The Florida Legislature largely passed Gov. Ron DeSantis's proposal to phase out homestead property taxes during the state's special legislative session this week.
The vote on HJR 1F was 75-26 in the House and 30-9 in the Senate. Rep. Tobin "Toby" Overdorf (R-Palm City) led the resolution in the House while Sen. Bryan Avila (R-Hialeah Gardens) led the charge in the Senate.
"I think what we're doing here today is we're giving our residents an opportunity not only to get immediate property tax relief, but really to let our local governments know whether they're doing a good job or not," Avila said on the Senate floor.
Under the resolution, Florida's current $50,000 homestead exemption would increase to $150,000 starting on Jan. 1. 2027, and then $250,000 in $250,000 in 2028. Notably, the exemption would apply to county and municipal taxes and not school district property taxes.
Moreover, the proposal reduces the 10% cap on annual assessment increases to vacation homes and other properties such as apartments and small businesses down to 5% beginning in 2027. The measure also limits remaining property tax revenue to core government services such as police and firefighter (public safety) and schools, as well as storm management.
The proposal does not include protections for libraries, parks, and other services. Democrats have largely argued cuts or alliterations would hurt local governments and possibly shift strain to residents with various rising fees.
Gov. DeSantis, who advocated for property tax relief to The Floridian in December 2025, has indicated the $250K exemption would phase out property taxes for 60% of Florida homeowners. DeSantis also floated a $500K exemption for the Legislature to consider in the future that he argued would exempt 92% of state homeowners.
"We need to start standing for taxpayers. For all this time, as we've seen inflation throughout the country, all these different things, it's always the individual, the consumer, the taxpayer that's expected to change things in order to make ends meet," DeSantis said at a press conference regarding his proposal last week. "They never expect government to be able to change things so that it can benefit the taxpayers."
In his argument, Gov. DeSantis noted Florida went from taking in $32 billion in property taxes in 2019 to $60 billion currently, and predicted that number could hit $83 billion by 2032, calling it "not sustainable" during an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News' Sunday Morning Features earlier this week.
The property tax amendment now heads to the November ballot where it will need 60% approval by Florida voters to pass.
