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Studio 67Alert
Property Tax Special Session
Here's What's At Stake
The Florida Formula works. Low taxes. No state income tax. Balanced budgets. Strong local decision-making. It is the reason Florida has become the most popular state in the country to live, work and raise a family, and it is built on a property tax system that keeps decisions and dollars close to home.
That system funds the services residents see every day: deputies on patrol, fire and EMS that show up in minutes, hurricane response, and the infrastructure residents rely on. Public safety alone is the largest expenditure category in 55 of Florida’s 67 counties.
What the Bills Would Do:
01
New Homestead Exemption
Creates a new homestead exemption of $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, applicable to all levies excluding school districts. The Legislature would then create a further phase-in schedule to fully eliminate this revenue source.
02
Non-homestead assessment cap
Reduces the assessment cap on non-homestead properties (e.g. second homes and commercial real estate) from 10% to 5%.
03
Five-year residency requirement
Requires a five-year Florida residency period before new residents qualify for the expanded exemption.
04
Automatic inflation growth
Grows both exemptions automatically with inflation each year. The tax base erodes permanently; counties never recover the ground given up by each year’s adjustment, and the gap compounds.
05
Millage rate ceiling narrowed
Simultaneously narrows the default maximum millage rate, tying it to the rolled-back rate rather than the current formula. The tax base shrinks with counties struggling to raise millage rates to make up the difference.
06
Constitutional category lock
Constitutionally restricts county and municipal ad valorem to a closed list of seven (7) categories. The final bill funds the “operations & administration” and any expenditures approved by a county or municipality.
07
Sheriffs funding AT risk
Even sheriffs, within the authorized public safety category, are not protected from budget cuts. That means longer response times and fewer deputies covering more ground.
08
No safety net for critical services
The original trust fund was eliminated from the final legislation, leaving no safety net for fiscally constrained counties or lapsed critical services.
Take Action
County leaders should begin talking publicly about what local property taxes fund in their communities and what is at stake if those dollars go away. Floridians benefit from the services property taxes fund, and they deserve a clear-eyed accounting of what this proposal does and does not do, from the people who deliver those services every day.
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Key Resources
Florida County Property Tax Levy Impact — Special Session F (Homestead Exemption Expansion + 5% Non-Homestead Cap)
Estimated reduction in county property tax levy by fiscal year, as a share of total county levy. Hover a county for detail.
Source: Florida Association of Counties. Dollar estimates derived from inflation-adjusted analysis of $150k (Year 1) and $250k (Year 2+) homestead exemption expansion. Percent-of-levy estimates derived from DOR effective millage rates applied to county taxable value projections. Special Session F joint resolution.