| Special Session F Concludes with Property Tax Amendment Placed on November Ballot |
Earlier today, the legislature concluded Special Session F, placing a constitutional amendment related to property taxes on the ballot for voter consideration in the November election. The joint resolution required a three-fifths vote, passing the House 75-26 and Senate 30-9. After a series of amendments were adopted, the joint resolution to place an amendment on the ballot:
Provides for increases in the homestead property tax exemption to $150,000 on January 1, 2027, and $250,000 on January 1, 2028, for the non-school portion of property taxes and allows the legislature, though general law, to increase the amount of the homestead exemption up to the remaining assessed value. This amount will be adjusted based on the Consumer Price Index after 2028.
For non-homestead properties, such as local businesses and rental properties, reduces the annual assessed value increase cap from 10 percent to 5 percent.
Requires new Floridians to maintain a residence for five years before they see savings under the new homestead property tax exemption. During this period, homeowners are eligible for a $50,000 homestead exemption and receive the benefit of the 3% annual assessment cap. Local governments can reduce the 5-year requirement after 2030 by a two-thirds vote.
Requires ad valorem taxes levied by counties and municipalities only be used for core services, including public safety, education, infrastructure, natural resources, repayment of bonds, local government employee retirement benefits and operations of county offices and constitutional officers.
An amendment was adopted in committee to protect school funding by only increasing the homestead exemption for the non-school portion of property taxes. The original proposal had the increased homestead exemption also applying to the school portion of property taxes. A second amendment was adopted to remove the constitutional requirement that the legislature create a trust fund to provide local government grants. The legislature already has this authority.
Importantly, the proposal passed by the legislature includes some provisions to help mitigate a potential tax shift to local businesses. The Florida Chamber worked tirelessly to educate the Governor’s team, legislative leadership and business community stakeholders over the last year on a potential tax shift to local businesses and renters if homestead property taxes are eliminated without any guardrails or tax relief for non-homestead properties. You can view our letter sent to Governor DeSantis, Senate President Ben Albritton, House Speaker Danny Perez, and every legislator here.
Property taxes accounted for nearly $60 billion in local government and school funding in 2025, up from $55.18 billion the year prior and $35.7 billion in 2019. You can view the Chamber’s primer on Florida’s property tax system here.
The legislature also passed SB 4F, which changes the formula for how local governments can set millage and allows the ballot summary to exceed 75 words. SB 4F will be sent to the Governor for his signature, but the joint resolution goes directly to the Secretary of State. The constitutional amendment in November requires a 60 percent vote for passage. |
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Get Involved
For more information or to provide your input on the property tax amendment, contact Carolyn Johnson at cjohnson@flchamber.com. |
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