By Jeffrey Schweers
Orlando Sentinel
(TNS)<\/p>\n
TALLAHASSEE\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Florida\u00a0voters will decide on\u00a0Nov. 3\u00a0whether to approve a constitutional amendment pushed by Gov.\u00a0Ron DeSantis\u00a0that creates property tax relief for homeowners while upending the way local governments pay for services.<\/p>\n
The controversial measure, which would require 60% of voters to approve it, creates a lot of questions about how homeowners, cities and counties, and public employees would be affected. Here are some answers.<\/p>\n
Does the amendment completely eliminate property taxes for homeowners\u2019 primary residences?<\/p>\n
Contrary to what DeSantis initially said, it does not get rid of so-called \u201chomestead\u201d property taxes entirely\u2014and the legislature limited the governor\u2019s proposed cuts even further. In final form it eliminates non-school taxes only up to $250,000 of assessed value in the second year. And you will still pay school taxes after the first $25,000 of your home\u2019s assessed value.<\/p>\n
It also ties to inflation any increases to the $250,000 homestead exemption starting in 2029.<\/p>\n
The amendment does require the Legislature to establish a uniform procedure for counties and cities to ultimately increase the amount of the exemption up to all remaining assessed valuation.<\/p>\n
How many properties in\u00a0Florida\u00a0are homesteaded?<\/p>\n
Approximately 47% of the 11 million total parcels in the state are homesteaded.<\/p>\n
How many properties actually would have their property taxes eliminated?<\/p>\n
None\u2014or only the small number of homesteads worth less than $25,000, the level at which you would also avoid school taxes. But the ballot measure could eliminate non-school property taxes for about 28% of homeowners, those whose homes are valued at $250,000 or below, according to\u00a0September 2025\u00a0data from the state\u00a0Office of Economic and Demographic Research.<\/p>\n
When do the exemptions take effect?<\/p>\n
If approved, cities and counties would exempt all homesteaded properties up to $150,000 of their assessed value on\u00a0Jan. 1, 2027. That is $100,000 more than the current $50,000 homestead exemption. Analysts for the\u00a0Florida House\u00a0estimate that exemption would cost cities and counties $4.6 billion in non-school taxes the first year.<\/p>\n
Come\u00a0Jan. 1, 2028, the exemption on assessed value of homesteaded property would rise to $250,000, costing cities and counties $8.4 billion in the second year.<\/p>\n
How would this affect my local government?<\/p>\n
That will vary depending on how much of a city or county budget comes from revenue from homesteaded property taxes.\u00a0Orange County\u00a0could lose $253 million or nearly 14% of its total county levy\u00a0in 2028 once the full exemption takes effect, according to the Florida Association of Counties. Seminole County would lose $113 million or 24%, and\u00a0Osceola County\u00a0would lose $250 million or 15%.<\/p>\n
How would the exemption work?<\/p>\n
On a typical\u00a0Orange County\u00a0home, with an assessed value of $330,000, the exemption in the first year would reduce the amount you pay taxes on to $180,000 and $80,000 in the second year.<\/p>\n
Can cities and counties increase my assessed value to make up for the loss in tax revenue?<\/p>\n
No. Homesteaded properties are protected by Save Our Homes, which prevents the assessed value from increasing by more than 3% a year or the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower.<\/p>\n
The actual cap has been lower than 3%\u00a0in recent years because of dips in the CPI\u20142.9% in 2025 and 2.7% this year, according to the\u00a0Florida Department of Revenue<\/p>\n
Can local governments raise fees and assessments that are not tied to property values?<\/p>\n
Yes. In fact, cities and counties may raise fees and assessments for everything from fire protection to stormwater management to make up for the loss of revenue from homesteaded property taxes.<\/p>\n
No estimates are available as to how much those fees could increase, but people could wind up paying more to reserve tennis courts or use a public pool, or see a reduction in library hours and even see branch libraries shut down due to lack of funding.<\/p>\n
Could local governments be dissolved?<\/p>\n
Yes. Many of the state\u2019s poorer cities and counties that already are living on the margin and depend on the state for assistance in providing basic services could go bankrupt or be merged with other local governments, officials warned.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers accepted that as a possibility, and even removed from the amendment the promise of a state trust fund to offset the losses of fiscally constrained local governments, saying there was no guarantee this would happen.<\/p>\n
How does this affect newcomers to\u00a0Florida?<\/p>\n
The amendment would create a five-year homestead exemption on the first $50,000 of assessed value of homestead properties ($25,000 for school levies, $50,000 for non-school levies) for owners who are not permanent Florida residents as of Dec. 31, 2026. The $50,000 exemption would be indexed to inflation after 2028.<\/p>\n
New property owners after\u00a0Jan. 1, 2027\u00a0would have to wait five years before they can receive the same homestead exemption as permanent\u00a0Florida\u00a0residents.<\/p>\n
Would this affect an existing\u00a0Florida\u00a0homeowner with a homestead exemption who buys a new house next year?<\/p>\n
The amendment says that anyone who buys a home after\u00a0Jan. 1, 2027, \u201cwho had not maintained a permanent residence in this state as of\u00a0December 31, 2026,\u201d will have to wait five years for the $250,000 exemption. That language suggests that anyone who has a current homestead exemption and decides to buy a new home next year would be eligible for the new, bigger homestead exemption.<\/p>\n
Are there tax exemptions for non-homesteaded properties: apartments, hotels, resorts, amusement parks, business offices and industrial complexes?<\/p>\n
No. However, the cap on how much local governments can increase the assessed value on such non-homesteaded properties each year would be slashed from 10 percent to 5 percent, so corporate headquarters, data centers, vacation homes and business offices would get a tax break.<\/p>\n
The Florida Policy Institute\u00a0estimates that cutting the cap in half will cost cities and counties $5 billion a year.<\/p>\n
Does the amendment limit how cities and counties can spend the remaining tax revenue?<\/p>\n
Yes. If approved, cities and counties would be limited to seven \u201ccore services\u201d spending areas:<\/p>\n
Public safety, including law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services<\/p>\n
Public schools and education<\/p>\n
Infrastructure, including roads and bridges, maintenance and storm water control<\/p>\n
Natural resources, including flood control<\/p>\n
Local bonds for uses consistent with the approved uses above, and to pay off debt service<\/p>\n
Retirement benefits of local government employees;<\/p>\n
Constitutional county offices including supervisor of elections, clerk of courts, tax collector and property appraiser \u201cexcept those expenditures prohibited by general law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Does it exclude any service areas?<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t exclude any specific services, but it doesn\u2019t include things like mosquito control districts, fire districts, water management districts, Medicaid payments, and libraries. It also failed to include expenses cities and counties are supposed to pay for by state law: general government operations, maintenance, utilities, garbage collection, transportation, housing and urban development, veterans services, senior and community centers, hospitals, parks, and court services.<\/p>\n
The Legislature\u00a0voted down attempts to add additional \u201ccore\u201d services, including children\u2019s services and water management districts.<\/p>\n
Could some of my favorite local government services disappear?<\/p>\n
Yes, if local governments are required to first pay for public safety, schools and retirement benefits for their employees, there will be less money left over for libraries, parks and other community benefits.<\/p>\n
Will it protect small businesses, as it says in the ballot language?<\/p>\n
Nothing specifically points to protecting small businesses in the actual bill.<\/p>\n
Will it ensure fairness to all residents, as stated in the ballot language?<\/p>\n
The provisions of the measure don\u2019t extend to all\u00a0Florida\u00a0residents.\u00a0There is no guarantee that renters will be protected from increased rent, for example.<\/p>\n
Photo caption: Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks about his proposal for\u00a0Florida to become the first state to abolish property taxes during a news conference at the Florida REALTORS headquarters in\u00a0Orlando on\u00a0Monday, March 31, 2025. (Rich Pope\/Orlando Sentinel\/TNS)<\/p>\n
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