Florida voters will decide in November whether to expand homestead exemptions, cutting county and city property taxes under a plan that’s raised questions over who exactly benefits.
As it currently stands, the proposed amendment would dramatically reduce the amount of property value subject to non-school taxes — creating at least hundreds of dollars in savings next year for most area homeowners. But some experts warn the complicated formula could mean higher taxes for others.
Starting next year, the non-school homestead exemption would increase from $50,000 to $150,000, and then to $250,000 in 2028. The overhaul would also restrict how local property taxes can be spent and make it harder for local governments to replace the lost revenue.
Local government officials have raised the alarm, saying the sweeping cuts would cripple basic services, ranging from parks to roads and libraries, according to previous Suncoast Searchlight reporting.
There have also been questions surrounding how specific homeowners would benefit. A calculator released by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office includes exemptions for school taxes tied to earlier versions of the proposal. While the plan would boost the tax break for many homeowners on county, city and special district taxes, school taxes would still remain in place.
On Wednesday, DeSantis held a press conference in Bradenton, where he signed two bills focused on local taxes and budget transparency. During the conference, he spoke about the proposed property tax amendment, saying he was glad the Legislature moved to put it on the ballot, even though the final version was different from what his office proposed.
“I haven’t run all the numbers on that,” DeSantis said. “We had all the numbers for our proposal. We were going to roll out everything. But I think it’s going to be good. It will be meaningful, particularly for people that are more working class and middle class homeowners.”
DeSantis also spoke to concerns that the change will be detrimental to renters, stating that the amendment is friendly to business properties, and rental companies should pass those savings on to their tenants.
“When they say it’s not good for a renter, a lot of those renters want to be homeowners,” he said. “They just want to be able to afford it, and this initiative will help them do that.”
But former Republican State Senator Jeff Brandes, founder and president of the not-for-profit and nonpartisan organization Florida Policy Project, warned that homeowners’ property taxes could become more complicated — and possibly even increase.
“There are scenarios where people pay more taxes under this provision,” Brandes said, “because counties and cities shift to non-ad valorem and instead of getting one bill with all the services, everything is broken out individually, and non-ad valorem have zero exemptions.”
A non-ad valorem fee is a charge for a specific public service or infrastructure and is not based on a property’s assessed value. For example, residents could be charged $500 per residential parcel for a fire fee or a $400 per home policing fee, Brandes said.
He compared the change to that of a “Spirit Airlines ticket.” Initially, the tax bill will be lower. However, like the additional costs of adding a carry-on, baggage and seat selection, the non-ad valorem fees would stack up, making the bill the same or higher than before.
“While it started as less expensive on top, by the time you add everything together, you ended up paying what you could have bought on some flight on Delta,” Brandes said.
How would savings look under the amendment?
Scott Tussing, director of communications and community relations with the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office, explained that the taxable value of a property is based on the assessed value of the property minus the homestead exemptions. Homeowner tax bills are calculated using the taxable value and the millage rates within the specific district.
“They’re reconfiguring the homestead,” Tussing said. “If this passes, what we are using, doing today, goes out the door, and they’re starting with brand-new exemptions going forward in 2027.”
Calculating what the average homeowner might save under the proposed amendment is complicated, as it depends on where the property is located. For example, in Manatee County, there are 16 different tax districts, each with its own millage rate.
Tussing provided an example of what the savings could look like for a home in unincorporated Manatee County, using the lowest millage rate of 13.31, which equates to about $13.31 per $1,000 of assessed taxable value.
Looking at a homesteaded property with an assessed value of $300,000 in unincorporated Manatee County, using the current millage rate, the homestead exemptions would be worth about $513 off the tax bill.
In 2027, if the amendment passes as currently written, those homestead exemptions would be about $1,117 off the homeowner’s tax bill, and in 2028, it would rise to about $1,756 in savings. Tussing noted the calculated deductions for 2027 and 2028 only include the millage for the county, the school board and the independent districts, and do not account for municipalities.
Future millage rate changes will also impact the exact amounts homeowners would save, but the pattern of savings would be similar.
Tussing said that homes between $150,000 and $250,000 in assessed value will see the biggest year-to-year changes from this year through 2027. These properties would also see a change in their tax bills when the exemption rises to $250,000, but it would be smaller.
For homes above the $250,000 assessed value threshold and in the same tax district, whether it be a $300,000 or $600,000 property, those homeowners will have the same savings, but what they pay will be different.
“Obviously, if your assessed value is less than $150,000 or $250,000, you’re not going to reap the same benefit because you’re not paying the same tax to begin with,” Tussing said. “So, these are people who are paying, whose numbers are reaping the full exemption amount.”
If someone’s home is assessed at $100,000, their exemption will already be maxed out in 2027.
But Tussing emphasized that there are still too many variables that are up in the air until the proposed amendment is finalized to understand the real impact.
“There’s nothing in that bill that’s going to eliminate property tax,” Tussing said, “because you’re still going to pay school tax, which is part of the property tax.”
This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties; Suncoast Searchlight reporter Emily Andersen contributed to this story. Gabriela Szymanowska is a contributor for Suncoast Searchlight. Email her at gszymano20@gmail.com.
