House to Weigh Property Tax Cuts

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE — A special House committee will begin hearings this week to consider possible alternatives for asking Florida voters to cut property taxes.

House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, on Tuesday announced the creation of a select committee to look at potential property-tax changes that could go before voters in November 2026. The full House would take up the issue at the start of the 2026 legislative session in January.

“Given the importance of this issue we cannot afford further delay in moving this conversation beyond promises or generalities,” Perez said.

Perez’s announcement came as Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for eliminating property taxes or raising the homestead exemption. The House, by contrast, has proposed reducing the state’s sales-tax rate from 6 percent to 5.25 percent.

Perez called DeSantis’ property-tax elimination proposal “exciting.” But Perez said the governor hasn’t provided specifics, while questions have swirled about potential effects of such a move on the ability of local governments to pay for police, fire-rescue, infrastructure and other services.

“One of the things I have learned about our (House) committee process over the years is that our process is most effective when we can build our conversations around specifics rather than generalities,” Perez said. “In other words, saying, ‘property taxes bad’ isn’t the basis for developing a plan.”

Homeowners can qualify for homestead tax exemptions from local-government and school-district taxes on the first $25,000 of the appraised values of their properties and from local-government taxes on the value between $50,000 and $75,000.

Rep. Toby Overdorf, R-Palm City, and Rep. Vicki Lopez, R-Miami, will co-chair the select committee. The Legislature would have to approve any proposals before they could go on the November 2026 ballot.

Perez outlined five potential changes for the committee to consider as a “springboard” for discussions:

— Requiring cities, counties and special districts to hold referendums on eliminating homestead property taxes.

— Creating a $500,000 homestead exemption for non-school property taxes, which would increase to $1 million for residents who are age 65 and older or who have had a homestead for more than 30 years.

— Authorizing the Legislature to raise the homestead exemption by law, so future increases wouldn’t have to go to the ballot.

— Changing caps on annual increases in taxable property values. Currently, for example, such increases for homesteaded property are capped at 3 percent or the percent change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower.

— Prohibiting governments from foreclosing on homesteaded property for unpaid taxes.

DeSantis has repeatedly called for cutting property taxes. He has said the state should shift the tax burden to tourists, non-Floridians and people with multiple homes.

But as lawmakers have considered a number of property-tax proposals, legislative leaders have pointed to a need to get more information from local governments and state economists. Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, this month said he wanted to see the Legislature’s Economic and Demographic Research study the possibility of reducing or eliminating property taxes and report back by Nov. 1.

“I agree with Floridians who are not only frustrated by the cost of property taxes, but also with the very idea that you have to keep paying in perpetuity for the privilege of living in a home you bought and paid for long ago,” Albritton said in an April 9 memo to senators. “The whole concept doesn’t sit right with me either. However, I believe we need to accept the fact that unwinding the state’s largest source of revenue that funds local emergency response, public safety services, and education should not be taken lightly.”

A Senate Finance and Tax Committee analysis estimated local property-tax revenues total about $30 billion for non-school taxes and $20 billion for school taxes.