Florida homeowners have heard a lot about property tax relief this year, but it’s not always clear what that would mean for both the bills in their mailboxes and the quality of life in their communities.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing hard for it as his term comes to an end. The Florida Legislature failed to pass seven different bills addressing homestead property taxes during its normal spring session, but the governor said a property tax overhaul could still happen, possibly through a special session this summer.
“This is something that could be really meaningful,” DeSantis said during a May 18 roundtable discussion at Space Coast Association of Realtors in Melbourne. “A lot of people, they just want the relief.”
“Not every local government’s going to like it,” he added, “but given the numbers, it’s doable … Don’t let anybody tell you can’t do this.”
Why are some people against property tax relief in Florida?
While the move would certainly save taxpayers money, local municipalities would be forced to make drastic cuts to their operating budgets for community services such as fire rescue, road maintenance, parks, local health services, and more.
“I’d love to get rid of property taxes,” U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said on Fox News’ Mornings with Maria hours before DeSantis spoke at the roundtable. “Unfortunately, you gotta think about, OK, what are you going to replace it with? We are a very efficient state, so you’ve got to come up with, how are you going to fund education, the environment, things like that.”
The move would also further erode the authority and power of local governments (also called home rule), which has been a recurring theme in many of the measures from DeSantis and Florida’s Republican legislators.
Florida’s property taxes were ranked 28th in the country for 2025, according to Rocket Mortgage.
What DeSantis is asking for
At the roundtable, DeSantis suggested a variety of options, including expanding homestead exemptions, preventing local governments from raising rates on small businesses, and preventing new state residents from immediately qualifying.
“I don’t want every Tom, Dick, and Harry from out of state moving and rushing to buy a home here because they get a tax benefit,” DeSantis said. “I think if you move here after this is enacted, you got to pay tax for a certain period of time before you qualify for this.”
What are property taxes?
Property taxes are fees you pay based on your property’s assessed value, which is a percentage of what your property is worth. The more your property is worth, the higher your property tax bill will be.
Property taxes pay for a large amount, if not most, of your city, county, and school district’s budgets. Local municipalities set the rates, called millage rates, based on your property’s taxable value and what the community needs. That’s what you pay, minus exemptions such as the homestead exemption.
DeSantis and members of his cabinet have blamed the rise in property taxes on waste in government spending. However, it’s also important to note that the state population has grown by about 3 million people in just the last 10 years, which means rising housing prices (which increases taxable home values) and greater need for local government services (which can drive up millage rates).
What are homestead exemptions?
If you own property and make it your permanent residence for yourself or your dependent, you can apply for a homestead exemption that will drop your property’s assessed taxable value and lower your property taxes. If you qualify, homestead exemptions include:
Homes worth more than $75,000 typically get the full benefit of the homestead exemption.
It also protects Floridians from being forced to sell the home to pay most debts, and adds protections for the surviving spouse or minor children in case of the homeowner’s death.
Homestead exemptions only apply to primary residences. You can’t get them for additional homes, businesses, or rental property.
What could change on your bill
The various bills proposed this year ranged from the extreme (all non-school property taxes ending on Jan.1, 2027) to a slower phase-out of property taxes over a period of years, with different bills adding different conditions. The general possibilities are:
That could mean a reduction in your bill compared to the year before, or just a slightly smaller increase than you would have normally seen.
The exact impact would depend on how much your home is worth, how long you’ve lived there, whether you have a homestead exemption, and what your local city, county, or school district does to balance their own budgets.
What do my property taxes pay for in Florida?
Property taxes go toward essential local services that don’t pay for themselves or have offsetting revenues, such as:
The propositions that have been floated all block reductions in K-12 school funding, and most specifically banned local governments from cutting budgets for law enforcement.
That would mean cuts in everything else.
What happens if Florida reduces or eliminates property taxes?
For existing homeowners, you’d get to keep more of your money.
However, your community and your standard of living may suffer when local governments are forced to cut back.
The Florida Policy Institute, an Orlando-based organization, analyzed preliminary data from the Department of Revenue and estimated that dropping the property taxes on homesteaded properties would result in counties and school districts losing about $7.8 billion each and cities having to replace some $3 billion. The Tallahassee-based Florida TaxWatch made a similar projection based on 2024’s local taxes.
Slashed property taxes could mean higher rent, more expensive first homes
Local governments could also hike property taxes on commercial and rental properties to make up the difference, resulting in higher rent and higher overhead costs for private businesses.
And new first-home buyers could get hit with higher property values of 7-9% more, according to an analysis from Realtor.com,
“It would be a boon to existing property owners,” said Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner. “But this measure would disproportionately benefit wealthy Floridians at the expense of those who don’t own homes, and would make it even harder to break into homeownership because of the increased prices.”
What won’t change right away
Even if lawmakers agree on a tax relief package this session, changes to the tax system would go to the voters as an amendment on the November ballot, and that requires a 60% vote to pass.
If that happens, you still wouldn’t see dramatic changes overnight. Florida’s property tax system is tied to annual assessment cycles, budget hearings, and Truth in Millage (TRIM) notices that wouldn’t go out until late summer of 2027.
Local officials facing steep budget cuts and the need to cover services like schools, road repairs, and police may also sue to prevent the amendment from going into effect, which would further delay changes.
C. A. Bridges is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis still wants to kill property taxes. What would happen?
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
