With home prices continuing to be a big flashpoint for Floridians, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that he plans to work on an overhaul of property taxes, including an increase in the state’s homestead exemption, which shields part of the value of homes.
DeSantis floated the idea when he noted that he is plans to release his budget recommendations over the weekend.
“We need to crack down on property taxes in the state,” DeSantis said at the end of an event centered primarily on illegal immigration. “We need to limit these property taxes in more ways than we do. So I think that homestead deductions need to dramatically increase for people.”
Any major change of property taxes would require a constitutional amendment and would likely not go before voters until 2026.
DeSantis said he plans to work with legislators over the next year and a half to craft his overhaul. He did not elaborate about how large of a homestead exemption he’ll push for but said he wants to offset the rising costs of homes, interest rates, and homeowners’ insurance.
In Florida, homeowners are eligible for a homestead exemption on their permanent residences of up to $50,000. The first 25,000 applies to all property taxes including school district taxes. The additional exemption of up to $25,000 applies only to non-school taxes. In November voters approved a constitutional amendment that adjusts for annual inflation.
DeSantis blamed rising insurance costs on “roofing scams,” but said the Legislature addressed that when it passed HB 837 and other bills. He said 6 million homeowners in 2024 saw no premium increases in their homeowner’s insurance.
“So, the thing we have the most control over, we obviously can’t control the overall inflation rate. We can’t control private markets. But we can control how much they can tax you” he said. “So, we’re going to be working over the next year, year and a half, to see what we can present for voters to be able to vote in the next election for some major property tax limitations and reliefs.”
DeSantis said his proposed budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year would contain pay increases for Florida Highway Patrol troopers and suggested he would likely recommend additional payments to bring down the state’s overall debt.
House Speaker Danny Perez, a Republican from Miami, has repeatedly criticized the size of the state budget, $118.6 billion. More than 42% of that goes to health and human service-related needs, from providing access to Medicaid to caring for children in foster care. Education is the second largest spending area, at 32% of the budget.
DeSantis teased his planned budget proposal during a Destin press conference at which he spoke at length about what he called shortfalls in the recently passed immigration legislation known as the TRUMP Act.
Florida law requires the governor to submit his proposed budget to the Legislature for consideration at least 30 days before the start of the regular session. The 2025 legislative session begins March 4. Sunday is the 30-day mark.
–Christine Sexton, Florida Phoenix
