Florida House Approves Nixing Property Taxes on Homesteads

The Florida House of Representatives voted to eliminate non-school property taxes on primary residences, in a measure that still requires approval from the state Senate and 60 percent of voters in a November election.

The House vote marked the first approval of the proposal following months of debate and controversy after Gov. Ron DeSantis first floated the idea last year.

Lawmakers approved House Joint Resolution 203, introduced by Rep. Monique Miller, a Republican of Palm Bay, after they substantially revised her item to entirely nix property taxes on homesteads, WLRN reported.

The original proposal called for a phaseout of taxes by increasing homestead exemptions by $100,000 annually for 10 years until 2037. On Thursday, the House voted 80-30 along party lines, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposing.

The resolution mandates that counties and municipalities cannot decrease funding for law enforcement, firefighters and other first responders.

Florida would become the first state to scrap property taxes on homesteads, though the item is far from final. Before it gets to voters in the November ballot, where it would need 60 percent approval, it still needs a nod from the Senate.

It’s widely expected the Senate and DeSantis would prefer to have the measure vetted and voted on during a special session held after the legislative session ends on March 13.

“Regarding a property tax proposal for the 2026 ballot: we’ve been working with members of the Senate who have been great partners,” DeSantis posted on X on Thursday, before the House vote. “Given that it can’t be voted on by the people before November, it’s better to do it right than do it quick!”

DeSantis, who doesn’t have to sign off on the measure, floated eliminating property taxes as a way to alleviate Florida’s affordability crisis and promote homeownership, saying in a statement last year the taxes “effectively require homeowners to pay rent to the government.”

Florida’s Revenue Estimating Conference projects a $13.3 billion annual hit to local governments’ budgets from HJR 203.

During debate on Thursday, Rep. Rita Harris, a Democrat of Orlando called out the measure.

“We are defunding the police,” Harris said, according to WLRN. “We are defunding the fire. We are defunding the garbage. We are defunding the schools. We are defunding the waste management. We are defunding people cutting your trees during storm season. We are defunding the state of Florida.”

Lawmakers have proposed seven constitutional amendments this year proposing various property tax cuts on homesteads. Aside from HJR 203, only two others have advanced through House committees.

––– Lidia Dinkova