Florida voters will decide in November whether to approve a sweeping property-tax overhaul that would cut homeowner bills by thousands of dollars while reshaping local government finances, according to The Wall Street Journal. The proposed constitutional amendment, approved by the Republican-led state Legislature on Tuesday after a special session that concluded June 2, would expand the homestead exemption and reduce the cap on assessment increases for rental and second homes.
Property-tax revolts have erupted nationwide in recent years as home values have climbed, pushing up tax bills. In Florida, the issue has become acute as an influx of wealthy newcomers has driven home prices higher. Escalating property-insurance premiums and other living costs have added to affordability pressures on many state residents.
The amendment would increase the homestead exemption — a reduction in the taxable value of a homeowner’s primary residence — from the current $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. It would also create a framework for potential future increases that could eventually exempt the full assessed value of a home. Lawmakers modified Gov. Ron DeSantis’s original proposal during the special session to shield school funding, ensuring a continued stream of property-tax revenue for education.
Separately, the measure would lower the cap on annual assessment increases for non-homestead properties such as second homes and rental properties, to 5% from 10%.
In promoting the overhaul, DeSantis argued that property taxes have become a heavy financial burden for Floridians and that revenue from property taxes has soared in recent years at a rate far outpacing inflation and population growth. “Is there anything else that can be proposed that would actually deliver thousands of dollars of savings every single year to taxpayers?” he said at a news conference Monday.
City and county leaders across the state raised alarms about the potential consequences. In an opinion column for the Miami Herald, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava called the move “catastrophic” and described it as a “wholesale dismantling of the property tax system.” She projected that the proposal would reduce revenue for Miami-Dade County by $386 million in 2027 alone.
Esteban Santis, director of research at the Florida Policy Institute, a research and advocacy organization that opposes the amendment, said the plan is the most aggressive property-tax-cut proposal in the country in modern times, particularly given that Florida already has no personal income tax. “This is the most radical property-tax-cut proposal in the country in modern times,” he said.
Local governments would be forced to find alternative revenue sources, such as adding fees or drawing more from non-homestead properties, Santis added.
The measure needs support from 60% of voters in November to be enacted. If approved, it would mark one of the most significant shifts in Florida’s tax structure in decades, with implications for how counties, cities, and school districts fund their operations.