The DeSantis property tax plan, and what $250,000 would do to your Florida bill

On May 27 the governor unveiled a plan called Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes and called the Legislature into special session the week of June 1 to put it on the November ballot. The headline is a jump in the homestead exemption to $250,000, with a directive to phase out the rest of the non-school homestead tax over time. If it clears the Legislature and then 60 percent of voters in November, it would erase the non-school portion of the property tax bill for most Florida homesteaders. Here is what the plan says and what it would do to a real Florida bill.

What was proposed.

The plan raises the homestead exemption to $250,000 for Florida residents. At that level the state estimates roughly 60 percent of homesteaded owners would owe no property tax at all. A later move to a $500,000 exemption would take that to about 92 percent. The proposal then hands the Legislature the job of setting a schedule that retires the remaining non-school homestead tax.

The clock is short. The special session opens the week of June 1, lawmakers have until August to lock the ballot language, and the amendment needs 60 percent of both chambers to reach voters. In November, 60 percent of voters have to approve it before a single bill changes.

What it would do to a real bill.

The savings track your county millage and your assessed value. Our Save Our Homes tax estimator runs the current bill against the proposed $250,000 exemption for any of Florida’s 67 counties. A few worked examples for a homesteaded primary residence.

The spread is millage. St. Lucie carries one of the highest combined rates in Florida, so the same exemption erases more there than in low-rate Monroe, even on a home worth more than twice as much. The school portion stays in the bill in every county, since the plan leaves it alone.

What the plan does not touch.

School district taxes stay. The $250,000 exemption applies to the non-school part of the bill, so the millage that funds St. Johns, Duval, and every other district keeps running at full strength.

Second homes, rentals, and commercial property stay on the rolls. They sit outside the homestead exemption, and the plan caps the local revenue drawn from them so it funds core services like police and fire. There is also a residency rule. Anyone who establishes Florida residency after January 1, 2027 can be required to hold it for up to five years before the full benefit applies.

See your own number.

The estimator preselects your county and lays out the current bill, the proposed bill, and the yearly difference. Start with your county.

County breakdowns: Duval, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Orange, Pinellas, and Lee. For anywhere else, start at the Florida property tax hub and pick your county.