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Monday, a Florida House Select committee will meet to discuss ways to implement the governor's desire to eliminate property taxes. Today, Florida TaxWatch presented its property tax reform review offering lawmakers five options to reduce or eliminate property taxes for hardworking Floridians.
Dominic Calabro Pres, CEO Florida TaxWatch, says the first goal of implementing these options is "do no harm and to look out for the long-term beneficial interests for state taxpayers." Therefore "full elimination of property taxes is not part of the proposed options.
Here are the Five Options from Florida TaxWatch:
Option 1. Phase Out Property Taxes for Florida Homeowners
Using 2024 figures, eliminating property taxes for the approximately five million Florida homestead properties would cost local government approximately $19 billion. Under current growth estimates of homestead taxable value, this would grow to approximately $30 billion by 2030, assuming no change in millage rates.
A more measured approach is to phase the total elimination over a period of years, providing continued revenue for critical government services for a known time period and allowing state and local governments to plan for the eventual steep reduction in revenue. A phased elimination could be accomplished by an annual increase in the homestead exemption, changing it from a dollar amount to a percentage of assessed value. Policy makers could determine any length of time over which to phase out ad valorem taxes for homestead properties.
Florida TaxWatch reviews two proposals for eliminating property tax for homeowners over 10 years and 30 years based on the assessed value of the five million homestead properties in 2024.
Under the 10-year plan, increasing the current exemptions to account for 25 percent of the frozen Year 1 assessed value of homestead properties in the second year, and then an incremental 10 percent each subsequent year, would eliminate property taxes on the current five million homestead properties in 10 years. This phased proposal would provide a $1 billion tax cut in the second year. Under the 30-year plan, the exemption value rises at a slower pace compared to the 10-year plan, resulting in a steady reduction of $655.2 million in homestead property taxes annually.
Option 2. Prioritize Eliminating Property Taxes for Senior Floridian Homeowners
Florida has one of the highest populations of seniors in the nation, with 22.7 percent of the total state population aged 65 and older. The senior homestead exemption currently totals $8.3 billion, 0.6 percent of the total assessed value of homestead properties.
To assist Florida’s elderly population, maintain fiscal stability and remain in their homes as long as physically able, any phased proposal to eliminate property taxes for homeowners could be retroactive for senior citizens aged 65 years and older, allowing prior years to count towards the total number of years outlined. For example, under the 10-year phased elimination proposal, eligible seniors who have claimed homestead in Florida for at least 10 years would receive a 100 percent exemption of their home’s assessed value in the first year.
Data indicates nearly 19 percent of the state’s total population are homeowners aged 65 and older. Assuming the entire 19 percent of eligible aged homeowners have claimed homestead for the determined number of years, an estimated $3.6 billion in property tax revenue could be eliminated immediately under a proposal that grandfathers in years of claimed homestead for Floridians aged 65 and older.
Option 3. Eliminate Property Taxes for Florida Homeowners, Except for School Property Taxes
School ad valorem taxes generate $21.5 billion for school districts. Approximately $13.7 billion of this total pays for almost half of the state’s $29.5 billion Florida Education Finance Program, which funds the state’s K-12 public schools. The Legislature sets the RLE millage rate each year, and local governments are all but required to adopt the rate in order to receive state funding. The RLE is not subject to several exemptions, including the second homestead exemption and the ten percent increase cap on non-homestead properties.
Florida homesteaded properties account for approximately one-third of the total school taxable value, generating an estimated $7 billion in school ad valorem taxes. In order to maintain funding for schools, policy makers could determine to keep all school levies in effect and only eliminate non-school property taxes. Using 2024 figures, a phased elimination of all non-school ad valorem taxes for the approximately five million Florida homestead properties would ultimately cost local governments an estimated $12 billion over the determined time period.
Option 4. Lower Property Taxes for Florida Homeowners
A proposal to simply lower a property owner’s tax liability is to provide each property in the state with a set percent reduction of the previous year’s assessed value and require all local governments to adopt the previous year’s millage rates. For the next five years, local governments must adopt the roll-back rate, with the set percent reduction added back for the calculation.
This would create a guaranteed, definite reduction for taxpayers that could not be reduced by millage hikes. This exemption could apply to all property types, or the Legislature could limit it to homesteads. If limited to homesteads, this proposal would ensure the reduced tax burden would not shift to other property owners. Policy makers can choose the percentage reduction that achieves the desired amount of tax savings. A 20 percent exemption for all property would save $11.0 billion, or $8 billion if only homesteads were given the exemption.
Option 5. Statutory Changes to Bring Transparency and Accountability in 2026
While eliminating or significantly reducing property taxes would likely require a constitutional amendment, the Legislature has broad statutory authority to reform the property tax process and could enact targeted policies in the 2026 Legislative Session that aim to rein in revenue growth and increase transparency.
Note: Options 1 through 4 would require a constitutional amendment with 60 percent of the voters in agreement. Option 5 includes multiple ideas that could be enacted via statutory changes. For additional information, please click here.
The main concern for lawmakers is to minimize the impact of eliminating property taxes on Florida's local governments. Property taxes are the largest source of tax revenue for local governments funding public safety, fire protection, education and sanitation.
Last year, property taxes generated $55 billion for the state with $19 billion paid by Florida homeowners.