Homeowners across the U.S. are facing rising property taxes—and Florida legislators are floating proposals to not only bring down homeowners’ tax bills, but to phase out the property tax altogether.
Though facing some recent risk and decline, Florida is projected to remain one of the most booming housing markets in the country during the 2020s. According to research by storage marketplace StorageCafe, Florida saw the second-highest statewide population increase (after Texas) from net migration in 2023.
As a result of that housing boom and population increase, home values and thus property taxes have ramped up in the Sunshine State.
A 2024 report by Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) found that property taxes had broadly increased across the United States since 2019. On a statewide level during that time period, Florida saw the third-highest relative increase in property taxes behind Colorado and Georgia. In 2024, the median residential property tax bill in Florida was $3,101, a 47.5% increase since 2019.
The two highest county-wide increases in property taxes during this period also came from Florida: Broward County ($4,469, up 56.8% since 2019) and Miami-Dade County ($4,396, up 49.5% since 2019). As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the rise in Florida property taxes has been coupled by increases in home insurance premiums. Home insurance premiums in general have risen across the U.S. due in large part to escalating weather disasters. Florida, historically prone to tropical storms, is naturally vulnerable there.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in his 2025 State of the State address, called for tax relief on Florida homeowners and said that the current tax rates exceed local governments’ funding needs relative to population increases.
“While Florida property values have surged in recent years, this has come at a cost to taxpayers squeezed by increasing local government property taxes,” said DeSantis. “Escalating assessments have created a gusher of revenue for local governments—and many in Florida have seen their budgets increase far beyond the growth in population. Taxpayers need relief. You buy a home, pay off a mortgage—and yet you still have to write a check to the government every year just to live on your own property?”
Florida state lawmakers responded to this call to action with different proposals.
One bill would require the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research to complete a study on the possibility of eliminating property taxes by October 2025. Another bill would exempt home improvements to prevent or mitigate flood damage from being included in a property tax calculation.
DeSantis himself said on X (formerly Twitter) that he supports the idea of a Florida state constitutional amendment to outright eliminate property taxes.
As Florida does not have a state income tax, the lost revenue from eliminating property taxes would likely have to be made up by higher sales taxes, as documented by the Florida Policy Institute. Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez is currently pushing a $5 billion sales tax cut, reducing it from 6% to 5.25% of a sale, which he called “the largest state tax cut in the history of Florida.” This effort could complicate plans to cut property taxes.
Tim Weisheyer, 2025 president of Florida REALTORS® and broker/owner of Dream Builders Realty, says in an email response to RISMedia that the association is following this legislative discussion. He did not take a stance one way or another on the merits of any proposal.
“Limiting or removing property taxes is an ongoing, complex discussion among lawmakers with many variables and considerations. We will be following the conversation closely as it evolves and gladly offer our expertise as policymakers advance discussions,” says Weisheyer.
Another entity watching this debate is tax preparation service Ownwell. Operating in seven states (Florida included), Ownwell employs tax experts to assist homeowners in arbitrating or appealing their property tax bill. Ownwell CEO, Colton Pace, maintained an “apolitical” stance but explained the pros and cons of eliminating property taxes to RISMedia.
“Property taxes are a great and terrible tax in that every time your property tax bill goes up, it means the value for home probably just went up, so good and bad at the same time,” Pace explains, adding that cutting property taxes also means that local governments must cut services to correspond with declining revenue.
“The hard piece is yes, we’d love to get rid of property taxes, but the money to fund schools, police, fire protection and local services has to come from somewhere. And so that’s where I think they’re investigating, trying to figure out what’s the right solution that can help without being regressive and further punishing the lower middle class,” says Pace.
Pace also argues that, compared to other taxes, property taxes (as they are collected by local governments) more directly benefit the homeowners who pay them.
“(Other taxes), the money goes to the state and it disappears and you don’t know where it’s actually spent. That’s one great thing about property taxes. You are directly funding your school district, and there’s not many taxes that can replace it in that regard. Sales tax is very much ‘money goes up’ and then has to come back down and it’s allocated to school districts in that regard,” he says.
Florida is not alone in seeking solutions for property tax relief. North Dakota ran a ballot initiative in November 2024 to eliminate property taxes, which was voted down by two-thirds of voters. On the other hand, Georgia passed a new property tax exemption via ballot initiative in the 2024 election.
When asked about alternative proposals to cut Florida homeowners’ property taxes, Pace cited the possibility of higher sales taxes only for tourists.
“In shifting the (property tax) burden away from homeowners in the state,” says Pace, “you’re trying to reduce the burden on residents, and Florida has a lot of tourist activity. So that could be an option that would kind of appease both ends—make travel to Florida slightly more expensive, but keep taxes lower on those who actually live there and are residents.”
