DeSantis pushes historic homestead tax relief, urges legislature to place measure on November ballot

Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the Florida Legislature will vote to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that, he said, would provide substantial homestead property-tax relief for state homeowners.

DeSantis said raising the initial homestead threshold to $250,000 would mean "the 250, that's 60% of Florida homeowners will pay zero," and that increasing the exemption further would sweep more households into lower or eliminated bills. He framed the change as a direct response to what he called a near doubling of property-tax collections — from about $32 billion in 2019 to roughly $60 billion — and said lawmakers will design the measure to protect local services.

Supporters' case

The governor said the proposal will include state support for local governments and schools to blunt the revenue impact: "we're going to create a fund and give some of our money at the state to locals. We'll give money to schools. We'll give money to rural. We'll give money to police," he said. He also said the amendment could be phased and include qualification rules to avoid immediate windfalls for recent in-migrants, such as a possible five-year residency qualification period.

DeSantis and aides emphasized past state actions on costs — including permanent reductions in certain taxes and a tuition freeze for in-state college students — as context for asking voters to approve the change. He argued the relief would increase household spending and strengthen the broader economy.

Practical details and safeguards

At the event, DeSantis said the ballot measure would include guardrails to preserve funding for core local services and that the Legislature was considering explicit language to require that saved revenue be used for education, police, fire and water services. He said the state intends to provide local grants during implementation and that officials plan to publish an online calculator so homeowners can estimate their potential savings under different threshold levels.

Questions remain

Reporters pressed officials on the fiscal mechanics and whether the state would front costs. DeSantis said the Legislature is already discussing grants and other budget changes to help localities adapt. He acknowledged disagreement within his party over the approach but described the proposal as a practical, phased plan designed to pass and protect services.

Next steps

DeSantis said the Legislature would vote on the placing of the measure Monday and, if approved, the constitutional amendment would appear on the November ballot. He urged Floridians to contact their state senators and representatives to support the measure and said the administration will provide more detail — including a calculator to model individual tax changes — once language is finalized.