Ask ten homeowners in Bay County what happened with Florida's property tax vote and most will tell you taxes are getting cut, maybe even eliminated. Ask them when that starts and the answers get vague. That gap between what people think happened and what actually happened is where the real story lives, and it matters most for exactly the buyer this market attracts every year: the household packing up from somewhere else to live on the water here.
Your TRIM notice is about to land in your mailbox. Bay County mails those Truth in Millage notices in mid-August, which means if you own property here, this year's bill is already set and has nothing to do with the amendment on November's ballot. But if you're planning to move to Panama City in 2027 or later, that ballot measure contains a detail that could cost you five years of tax savings your future next-door neighbor won't pay, and the way to avoid it has almost nothing to do with how you vote in November.
What Actually Changed on June 2. Nothing, Yet.
On June 2, 2026, the Florida Legislature passed HJR 1F and its companion bill, SB 4F, during a special session called after the regular session ended in March without a property tax deal. The vote cleared both chambers by wide margins, 75-26 in the House and 30-9 in the Senate, and the Florida Senate's own release lays out what it would do if voters approve it on November 3, 2026.
That "if" carries real weight. Constitutional amendments in Florida need 60% voter approval, one of the highest bars in the country. For context, no presidential candidate has ever cleared 60% of the Florida vote, and the 2024 abortion rights amendment pulled 57% and still failed. You can read the full ballot language and tracking on Ballotpedia's Amendment 3 page. Until that vote happens, and unless it clears that threshold, your 2026 tax bill runs on the same rules that have applied for years: a $50,000 homestead exemption and a Save Our Homes cap limiting assessed value growth to 3% or the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower.
If the amendment passes, the homestead exemption on non-school levies rises to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, adjusted for inflation after that. School district taxes, typically the single largest line on a Florida tax bill, are carved out entirely and stay exactly as they are regardless of the outcome.
The Detail Buried in the Bill That the Headlines Skip
Here's what most coverage leaves out. The bigger exemption doesn't apply the same way to everyone the moment it takes effect. Anyone who establishes Florida residency and homesteads on or after January 1, 2027 has to wait five years before qualifying for the larger exemption. Until then, they're stuck on the old $25,000-and-$50,000 structure while a Florida resident who already homesteaded, even a neighbor who closed a month earlier, jumps straight to the $150,000 or $250,000 exemption.
That's not a rounding error. On a Panama City home, the difference between a $50,000 exemption and a $150,000 exemption on the non-school portion of your bill is real money every single year, for five years, based purely on which side of a date you land on.
Here's how that plays out depending on when someone establishes Florida residency:
| Buyer situation | 2026 | 2027 (if amendment passes) | 2028 (if amendment passes) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Already a Florida homesteader | $50,000 exemption | $150,000 exemption | $250,000 exemption |
| Establishes Florida homestead in 2026 | $50,000 exemption | $150,000 exemption | $250,000 exemption |
| Establishes Florida homestead Jan 1, 2027 or later | Not yet a Florida resident | $50,000 exemption, five-year clock starts | $50,000 exemption, year two of five |
The rule is written around people "moving to the state" of Florida, which points at establishing Florida residency for the first time rather than moving between Florida counties. A homesteaded Florida owner relocating from Orlando or Jacksonville to Panama City has already cleared that bar and looks to be on firmer ground. The person the rule is aimed at is someone moving here from Georgia, Alabama, the Midwest, or the Northeast, which describes a meaningful share of the buyers this waterfront market sees every year. Even that isn't perfectly settled. Policy analysts at the Florida Policy Institute have flagged that the resolution never actually defines what "establish Florida residency" means for someone who doesn't yet own property, which leaves open questions for renters already living in Florida who buy their first home after 2026. For an out-of-state household planning a purchase here, the safer read is to assume the clock is about when you first put down Florida roots, not just when you close.
Why the Real Deadline Is December 31, Not November 3
This is the part that turns a news story into a planning decision. The five-year wait only applies to residency established on or after January 1, 2027. Anyone who moves to Florida and files a homestead exemption before that date, meaning any time in 2026, isn't subject to it at all. They'd ride the exact same exemption schedule as a lifelong Florida resident, jumping to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 right alongside everyone else.
That means the deadline that actually matters for a relocating household isn't the November ballot. It's December 31, 2026. Florida's standard homestead filing window runs through March 1 of the tax year, so someone who closes on a Panama City home late in 2026 and occupies it as their primary residence would still need to file with the Bay County Property Appraiser by the March 2027 deadline to claim homestead for that tax year, but the residency itself needs to be established before the calendar turns. Bay County's Property Appraiser has also been accepting late homestead applications case by case into early September for the current tax year, according to baypa.net, so there's some flexibility on paperwork timing. There's none on the residency date if the amendment passes.
None of this requires guessing how the vote turns out. If the amendment fails in November, the five-year rule never takes effect and nobody's exposed to it. If it passes, anyone who already established residency in 2026 is protected either way. The only scenario where waiting costs money is moving here in 2027 or later and having the amendment pass. Acting sooner has no real downside and a real upside.
If You Already Own Here, a Different Number Matters
Homestead exemptions don't apply to second homes, vacation properties, or investment real estate, so a lot of this amendment is simply irrelevant if you're not planning to make a Panama City property your primary residence. But one piece of it does reach that owner. The amendment would lower the annual assessed value growth cap on non-homestead property from 10% to 5%, starting in 2027. For an investor holding a rental property or a family keeping a second home on the bay, that's a meaningful slowdown in how fast the taxable value, and therefore the tax bill, can climb in a rising market. It's a quieter provision, but for anyone building a portfolio of Panama City rentals or renovation projects, it's worth tracking alongside the homestead headlines.
Not Every Panama City ZIP Code Is Reading From the Same Bill
One more layer worth understanding before any of this becomes personal: "Panama City" isn't one tax bill. According to Ownwell's Panama City tax data, bills inside city ZIP codes range from around $1,369 in 32401 to roughly $3,290 in 32408, driven by differences in school district levies and local assessment districts layered on top of the county rate. Panama City's own median effective rate sits at 1.01%, a touch under both the county and state medians, while Bay County as a whole runs slightly above Florida's 1.10% statewide median with a countywide median bill near $2,379. Anyone comparing a Panama City property to one just across the bridge should also know the city of Panama City Beach levies no municipal ad valorem tax at all, funding its operations instead through tourist and gross receipts revenue, while Panama City itself charges its own municipal operating millage on top of the county and school levies. That structural difference is part of why two similarly priced homes on either side of the bridge can carry noticeably different tax bills.
What To Actually Do Right Now
- If you're planning to relocate to Panama City and haven't yet established Florida residency, closing and moving before December 31, 2026 sidesteps the five-year exemption wait entirely if the amendment passes, and costs nothing if it doesn't.
- If you already own here, watch for your TRIM notice this month and calendar the appeal window immediately. Florida gives you 25 days from the mailing date to file with the Value Adjustment Board, one of the shortest windows in the country.
- If you're selling a homesteaded property to buy another Florida homestead, file your DR-501T portability form alongside your new DR-501 application. Missing that second form is the single most common way people leave Save Our Homes savings on the table.
- If you're buying investment property or a second home, homestead timing doesn't apply to you, but the 2027 assessment cap change is worth building into a five-year hold projection.
FAQ
Does this amendment affect my 2026 property tax bill at all? No. Nothing changes for the 2026 tax year regardless of how the vote goes. The earliest any provision takes effect is January 1, 2027, and only if voters approve it in November.
What if I already homestead in another Florida county and I'm buying in Panama City? The five-year wait is written around establishing Florida residency, not moving between Florida counties, so an existing Florida homesteader relocating within the state would not appear to restart that clock.
Will my school taxes go down if this passes? No. School district levies are excluded from the expanded exemption entirely, so that portion of your bill is unaffected either way.
Should I wait to buy until after the November vote? Waiting doesn't help anyone in any scenario this analysis covers, and if you're new to Florida and the amendment passes, waiting past January 1, 2027 is the one path that costs you five years of the larger exemption.
Tax policy is not something we're licensed to advise on, and every household's filing situation is different enough that a conversation with a Florida CPA or tax attorney belongs in this decision. What we can do is help you understand how the timing lines up with an actual Panama City purchase, from what a ZIP code's tax history looks like to how homestead filing fits into your closing calendar. If you're weighing a move to the water here, before or after this ballot measure settles, reach out to the Sostheim Group and let's talk through what the calendar actually means for you.
