Florida voters approved Amendment 3 on November 3, 2026, with 61.98% voting yes statewide and 59.62% in Hillsborough County, according to unofficial returns on Florida Election Watch and the Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections. The amendment raises the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes from $50,000 today to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.
For anyone comparing homes in Apollo Beach's master-planned communities, the more useful detail is what the amendment leaves alone. CDD assessments are flat charges per lot, so a bigger exemption does nothing to them. As the value-based part of the bill gets smaller, the CDD line takes up a growing share of what a Waterset or MiraBay homeowner pays each year.
The Constitution Itself Carves Out the CDD Line
The Hillsborough County Tax Collector's Amendment 3 guide is direct about it. It says solid waste, stormwater and CDD charges "are flat, per-unit charges – not based on your property's value – so a homestead exemption or an assessment cap doesn't affect them." It also notes that each authority "can raise its own assessment each year, so your total bill could still increase even if your ad valorem taxes fall."
The enrolled joint resolution behind the amendment says the same thing in constitutional terms. A qualifying homestead is exempt from taxation "except assessments for special benefits." School levies keep their separate $25,000 exemption and are also unaffected.
Apollo Beach has more of this kind of charge than most Tampa Bay neighborhoods. Harbor Bay CDD, which runs MiraBay's common areas, roads, stormwater, lighting and amenities, was established by county ordinance in 1999. Waterset North dates to 2003, Waterset Central to 2017 and Waterset South to 2022. Harbour Isles is a separate CDD with an Apollo Beach 33572 clubhouse address. Each of these districts is billed on the same Hillsborough County tax notice as the ad valorem taxes.
What a 50-Foot Lot Carries on the November 2026 Bill
The figures below come from each district's FY 2026/2027 assessment schedule. Each schedule says its amount is what appears on the November 2026 property-tax bill, including collection costs, before any early-payment discount of up to 4%.
| District | Lot type | O&M | Debt service | Total on Nov. 2026 bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterset Central | 50' single-family | $2,165.69 | $1,145.83 | $3,311.52 |
| Waterset North, Series 2017 | 50' single-family | $1,778.02 | $702.43 | $2,480.45 |
| Waterset South, Phases A, D-1, D-2, G-1 | 50' single-family | $1,463.09 | $1,499.67 | $2,962.76 |
| Harbor Bay, Assessment Area 2 | 50' single-family | $2,803.83 | $1,038.24 | $3,842.07 |
| Harbor Bay, Assessment Area 1 | 100' single-family | $5,607.66 | $1,940.99 | $7,548.65 |
Harbor Bay's debt column combines its Series 2019A-1 and Series 2019A-2 bonds. On a 100' Assessment Area 1 lot, those are $1,114.91 and $826.08.
Lot width is a cost driver in its own right, since every one of these schedules charges more per foot of frontage. In Waterset Central the total runs from $3,062.94 on a 40' lot to $3,808.70 on a 70' lot. Two homes with similar list prices can carry CDD bills more than $1,000 apart because of frontage and which bond series covers the lot.
The Two Halves of the CDD Line Move Differently
The debt service portion is fixed until the bonds are paid off. Waterset Central describes its debt assessment as fixed year to year, while its O&M "varies with the annually adopted budget." The schedules show both behaviors.
- Waterset North, 30' Series 2017 lot: debt service held at $505.75 in both FY 2025/2026 and FY 2026/2027, while O&M rose from $1,150.10 to $1,280.18.
- Waterset North, 50' Series 2017 lot: the total went from $2,299.79 to $2,480.45, an increase of $180.66 in a single year.
- Harbor Bay, 60' Assessment Area 1 lot: O&M was $3,232.48 in FY 2026. The posted FY 2026/2027 chart lists $3,364.59, and the two Series 2019 debt lines stayed at $668.95 and $495.65.
The debt portion lasts a long time. Waterset South's 2025 audit lists final maturities of November 2052 for its Series 2022 bonds and May 2054 for Series 2024. Harbor Bay's May 2026 meeting packet lists its refinancing bonds maturing in 2033 and 2034 and an A1 seawall bond maturing in 2049. The O&M portion is the part with no end date, it gets set again every budget season, and Amendment 3 does not limit it.
Running the Numbers on One Hypothetical Waterset Homestead
The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's final 2026 millage table puts the unincorporated-area rate at 18.2440 mills. School levies account for 6.3340 of that, which leaves 11.9100 mills that the larger exemption applies to. The county's FY 2026/2027 single-family solid waste assessment is $532.77.
Take an illustrative homestead in Waterset Central on a 50' lot with an assessed value of $400,000. To isolate the effect of the exemption, hold value, millage and assessments at 2026 levels:
| Line on the bill | Tax year 2026 | Tax year 2028, illustrative |
|---|---|---|
| School levies, $375,000 taxable | $2,375.25 | $2,375.25 |
| Non-school levies | $4,168.50 on $350,000 | $1,786.50 on $150,000 |
| Solid waste | $532.77 | $532.77 |
| Waterset Central CDD | $3,311.52 | $3,311.52 |
| Total | $10,388.04 | $8,006.04 |
| CDD share of total | about 32% | about 41% |
In this example the bill drops by $2,382. The CDD charge doesn't change by a cent and goes from about a third of the bill to about two-fifths. Actual 2028 bills will depend on the implementing law, future millage decisions and each CDD's future budgets, and any of those could move.
For a buyer, this changes which number matters most when comparing two homes. A $400,000 house in a CDD community and a $400,000 house outside one may soon have ad valorem taxes in the low thousands. Once that happens, the CDD figure is often the largest single difference in annual carrying cost between them. Any parcel's non-ad valorem lines can be checked through the Property Appraiser's search and its tax notice, whatever subdivision it's in.
December 31, 2026 Decides Which Version of the Bill You Get
The second mechanism depends on when the buyer became a Florida resident, not on the house. According to the official ballot summary, "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."
Applied to the example above, a buyer relocating from out of state in 2027 would keep the $50,000 non-school exemption for the first four years of exemption. In 2028 that buyer's illustrative bill would stay near $10,388, while a neighbor in the same floor plan on the same street who already lived in Florida would pay about $8,006. Both pay the same $3,311.52 CDD charge.
Some parts of this are already scheduled and others are still open:
- The amendment takes effect January 1, 2027, and the first effects show up in the 2027 tax year. The November 2026 bill does not change regardless of the vote.
- The Legislature still has to pass implementing laws. A Tampa Bay Times explainer reported in early November that a special session was planned but had no date.
- Beginning on or after January 1, 2030, a county or city may shorten the five-year requirement for a critical local need with a two-thirds vote.
- Hillsborough County Property Appraiser Bob Henriquez told the Tampa Bay Times that the residency requirement could face a court challenge. The paper pointed to a 1983 Florida Supreme Court decision that struck down a similar five-year waiting period.
Why the Flat Lines May Get More Attention From Here
The lost revenue lands on unincorporated Hillsborough, where Apollo Beach is located. The Tampa Bay Times reported that Hillsborough County says it could lose up to $367 million a year by 2028. The same article said local leaders had warned for months about service cuts, hiring freezes and higher fees. It also reported that Governor DeSantis wants to keep local governments from raising other taxes to make up the difference.
None of that changes a CDD's budget directly. Each district's board sets its own O&M every year, and those budgets have been going up. For a buyer weighing Waterset against MiraBay against a home outside a district, the CDD's recent budget history says as much about future costs as the current ad valorem estimate does.
Short Answers
Does Amendment 3 change the bill arriving this November?
No. According to the Tax Collector, the November 2026 bill covers the 2026 tax year and isn't affected by the election.
Does paying early reduce the CDD charge?
The CDD schedules allow an early-payment discount of up to 4% on amounts collected through the tax bill.
What about a second home or a rental in Apollo Beach?
The homestead exemption doesn't apply to them. For non-homestead property, Amendment 3 lowers the annual cap on assessed-value increases from 10% to 5%. The CDD assessment applies the same way it does on a homestead.
This post is general information about published tax and assessment rules. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, so please confirm how these rules apply to your property and residency with a qualified tax professional or the Property Appraiser's office.
If you're comparing a Waterset, MiraBay or Harbour Isles address with one outside a district, Louis Enrique Acevedo can put the current CDD schedules, the 2026 millage and your residency timeline into one carrying-cost comparison before you make an offer. Schedule a Call to go through the numbers on the homes you're considering.
