Governor Reveals Plan To ELIMINATE Property Taxes!

Foreclosure sign in front of a house for sale

patriotnewsdaily.com — A new Florida plan to wipe out homestead property taxes could let millions of homeowners finally own their homes free and clear—if voters are willing to shake up how local government is funded.

Story Snapshot

Ron DeSantis is pushing a constitutional amendment to phase out homestead property taxes for most Florida homeowners.
The plan would massively raise the homestead exemption, with a path to make 92% of homesteads property-tax free on non-school levies.
Supporters frame it as relief from inflation and out-of-control local tax hikes; critics warn of local budget holes and service cuts.
The proposal would go on the 2026 ballot and needs 60% voter approval to become part of the Florida Constitution.

DeSantis’ Plan: From Modest Exemption To Near-Zero Property Tax

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has launched a push to radically restructure property taxation on owner-occupied homes by calling a special legislative session and asking lawmakers to send voters a constitutional amendment that would make homestead property tax-free over time.^[3]^[6] Under his proposal, Florida’s current $50,000 homestead exemption on primary residences would be raised dramatically, with an initial jump toward $250,000 in exempt value for residents who claim a homestead.^[1]^[6]^[7] DeSantis argues that repeatedly taxing property people already own is “the worst way to do taxation,” and says homeowners have already paid taxes when they bought their homes.^[1]

The governor and his allies describe the measure as a multi-step plan that would appear on the November 2026 ballot if the legislature approves it during the special session.^[2]^[4]^[6] Once on the ballot, the amendment would need at least 60 percent voter support to be written into the Florida Constitution, the same threshold that now applies to other statewide initiatives.^[4] DeSantis’ team says the amendment would set the broad framework, with the legislature required to pass implementing laws that schedule the exemption increases and ultimately phase out non-school property taxes on homestead properties over a period of years.^[5]^[6]^[7]

How Much Relief For Homeowners — And For Whom?

Supporters emphasize that the plan targets what they see as the heart of middle-class anxiety in Florida: rising valuations, rising local millage, and paychecks already squeezed by years of national inflation.^[2] DeSantis points out that local property tax collections have nearly doubled since he first took office, despite his administration cutting state-level taxes and fees in other areas.^[2] By raising the homestead exemption to $250,000, the governor estimates that about 60 percent of Florida homeowners would see their homestead property tax bills eliminated for non-school levies once the change is fully in place.^[1]^[3]

The administration and supportive analysts say the long-term goal is even more sweeping, projecting that when the exemption is eventually increased to $500,000, roughly 92 percent of homesteaded properties would pay no property tax on city, county, or special district lines of the bill.^[1]^[3]^[5]^[7] Policy write-ups note that the plan is explicitly limited to primary residences, not vacation homes, rentals, or commercial properties, which means investors and large corporate owners would still pay standard property taxes.^[1]^[3]^[7] This framing allows backers to argue that the plan rewards long-term residents and traditional families trying to hang on to a single home, not speculators or out-of-state landlords.

Phased Implementation And The State “Backstop” Promise

To reassure voters who worry about chaos in city and county budgets, DeSantis describes the change as a phased elimination of about 30 percent of the overall property tax base, limited to homesteads and rolled in over several years.^[2]^[3] In interviews, he says Florida can design a transition that protects essential services such as law enforcement, fire protection, and core local infrastructure by using state-level revenue growth and a dedicated trust fund to offset part of the local losses.^[2]^[3]^[6] The governor ties this to his broader critique that government revenues are on track to soar even without higher tax rates, citing projections that local property tax collections could reach eighty-four billion dollars by 2031 if nothing changes.^[2]

Administration talking points highlight Florida’s strong population growth, ongoing tourism, and expanding sales and use tax base as reasons the state can shoulder more of the load while allowing families to keep more of what they earn.^[2]^[6] Supportive commentary also notes that the proposal does not touch school property tax lines, which are typically the largest single slice of a property tax bill, meaning those revenues remain in place for local education systems.^[3]^[6]^[7] That design lets DeSantis argue he is attacking what he sees as excess in local general-government spending while leaving classroom funding intact and reassuring parents concerned about school resources.

Critics Raise Local Budget And Service Concerns

Opponents in the legislature and some local officials respond that the numbers involved are very large for counties, cities, and special districts that rely heavily on property tax to pay for police, fire departments, emergency services, and road maintenance.^[6]^[7] A state economist analysis cited in coverage of House proposals suggests that expanding the homestead exemption and phasing out non-school homestead taxes could reduce local revenues by several billion dollars a year in the early years, rising into the tens of billions annually as the phaseout approaches completion.^[6]^[7] Some local leaders warn that the choice for their communities may come down to decreased services, new fees, or higher taxes on businesses and non-homestead properties to fill the gap.

Governor Ron DeSantis promises to expand Florida’s homestead exemption to $500,000 and eliminate property taxes for 92% of homeowners in the state. Analysts at UBS are skeptical. https://t.co/DvDLM7X9Qs

— FORTUNE (@FortuneMagazine) May 28, 2026

News reports also point out that under discussion drafts, homeowners generally would need to have lived in their homesteaded property for a minimum period, such as five years, before qualifying for the full exemption, which introduces a dividing line between longer-term residents and newer arrivals.^[7] Critics question whether that creates “winners and losers” within the same neighborhood, and whether rural counties with smaller tax bases and less commercial activity will find it much harder than large metros to absorb the revenue changes.^[6]^[7] At the same time, there is not yet a publicly available, detailed state financing plan outlining exactly how the new trust fund would be capitalized, on what schedule, and with what safeguards, leaving some fiscal questions unresolved while the political debate accelerates.^[6]^[7]