1. How Florida’s property taxes work today

1.1 What property taxes fund

Property taxes in Florida – called “ad valorem” taxes – are levied by counties, cities, school districts, and special districts. Together, they pay for the things most people think of as “local government”:

• Public schools and school facilities
• Law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services
• Roads, drainage, and basic infrastructure
• Parks, libraries, and recreation
• Local health and social services

Independent analyses suggest that, taken statewide, property taxes represent tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue for local governments. When people talk about “eliminating property taxes” for homesteads, they are really talking about removing one of the most stable and locally controlled revenue sources and replacing it with something else – or cutting services.

1.2 Homestead exemptions and Save Our Homes

Florida already treats primary residences more favorably than other property types. Three features are central:

• Homestead exemption. Owners who establish a home as their permanent residence can exempt up to $50,000 of value from certain property taxes. That lowers the taxable value of the home.
• Save Our Homes (SOH) cap. For homesteads, the assessed value can only go up by the smaller of 3% or the inflation rate each year, even if market values jump much more. Over time, this creates a large gap between what a long-time owner’s home is worth and what they are actually taxed on.
• Portability. When a homesteaded owner moves within Florida, they can take part of that SOH benefit with them to the next home, up to a current cap. That keeps their property-tax bill lower than a new buyer’s bill for a similar home.

Voters recently approved an amendment to tie parts of the homestead benefit to inflation, continuing a long trend of asking the tax system to protect primary residences. Critics point out that, between sales taxes and these homestead rules, Florida’s overall tax system already leans heavily on renters and non-homestead property owners.

2. What exactly is being proposed?

The current House package centers on seven joint resolutions – HJR 201, 203, 205, 207, 209, 211, 213 – plus a general law bill, HB 215. All of them deal with non-school property taxes. School-district property taxes are handled separately and are not eliminated in these measures.

HJR 201 – Full elimination of non-school property tax for homesteads

HJR 201 is the most aggressive proposal. It would exempt homesteaded properties from all ad valorem taxes except school-district levies starting in 2027. In practical terms, your county, city, and many special districts could no longer levy property taxes on your primary residence.

The resolution also tries to answer the “what about public safety?” question up front. It would lock in a requirement that local governments cannot reduce total funding for law-enforcement agencies below a baseline year. That means any budget cuts driven by lost property-tax revenue would have to come from other areas.

HJR 203 – Ten-year phase-out of non-school homestead taxes

HJR 203 aims for a similar destination as HJR 201 but on a slower path. Instead of immediate elimination, it would increase the homestead exemption for non-school taxes by roughly $100,000 per year for 10 years. By the end of that phase-in, non-school property taxes on homesteads would drop to zero.

Like HJR 201, it includes protections for law-enforcement funding, but because it phases relief in gradually, local governments would have more time to adjust their budgets.

HJR 205 – Non-school property tax elimination for homesteaders 65 and older

HJR 205 is narrower and age-targeted. It would exempt homesteads owned by people 65 or older from non-school property taxes. In other words, seniors with a homestead would stop paying county, city, and many special-district property taxes on that home, while still paying school-district taxes.

Supporters present this as a way to recognize that many older Floridians are “house-rich and cash-poor” – they may have substantial equity but limited income.

HJR 207 – A new 25% non-school homestead exemption

HJR 207 adds another layer to existing relief. After the traditional homestead exemption is applied, it would create a new exemption equal to 25% of the remaining assessed value for the purpose of non-school taxes.

Because this is a percentage-based exemption, it would apply to both current and future homeowners. It does not eliminate non-school taxes, but it lowers them across the board for homesteaded properties.

HJR 209 – Property-insurance-linked homestead exemption

HJR 209 is the only measure that explicitly connects property tax relief to property insurance. For homesteads that carry valid property insurance, it would add another $100,000 to the existing non-school homestead exemption.

In effect, it rewards homeowners who maintain insurance coverage with extra tax relief, but it does not directly reduce the insurance premiums themselves.

HJR 211 – Expanded Save Our Homes portability for non-school taxes

HJR 211 focuses on the Save Our Homes cap and how it moves when people move. Today, there is a limit on how much of the accumulated SOH benefit you can transfer to a new homestead. HJR 211 would remove that cap for non-school taxes.

That change would especially help long-time homeowners in fast-appreciating areas who want to move without seeing their property tax bill jump to match full market value.

HJR 213 – New limits on assessment increases

HJR 213 does not eliminate taxes. Instead, it changes how quickly assessments can rise for non-school taxes by moving from annual caps to limits measured over three-year periods.

For homesteads, the maximum increase over three years would remain tied to a 3% or inflation rule; for non-homesteads, the combined three-year cap would be higher. The goal is more predictability and fewer sharp spikes.

HB 215 – Millage and portability tweaks

HB 215 is a general law bill, not a constitutional amendment, but it sits in the same conversation. It would require a two-thirds vote of a governing body to raise millage (tax rates) above the prior year’s level, making rate hikes politically harder.

It would also make it easier for newly married couples to combine their Save Our Homes benefits when they establish a joint homestead, preserving more of their existing tax advantage.

3. What supporters argue

3.1 “Property taxes feel like rent to the government”

The core emotional argument from supporters is simple: even after you pay off your mortgage, you never really stop paying to stay in your home. Rising property taxes can make long-time owners feel like they are paying “rent to the government” on a house they supposedly own.

Governor DeSantis and several conservative policy groups frame aggressive homestead tax relief as a way to restore a sense of true ownership. If the system already treats primary residences as special, they argue, it is consistent to push that protection even further.

3.2 A potential wealth boost for current homeowners

Economic analyses suggest that cutting or eliminating non-school property taxes on homesteads could raise home values. If buyers expect much lower annual tax bills, they may be willing to pay more up front, bidding up prices.

For current owners, that looks like a wealth boost: more equity on paper and potentially more cash if they sell. For retirees who have most of their wealth tied up in their home, that can be a powerful draw.

3.3 Targeted protection for seniors and “house-rich, cash-poor” owners

Measures like HJR 205 are written with older homeowners in mind. Supporters point out that many Floridians reach retirement with a paid-off home but modest monthly income. Sharp increases in property taxes can make it hard to stay put.

Age-based relief, in their view, rewards people who have spent decades paying into their communities and stabilizing neighborhoods, while recognizing the reality of fixed incomes.

3.4 “We’ll protect cops and schools”

Politically, supporters know that voters worry about cuts to schools and public safety. That is why the major proposals explicitly keep school-district property taxes intact and write law-enforcement funding protections into the constitutional text.

They argue that local governments will still have enough flexibility to fund classrooms and police, but will be forced to look harder for efficiencies in other parts of the budget.

3.5 The status quo is already uneven

Even some critics of the current package agree that Florida’s tax system is uneven and hard to defend. Supporters of deeper homestead relief say the system already leans heavily on sales taxes and non-homestead property, and that long-time residents need more stability when housing markets, insurance premiums, and everyday prices jump at once.

From this perspective, the new HJRs are less of a radical experiment and more of a continuation: another step in a decades-long move to make primary homes the most protected asset in Florida’s tax code.

4. What critics argue

4.1 Revenue losses in the billions

The first concern critics raise is math. Nonpartisan staff analyses and outside researchers converge on the point that large-scale homestead tax cuts mean large-scale revenue losses for local governments.

When proposals like HJR 201 and 203 are fully phased in, they imply multi-billion-dollar permanent gaps in non-school revenue across the state. Even age-targeted measures like HJR 205 would, by design, carve out substantial chunks of the existing tax base.

4.2 Deep cuts to local services, or higher taxes elsewhere

If a county or city suddenly loses a big piece of its most stable revenue, it has limited options. It can cut services, raise other taxes and fees, or hope for a bailout from the state. None of those choices are painless.

Local officials warn that, even with police and schools protected, cuts could fall on fire and EMS, public health programs, parks, libraries, and infrastructure. Alternatively, local governments might turn more heavily to sales taxes, user fees, and special assessments that can be harder on lower-income households.

4.3 Renters and small businesses: “We pay more, get less”

Because the proposals focus on homesteaded properties, renters do not receive direct relief. Small businesses and owners of non-homestead residential property – including landlords – also see limited or no benefit.

Critics worry that as homesteads receive deeper protection, more of the tax load will shift to renters and businesses. Landlords facing higher relative taxes may pass those costs through in rent, while business owners may raise prices or delay investments.

4.4 Housing affordability: relief and risk

The same dynamic that makes tax cuts attractive to current homeowners – higher home values – can be a problem for people still trying to buy. If prices rise faster than incomes, the ladder into homeownership gets harder to climb.

That tension sits at the heart of the debate: do you prioritize immediate relief and wealth gains for current owners, or do you worry more about long-term affordability for future buyers?

4.5 The property-insurance elephant in the room

A separate but related crisis looms over this entire conversation: property insurance. Many households now say their annual insurance bill is higher than their property tax bill. For them, the biggest housing pain point is not the tax office, it is the insurance carrier.

HJR 209 touches this issue by offering extra tax relief to homesteads that maintain insurance. Critics respond that this mainly helps people who can already afford coverage and does little to solve the underlying problem of soaring premiums.

5. Likely consequences for different groups

No projection is perfect, but taken together, official fiscal estimates and independent analysis point to a few clear patterns. Different groups stand to gain or lose in different ways.

5.1 Current homestead owners

Most of the direct benefits land here. Depending on which proposals pass, current homestead owners could see non-school property taxes drop sharply or disappear, benefit from more generous exemptions, and keep large tax discounts when they move.

The trade-off is indirect: what happens to the county and city budgets that rely on those revenues, and how much of the gap is filled by higher sales taxes and fees.

5.2 Seniors (65+)

For seniors, HJR 205 is particularly significant. Combined with existing caps, it would make non-school property taxes a much smaller factor in retirement budgets for people who own their homes.

At the same time, if local governments cope with lost revenue by cutting programs that matter to older residents – transportation, health, and social services – some of that relief may be offset in other ways.

5.3 Renters and would-be buyers

Renters do not benefit from homestead exemptions. If tax burdens shift toward non-homestead residential property and commercial property, landlords may pass part of that cost on in rent. Higher home prices can also push first-time homeownership further out of reach.

For younger households and people still saving for a down payment, the big question is whether these changes help or hurt their ability to eventually become owners rather than lifelong tenants.

5.4 Local governments and services

For counties, cities, and special districts, the implications are structural. Losing large chunks of property-tax revenue means either cutting services, raising other revenues, or receiving sustained state support. Each path comes with trade-offs in autonomy, equity, and long-term stability.

6. Questions for voters to ask as the debate unfolds

The details of these proposals may still change as the Legislature continues to debate them and as the ballot language is finalized. Whatever version eventually lands in front of you, a few questions can help you make a more grounded decision.

7. The bottom line

Florida is at a real turning point on property taxes. On one side is a push to shield homesteads more aggressively than ever, even to the point of eliminating non-school property taxes on primary homes. On the other side are warnings that this approach could blow a hole in local budgets, shift pressure onto renters and small businesses, and deepen existing gaps between those who already own property and those still trying to get there.

These proposals sit on top of a tax system that already features strong homestead protections and a heavy reliance on sales taxes. They also intersect with an insurance crisis that, for many families, has overtaken property taxes as their biggest housing cost. Whether the right path is sweeping tax elimination, more modest reforms, or a focus on insurance instead, depends on how you weigh relief today against stability and fairness tomorrow.

This guide cannot tell you how to vote, and it is not trying to. What it can do is give you the tools to match the rhetoric you hear to the realities behind it – for your household, for your neighbors, and for the communities we all live in. From there, the decision is yours.