Florida property tax relief: DeSantis calls special legislative session

Governor DeSantis announces special legislative session

Governor Ron DeSantis is calling lawmakers into a special legislative session starting Monday. The governor aims to place a property tax amendment on the upcoming November ballot.

TAMPA, Fla. - Governor Ron DeSantis announced during a press conference that he is calling lawmakers into a special legislative session starting Monday. The governor aims to place a historic property tax amendment on the upcoming November ballot.

Florida legislative tax session

What we know:

Lawmakers will have until August to finalize the specific language for the ballot initiative.

"The primary purpose of this is to make your homestead property tax-free and this will be historic," shared DeSantis.

Gov. DeSantis is pushing for the legislators to add a property tax amendment to the ballot ahead of the 2026 Midterms.

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If lawmakers agree on a specific plan, the proposal would not become law without voter approval. The state constitution would need to be amended in order to reduce or eliminate property taxes and the ballot measure would require at least 60% voter approval.

Proposed exemption bracket changes

What they're saying:

"The proposal that we are going to work with the legislature on to be on the ballot will begin with an initial raising of the homestead limit to $250,000 for all Florida homesteaders within the legislature, commanded to enact a schedule that will lead to the full elimination of the homestead limit," explained the governor.

He says that the $250,000 limit will eliminate property tax for 60% of Florida homeowners.

"If it's successful, when you raise it to the $500,000 limit, that's 92% of all Florida residents would be tax-free. I think this bottom-up approach is a better approach," shared DeSantis.

Public and government reaction

The other side:

The idea has proven popular with many voters, but it has also sparked strong opposition from local governments, renters, and businesses across the state. Local leaders warn that if property taxes are reduced or eliminated, they will be forced to find new sources of revenue and unprotected services like fire rescue could end up feeling the burn of budget cuts.

The impact of lost revenues from property taxes would not be felt equally. Some local governments have warned they would need to raise funds in other ways, which could mean significantly higher taxes on businesses or sales taxes rising into the double digits.