Gov. Ron DeSantis asked Floridians a big question earlier this year.
“You buy a home, pay off a mortgage—and yet you still have to write a check to the government every year just to live on your own property?” he said in his State of the State speech. “Is the property yours or are you just renting from the government?”
The line of questioning resonated with the state’s homeowners, who have watched their carrying costs rise as higher property assessments have added to their tax burden at the same time that insurance premiums have risen and — for condo unit owners especially — fees have piled on.
Brokers likewise began to imagine a world where their clients didn’t balk after a preview of their tax bill. Would-be buyers are often surprised when the value of a property has gone up substantially since its last sale, triggering a big levy. The state already limits annual tax increases for owners.
In any event, the tax bills from higher valuations hadn’t just put pressure on residents, the governor said. They had also created “a gusher of revenue for local governments,” some of whose budgets had increased “far beyond the growth in population.”
During the ensuing months, state house representatives and senators looked to see if the push could become a reality. House Speaker Daniel Perez created the Select Committee on Property Taxes, whose efforts yielded seven joint resolutions and a bill; if passed by House, Senate and voters, they could add several new exemptions to an existing list of property tax relief, much of which is focused on homesteaded properties, or primary residences.
But so far, Gov. DeSantis isn’t going for the half steps, no matter how researched. “Placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents an attempt to kill anything on property taxes,” he said on X.
As local representatives duke out with the governor, The Real Deal asked industry and political insiders to get into the philosophical and practical details in The Debate. State Rep. Vicki Lopez, co-chair of the House Select Committee on Property Taxes, believes voters should decide the issue, while Dora Puig, broker and owner of Luxe Living Realty, wants to preserve features that make communities attractive to residents and buyers before changing the tax structure.
State Rep. Vicki Lopez
Since May, when the Florida House Speaker created our property tax committee, we’ve been meeting and gathering information from all 37 representatives across both parties, rural communities and big urban areas.
What we’ve learned has been eye-opening. We say “taxes,” but what homeowners pay is truly a fee for services. Right now, all three types of property owners — non-homestead residential, homestead residential and commercial — pay for police, fire, solid waste, water and sewer, infrastructure and other services.
The governor has told voters that anyone who owns a homestead property should have their property taxes totally eliminated. But this raises an interesting philosophical question: Why should commercial properties and non-homestead residential properties have to pay for those services but not those who own homestead properties?
There is already a fear that commercial property owners would be hit with new fees by local governments, and that this could put a burden on businesses, especially owners with rental properties.
In Key Biscayne, which runs a very lean budget, homestead property taxes total $11 million, and half goes to public safety. If you eliminate these particular property taxes, then who will pick up the costs? It is estimated that half of the 411 municipalities in the state might have to fold back into counties. Can counties absorb all the new residents and the corresponding services?
The House decided: Why don’t we trust the voters to decide how to tax themselves? All our proposals require no decrease in funding for police and exclude school taxes. One proposal eliminates homestead property taxes while another one does so over a 10-year period of time, which gives a longer runway to make budget adjustments. The third would completely eliminate non-school taxes for anyone 65 and over who resides in a homestead property.
We’re also proposing new exemptions that would benefit new homeowners and help people downsize. One would eliminate the $500,000 cap on portability, so you could transfer the entire exemption even if the home has a lesser value, and we’ll let married couples combine their Save Our Home benefits. Another limits the growth in assessed value to 3 percent over three years for homestead properties, and 5 percent per year for non-homestead properties instead of the current 10 percent.
We also have a legislative bill that requires local governments to pass any increase in millage rates — the amount of tax per $1,000 of assessed property value — by a two-thirds vote.
There was talk from DOGE efforts that there’s lots of waste in government and we can eliminate property tax with no effect. But of our 67 counties, 29 are fiscally constrained, and we already subsidize them because of the lack of a tax base.
Once the proposals are passed in the House they will be sent to the Senate for their review. We don’t know yet where the Senate is on this. Whatever both decide will go to the voters as constitutional amendments in the November 2026 general election. We don’t know what those amendments will be, but property tax reform is coming, along with intended and unintended consequences.
—As told to TRD
Dora Puig
Broker and owner of Luxe Living Realty
As a luxury real estate professional in South Florida, I meet or speak with multiple clients daily, and lately many conversations circle back to the same concern: property taxes. For most international buyers who don’t have such high property taxes, it is an issue for them to wrap their heads around it.
A state push to eliminate property taxes for Floridians sounds appealing, but we must ensure Floridians aren’t left with dangerous funding gaps.
New Yorkers and Californians flee to Florida, Texas and Tennessee specifically because we don’t have state income tax. When you’re already paying 40 percent federally, adding California’s 13.3 percent state tax becomes unbearable. It’s one of the reasons our real estate market is booming.
I’ve lost sales to clients on account of high property taxes, so in theory, I see how this is a good idea. But there has to be a real plan to pay the bills of the state of Florida. I want to make sure we have police, schools that are good, firefighters, and streets that are clean first.
To my recollection, the property tax conversation started when the Champlain Towers South condo tower collapsed, exposing a crisis in aging condominium buildings. The reserve requirements in some condominiums have increased by up to 50 percent, insurance costs have exploded and, suddenly, older residents on fixed incomes couldn’t afford their homes. For example, I know of condominium buildings that have needed to syndicate with up to five insurance companies just to obtain insurance. The elderly tend to move out of their houses because they are too tedious to maintain, and move into condominiums because the lifestyle is easier. Now they are finding themselves with very high condominium maintenance fees and special assessments that are difficult to keep up with.
There’s genuine appeal to rewarding primary residents who live here 12 months a year, maintain our communities, and contribute year-round. Eliminating property tax for these homesteaded properties while maintaining it for investment properties could create a powerful incentive for permanent residency and convert renters and young people into first-time home buyers.
This wouldn’t solve everything. I’ve personally lost sales to European clients who balk at our property taxes when they’re accustomed to paying very little annually back home.
Florida is typically run with a surplus, but we still have hurricanes we cannot control, aging infrastructure requiring billions in upgrades and insurance companies threatening to abandon the state entirely. We cannot cut property taxes at the expense of essential services or disaster preparedness.
The question isn’t whether eliminating homestead property taxes is desirable… Obviously, it is. The big thing is, can we make the numbers work? Can we cover our bills throughout the state of Florida? Can we maintain the quality of life that attracts people here in the first place?
I think we should see the complete financial picture first. Show us how we continue to fund schools, maintain emergency services and handle storms without collateral damage to the things that make Florida exceptional. Get the math right, and this bold reform could cement Florida’s competitive advantage for generations.
—As told to TRD
