth year.

The existing homestead calendar still applies on top of that. The Manatee County Property Appraiser says an owner has to own and live in the home as a permanent Florida residence on January 1 to qualify for that tax year, and has to apply by March 1. Here is how those dates combine for three buyers looking at the same Lakewood Ranch street:

Buyer's situation	Non-school homestead exemption under the FAQ	When the larger exemption begins
Florida resident by Dec. 31, 2026; owns and lives in the home on Jan. 1, 2027; applies by March 1	$150,000 for 2027, $250,000 for 2028	2027
Florida resident by Dec. 31, 2026; buys in Lakewood Ranch during 2027	The larger amount, once they buy and apply	First homestead year, Jan. 1, 2028
Becomes a resident in spring 2027; owns and lives in the home on Jan. 1, 2028	$50,000 new-resident amount	Jan. 1, 2032, the fifth year of exemption

The homes in the first and third rows could be identical, with the same village, floor plan and closing price. On the county side of the bill, they could be taxed on very different values for four years.

Proving residency still runs through the existing process. Manatee County's homestead exemption page lists a Florida driver's license or ID, Florida vehicle tags, and voter registration or a declaration of domicile, and says the appraiser can ask for more.

The share of a Lakewood Ranch bill the amendment does not touch

Even for owners who get the larger exemption, the reduction applies to only part of the bill. The appraisers' FAQ says homestead exemptions lower taxable value for ad valorem taxes but do not reduce non-ad valorem assessments. In much of Lakewood Ranch, those assessments are large. Two 2025 Manatee County tax bills from Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District neighborhoods show how large:

2025 tax-bill line	A parcel in Azario Esplanade	A parcel in Star Farms
Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District	$424.13	$424.13
Stewardship District I&S	$1,773.65	$1,509.61
East Manatee Fire Rescue non-ad valorem	$275.98	$224.51
Total that the homestead exemption does not reduce	$2,473.76	$2,158.25

These figures come from two specific parcels. They aren't a rate for the whole community. The Stewardship District's FY2025-26 preliminary budget lists average operations assessments per unit that vary by area, from $29 in the Southeast area to $678 in the Sarasota area, and it describes them as projections at buildout. School taxes also stay mostly in place. Only the existing $25,000 exemption applies to school millage, which the East County Observer put at 6.2750 mills.

The amendment's reach looks smaller next to that table. The same Observer story estimated that an East County homeowner could save at most $787 in 2027 and $1,585 in 2028, using a combined non-school millage of 7.9796, and noted that many homeowners would save less. On the Azario parcel, the non-ad valorem lines alone come to about three times that 2027 maximum. A buyer who arrives after December 31 pays those lines in full and gets the $50,000 new-resident exemption on the county side.

We covered the reason the I&S line varies so much from village to village in an earlier piece on CDD bond age and the Lakewood Ranch median. Amendment 3 makes that line a bigger share of what a newer owner pays.

The lines that can still grow

The parts of the bill the amendment can't reach are also the parts local agencies can raise. The appraisers' FAQ says non-ad valorem assessments may increase, decrease, expire or be newly adopted, depending on what the agencies that impose them decide. Before the vote, the agencies serving Lakewood Ranch had already published the size of the gap:

East Manatee Fire Rescue projected losing $3.2 million of ad valorem revenue in the first year and $6.1 million in the second. Ad valorem taxes cover 55 percent of the district's operating budget, and its FY27 budget is $39.7 million. Deputy Chief Paul Wren told the Observer he expected about a 15 percent overall budget reduction if the amendment passed. The district also collects a non-ad valorem fire assessment based on structure square footage and/or acreage.
Manatee County's chief financial officer estimated general-fund impacts of $62.9 million in 2027 and $113.1 million in 2028.
Sarasota County, which covers the southern part of Lakewood Ranch, estimated an impact of about $87 million on county services in fiscal 2029. On its Amendment 3 page, the county says it may consider other taxes or fees for services, and that ambulance fees are the only other major funding source for EMS.

Florida TaxWatch's county estimates show that both counties face nearly the same revenue reduction. It projects $85.7 million for Manatee and $85.1 million for Sarasota in FY 2027-28, rising to $159.3 million and $156.1 million in FY 2028-29. Whichever side of the county line a home sits on, a buyer is entering a period when each agency will decide how to replace that revenue.

Why a seller's tax bill is a weaker guide in 2027

A listing's tax figure has always reflected the seller's circumstances. The Florida Department of Revenue says a homestead loses its Save Our Homes benefit when ownership changes, including through a sale, and is reassessed at market value the following January 1. Starting in 2027, the seller's figure will also reflect the seller's residency date. A long-time Lakewood Ranch homesteader's bill is expected to drop. A buyer who arrives in 2027 starts from market value with a $50,000 exemption, and pays the non-ad valorem lines in full.

That gap affects some buyers more than others:

Buyers moving within Florida. If their residency is already established, they keep the December 31 status. The Sarasota County Property Appraiser also explains portability, which lets an owner move up to $500,000 of Save Our Homes benefit to a new Florida homestead of equal or greater market value.
Buyers relocating from another state. For them, the date they establish residency is now part of the price of owning the home for its first four years.
Second-home buyers. The homestead exemption doesn't apply to them. What changes is the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property, which drops from 10 percent to 5 percent. The amendment text says that after a change of ownership, as defined by general law, such a property is assessed at just value as of the next assessment date, so the cap starts again from the reset value. Sarasota County has warned that taxes could rise for second homes, rentals and businesses as local governments adjust.

When we review a Lakewood Ranch listing with a client this season, we look at the seller's bill one line at a time and model the buyer's bill separately.

What the Legislature still has to write

The Florida Chamber expects implementing legislation between November 2026 and the 2027 legislative session. The appraisers' FAQ says more administrative procedures may come from that legislation. The residency rule also carries its own qualifier, "to the extent permitted by the U.S. Constitution." Florida TaxWatch has raised an equal-protection concern about the five-year wait for new residents. It points to a Florida Supreme Court decision that struck down a five-year homestead tax preference based only on how long someone had lived in the state. The dates in the buyer table depend on how that legislation and any challenge turn out.

FAQ

Do I need to own a Florida home by December 31, 2026? The appraisers' FAQ says someone who establishes Florida residency by that date qualifies for the larger exemption when they later buy and apply. Separately, getting a homestead exemption for a given tax year still requires owning and living in the home on January 1 of that year.

Does Amendment 3 lower my CDD assessment? No. Homestead exemptions don't reduce non-ad valorem assessments, so the Stewardship District and East Manatee Fire Rescue lines on a bill are calculated the same way as before.

Which office handles my exemption in Lakewood Ranch? The county where the home sits. That's the Manatee County Property Appraiser for the northern villages and the Sarasota County Property Appraiser for the southern ones.

This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Residency and homestead decisions depend on your own circumstances, so please confirm your situation with your county property appraiser and a qualified tax or legal professional.

If you're weighing a Lakewood Ranch purchase before or after December 31, Judy Limekiller can review the tax bill on any listing with you line by line. We'll show which charges the amendment changes and which stay the same, and you can bring those questions to your tax advisor. Let's Connect.

About the Author

Judy Limekiller

A real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate, serving Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte counties since earning her broker's license in 2000. She's consistently ranked in the top 5% of the Realtor® Association of Sarasota and Manatee, with standing in the Coldwell Banker International President's Circle since 2016. Before real estate, Judy worked at Forbes Magazine and trained as a pastry chef, a background that shaped her keen eye for detail and "client comes first" approach to every transaction.

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After Amendment 3, Two Identical Lakewood Ranch Homes Can Carry Different Tax Bills. The Deciding Date Is December 31.

The sentence in the ballot summary that sets the clock

The share of a Lakewood Ranch bill the amendment does not touch

The lines that can still grow

Why a seller's tax bill is a weaker guide in 2027

What the Legislature still has to write

FAQ

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