Gov. DeSantis says Florida should triple homestead exemptions, floats putting issue on ballot

Florida’s homestead exemptions are good, but not good enough, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

He said he may talk soon with state lawmakers about increasing the benefit threefold, a move that would require a constitutional amendment.

“We need to limit even further property tax rates,” he said. “We should be tripling the homestead exemption to make sure that our primary homeowners are protected.”

Today, homeowners in the Sunshine State can qualify for an up to $50,000 reduction in the assessed value of their homes, which lowers property taxes. Further benefits are available to veterans, active-duty military service members, disabled first responders, senior citizens and property owners with disabilities.

Florida does not have a statewide property tax, but counties and municipalities do. And while areas in the state have enjoyed lower rates, homeowners in others — including those in Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa — have seen their post-pandemic property tax bills skyrocket.

“Some of these local governments … do a pretty good job, but some of them waste your money, and I’d rather protect you and limit their ability to tax your (property),” DeSantis said Wednesday during a press conference in Miami. “So, we may be working with the Legislature to see (if there are) some things that we can … put on the ballot so that voters have an opportunity to rein in the cost associated with property taxes and get further protections for Florida taxpayers. I think that would be really good, and I think that would be a great thing to leave to future generations.”

Spring Hill Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a staunch ally of the Governor’s, noted on X shortly after DeSantis’ comments that he now has a bill in drafting that would raise the exemption to $75,000. He said it should be filed “within the next week or so.”

“Using the median value, (in) 1990, your homestead accounted for 32% of the value of your home. Today, the current homestead exemption accounts for LESS THAN 10% of the value of your home!” Ingoglia said. “Floridians are demanding tax relief! It’s time to make housing affordable again!”

Far more drastic steps have been floated in recent years, including a proposal Ocala Republican Rep. Ryan Chamberlin carried last year to abolish property taxes in Florida altogether.

DeSantis doesn’t appear to be entirely averse to that idea either.

“I mean, if you were starting a community and a country from scratch, you would never want to tax property and land,” he said. “You buy a house, you own the land, but you’ve got to pay the government for the courtesy of just being able to exercise your property right? Not really a good thing. And so we do have the homestead. It’s effective to a certain extent. But I think it needs to be much better.”

This wasn’t the first time the Governor said homestead exemptions need fixing. During a teaser in Destin last month of his now-released spending plan for the next fiscal year, he said he’d like to see a “crack down on property taxes in the state” through a constitutional amendment.