Florida Lawmakers Send Property Tax Cut to November Ballot After Special Session

Florida voters will decide in November whether to dramatically cut property taxes for homeowners after the state Legislature, meeting in a special session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis, approved a constitutional amendment branded "Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes." The measure cleared both chambers on June 2 and June 3, 2026, capping a week of fast-moving negotiations in Tallahassee and setting up one of the highest-stakes ballot questions Floridians have faced in years.

The Senate passed the amendment by a vote of 30-9, and the House followed with a 75-26 vote, comfortable margins in both chambers. The legislation now bypasses the governor's desk, as constitutional amendments referred by the Legislature go directly to the ballot rather than requiring a signature. To take effect, the amendment will need approval from at least 60 percent of voters in the November 2026 general election, the threshold Florida requires for any change to its constitution.

At the heart of the proposal is a steep increase in the homestead exemption, the amount of a primary residence's assessed value that is shielded from property taxation. Under current law, Florida homeowners receive a $50,000 exemption. The amendment would raise that figure to $150,000 in 2027 and to $250,000 in 2028, a fivefold increase phased in over two years. For many Florida households, the change could translate into hundreds or even thousands of dollars in annual savings, depending on local millage rates and home values.

What the Amendment Would Do

The expanded exemption is designed to apply broadly to homesteaded properties, meaning homes that owners claim as their permanent residence. Snowbirds, second-home owners, and investors who do not establish Florida homestead status would not benefit from the larger exemption. The structure deliberately targets full-time residents, a population the governor's office and legislative leaders have repeatedly described as squeezed by rising assessments during years of rapid home price appreciation across the state.

One of the most consequential design choices in the amendment is what it leaves untouched. The expanded exemption would not apply to school district levies, a carve-out that lawmakers built in to shield public education funding from the revenue hit. Property taxes collected for schools make up a substantial share of the typical Florida tax bill, so excluding those levies limits both the savings for homeowners and the financial exposure for school districts that depend on that money to operate.

The version sent to voters was not identical to what DeSantis first proposed. Lawmakers tweaked the original plan before the floor votes, adjusting elements of the measure as it moved through committees and negotiations between the two chambers. The amendments reflected the competing pressures legislators faced, balancing the governor's push for aggressive relief against warnings from local officials about the practical consequences for city and county budgets.

If approved, the phased rollout would give local governments a brief window to adjust. The first increase, to $150,000, would take effect in 2027, followed by the jump to $250,000 in 2028. That timeline means the full revenue impact would not arrive immediately, though critics argue the eventual hit would still be significant once the higher exemption is fully in place.

The Special Session That Made It Happen

DeSantis called the Legislature back to Tallahassee during the week of June 1, 2026, specifically to take up property tax relief, a priority he has championed as home values and the tax bills tied to them have climbed across Florida. Special sessions allow lawmakers to focus narrowly on a defined agenda outside the regular legislative calendar, and in this case the singular focus was advancing a constitutional amendment that could reach voters in time for the fall election.

The compressed timeline put pressure on legislators to move quickly. Within days of convening, both chambers had debated, amended, and passed the measure. The speed reflected both the political will behind the proposal and the practical reality that a constitutional amendment must be finalized well ahead of an election to make the ballot.

Property taxes have become a recurring theme in Florida politics as the state's housing market has surged. Even when a homeowner's millage rate stays flat, rising assessed values can push tax bills higher year after year. The Save Our Homes framework, which the new amendment's branding echoes, has long capped how fast assessed values can grow for homesteaded properties, but the underlying exemption amount had not kept pace with the cost of housing in many Florida markets.

Supporters frame the amendment as overdue relief for residents who have watched their tax obligations climb alongside their home values, often without a corresponding increase in income. The governor's office has positioned the measure as a way to let Floridians keep more of their money and to ease the affordability strains that have accompanied the state's population growth.

Local Governments Sound the Alarm

Not everyone in Florida greeted the amendment with enthusiasm. Jacksonville-area leaders and other local officials voiced concerns about how a sharply higher homestead exemption would affect the revenue that cities and counties rely on to fund services. Property taxes are a primary funding source for local governments, paying for police and fire protection, road maintenance, parks, libraries, and a wide range of public services that residents use daily.

The arithmetic worries local budget writers. When the taxable value of homes drops because of a larger exemption, local governments face a choice: absorb the lost revenue by cutting spending, or raise millage rates to make up the difference. Either path carries political and practical costs, and officials in growing communities have warned that the timing could collide with already strained budgets.

Counties with large numbers of homesteaded properties stand to feel the effect most acutely, since a bigger share of their tax base would be shielded by the expanded exemption. Local leaders have noted that the carve-out for school levies, while protecting education funding, does nothing to insulate the municipal and county budgets that cover everyday services.

The tension between statewide tax relief and local fiscal capacity is a familiar fault line in Florida governance. Tallahassee sets the rules, but counties and cities must live with the consequences for their balance sheets. That dynamic has shaped the debate over this amendment, with local officials urging caution even as state lawmakers moved decisively to put the question before voters.

What It Means for Florida Homeowners

For the typical Florida homeowner, the practical question is how much the amendment would save them. The answer depends on several factors, including the home's assessed value, the local millage rate, and whether the property qualifies for homestead status. Because the expanded exemption excludes school district levies, the savings would apply only to the non-school portion of a tax bill, tempering the headline figure somewhat.

Homeowners in higher-value markets would generally see larger dollar savings, while those with homes assessed below the exemption threshold could see a substantial portion of their non-school tax liability eliminated. The phased structure means residents would notice the change in stages, with a partial benefit in 2027 and the full benefit arriving in 2028.

Prospective buyers and current owners alike have a stake in the outcome. Lower carrying costs could make Florida homeownership somewhat more affordable at the margins, a consideration in a state where affordability has dominated housing conversations. At the same time, any reduction in local revenue could ripple into the quality or cost of public services, an indirect cost that does not show up on a tax bill.

The amendment's effect on renters and non-homesteaded properties is more limited by design. Because the larger exemption applies only to primary residences claimed as homesteads, the measure is aimed squarely at full-time Florida residents rather than the broader real estate market.

The Road to 60 Percent

Florida's 60 percent approval requirement is a meaningful hurdle. Many proposed amendments have fallen short of that bar even when a majority of voters supported them, making the threshold a defining feature of the state's ballot-measure process. Backers of the property tax amendment will need to build broad support to clear it.

Tax relief tends to poll well, and the prospect of lower property taxes could prove popular with the homeowners who would benefit. But organized opposition, particularly from local governments and groups concerned about service cuts, could complicate the campaign. The debate is likely to center on the trade-off between immediate savings for homeowners and the longer-term fiscal health of cities and counties.

The November ballot will give voters the final say on a question that lawmakers in Tallahassee debated for only a few days but that has been building for years. The outcome will shape Florida's property tax landscape for the rest of the decade if approved, or send legislators back to the drawing board if it fails to reach the 60 percent mark.

What's Next

With the Legislature's work complete, attention shifts to the campaign trail and to the local governments that must plan for a range of outcomes. Election officials will finalize the ballot language, and supporters and opponents will begin making their cases to voters ahead of the November general election.

Local governments, meanwhile, face the task of modeling the potential revenue impact and preparing contingency plans in case the amendment passes. Budget officers in counties and cities across the state, including in the Jacksonville area where leaders have already raised concerns, will be watching the polls closely as they map out spending for the years the exemption would take effect.

For Florida homeowners, the decision now rests in their hands. If at least 60 percent of voters approve the measure in November, the homestead exemption will begin climbing in 2027 and reach $250,000 in 2028, reshaping property tax bills statewide. If it falls short, the current $50,000 exemption remains in place, and the question of property tax relief will almost certainly return to the agenda in Tallahassee.