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Florida Works Because Local Works
Our state works because the people closest to the problems are the ones solving them. Deputies, firefighters, and paramedics are funded by the communities they serve, not by distant politicians. This system built on local accountability has allowed Florida to thrive for decades.
But this November, an amendment on your ballot could dismantle it.
What's At Stake
The amendment is called “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes.” There’s a lot that the ballot title leaves out. Here’s what it actually does: The property tax amendment would slash billions in funding that keeps deputies on patrol and fire stations open.
The amendment would shift costs onto renters, small businesses, and shoppers. And it would give Tallahassee the power to decide what your community gets to keep.
The Real Math Behind the Property Tax Amendment
Funding critical services like public safety takes math, but all this amendment offers is magic.
Every dollar that funds a deputy, a fire station, or an ambulance has to come from somewhere. The property tax amendment removes billions from local budgets and offers nothing to replace them. Not a funding mechanism. Not a transition plan. Nothing.
No math. Just magic. See for yourself.
See All the Facts
Everything you need to know, fast
When someone tells you this is just a tax cut, you’ll want the numbers handy. The fact sheet breaks down what the amendment actually does, who ends up paying, and what it costs the services your community depends on every day. Download it. Share it.
Your County's Property Tax Story
County-level data, statewide context, and the full story of Florida's property taxes.
The FAC County Property Tax Report gives you the full picture for every Florida county: taxable values, millage rates, revenue breakdowns, and public safety expenditure data. Whether you’re a county official, a researcher, or a resident who wants to understand what the amendment means where you live, the data is here.
How the Amendment Changes What You Pay
A millage rate is the amount of tax per $1,000 of taxable property value. For example, a millage rate of 5.2 means you pay $5.20 in taxes for every $1,000 of your property’s taxable value.
Millage rates are set annually by local taxing authorities — county commissions, city councils, school boards, and special districts. Residents can attend public hearings and hold elected officials accountable.
The amendment changes this. It requires a supermajority to raise millage above the rollback rate, even in a declared emergency. And it mandates that the Legislature set a schedule to eliminate homestead property taxes entirely. Local officials keep the legal obligation to deliver services. They lose the primary tool to fund them.
Several factors influence your property tax bill:
- Assessed Value: Determined by the county property appraiser, based on the market value of your property.
- Exemptions: Homestead and other exemptions can reduce your taxable value.
- Millage Rates: Set by local taxing authorities.
- Assessment Caps: For homestead properties, the “Save Our Homes” cap limits annual increases in assessed value to 3% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.
Property taxes are a primary source of funding for essential local services, including:
- Emergency Management
- Police and fire departments
- Road maintenance
- Parks and recreation
- Libraries
- Public health services
In 55 of Florida’s 67 counties, public safety is the single largest budget line item. Florida counties already spend the equivalent of 85 cents of every property tax dollar on public safety. The amendment doesn’t change what communities are required to deliver. It changes what they have to pay for it with.
The answer depends on your home’s value and your community’s structure.
If your home is worth less than $250,000: You may see a lower property tax bill in the short term. You will likely pay more in sales taxes, fees, and prices — as communities raise other revenue to cover the gap, and as businesses and landlords pass through higher costs.
If your home is worth more than $250,000: Millage rates on the remaining taxable value above the exemption threshold are likely to rise to compensate for the collapse in the tax base.
If you rent: You don’t receive the homestead benefit. Your landlord’s taxes may climb, so your rent climbs too.
If you’re buying your first home: Impact fees are likely to increase as one of the few tools communities have left. That cost gets rolled into your mortgage.
The Real Affordability Problem
Florida's affordability crisis is real, and this amendment doesn't fix it.
The real squeeze on Florida homeowners isn’t property taxes. It’s insurance.
While most counties have kept millage rates flat, or even reduced them, insurance premiums have nearly doubled. This amendment doesn’t fix that. It can’t.
What it does is eliminate the primary source of local funding with no replacement, and send homeowners who are already getting squeezed a second bill. This one for higher sales taxes, higher fees, and degraded services.
For many homeowners, this amendment doesn’t deliver relief. It delivers a different bill.
Explore the County-by-County Impact
Find your county on the map. The darker the color, the bigger the hit as a share of the local budget. In smaller, more rural counties, the proportional loss is often the most severe.
When local options run out, the pressure moves to Tallahassee – or onto the people who rent, shop, and do business in your community.
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.
Estimated reduction in county property tax levy by fiscal year. Hover a county for detail.
Property Tax Truths, Vs. Myths
Myth
Eliminating property taxes will lower costs for everyday Floridians.
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Social Media Posts
Quick, credible posts for your county’s feed
The ballot title sounds like relief. These posts make sure residents know what’s behind it.
Ready to share on your social channels. Download them, post them, and keep the facts in front of your community between now and November.
Share This Page
You know what’s at stake. Deputies, firefighters, and paramedics funded by the communities they serve. Local decisions made by officials who answer to you. A system that has worked for decades, and a ballot measure that would dismantle all of it.
Most Floridians won’t know any of this unless someone tells them. Share the facts. Show them the map. Make sure the people around you know what they’re actually voting on before November.
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Presented by the Florida Association of Counties, this initiative helps Floridians understand what’s at stake when it comes to local decision-making, public services, and the everyday systems that keep our communities strong. It’s about protecting what works, preserving what matters, and ensuring Florida remains a place where freedom and local decision-making go hand in hand.