Florida Wants to Eliminate Property Taxes. Here’s What That Actually Means for You.

My phone started ringing before I even finished my morning coffee yesterday. “Did you see? Florida is getting rid of property taxes!” was the general theme. Social media was already full of “Florida just became tax-free!” takes by noon.

Let me slow this down, because what actually happened is both significant and widely misunderstood. The Florida House did take a real step toward eliminating certain property taxes — but there’s a long way between a House vote and your tax bill going to zero.

Key Takeaways

• The Florida House of Representatives voted 80-30 on February 19, 2026 to advance a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate non-school property taxes on homesteaded properties.
• School district taxes — which account for approximately 40% of most homeowners’ property tax bills — would remain in place.
• The Florida Senate has not yet acted on the proposal. If it passes the Senate, it would go to voters as a constitutional amendment on the November 2026 ballot, requiring 60% approval to become law.
• This only applies to properties with a homestead exemption — your primary residence. Investment properties, second homes, and rental properties are not affected.
• If it eventually passes, the change would reduce monthly mortgage payments for Florida homeowners by lowering the tax portion of their PITI.
• A replacement revenue source (likely a broadened sales tax) would need to be established to fund county and municipal services currently paid for by property taxes.

What Actually Happened

On February 19, 2026, the Florida House voted 80-30 to advance House Joint Resolution (HJR) 7017, a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate non-school ad valorem (property) taxes on homesteaded properties in Florida.

This is a constitutional amendment proposal, not a standard bill. Florida’s constitution currently authorizes local governments to levy property taxes, so eliminating them requires amending the constitution. That means:

1. Both chambers must approve it. The House passed it. The Senate has not voted yet.
2. Voters must approve it. If the Senate passes it, the amendment goes on the November 2026 ballot and requires at least 60% voter approval.
3. Implementation timeline. Even with voter approval, there would likely be a transition period for local governments to adjust their budgets and establish replacement revenue sources.

This is not law yet. It’s a proposal that cleared one of several required hurdles.

What Would Actually Change

If this amendment ultimately passes all stages and becomes law, here’s what changes for Florida homeowners with a homestead exemption:

What goes away: Non-school property taxes. This includes the portions of your tax bill that fund county government, city/municipal government, water management districts, and special taxing districts. For most Florida homeowners, this represents roughly 60% of their total property tax bill.

What stays: School district property taxes. These are constitutionally mandated separately and are not affected by this proposal. School taxes typically make up about 40% of a Florida homeowner’s total property tax bill.

A Real Example

Take a typical $400,000 homesteaded property in Hillsborough County (Tampa area) with a current total property tax bill of approximately $5,600 per year:

Tax Component	Current Annual Amount	Under Proposed Amendment
School district taxes (~40%)	$2,240	$2,240 (unchanged)
County, city, and special district (~60%)	$3,360	$0 (eliminated)
Total property tax	$5,600	$2,240
Monthly savings (in escrow)	—	$280/mo

That $280 per month reduction would flow directly into a lower mortgage payment for homeowners whose taxes are collected through escrow. For a household earning $7,000 per month, that’s a meaningful improvement to their debt-to-income ratio — enough to potentially qualify for a larger loan or simply have more room in the monthly budget.

Who Benefits — and Who Doesn’t

This is where the nuance matters, and where a lot of the social media commentary gets it wrong.

Who benefits

Current Florida homeowners with homestead exemption. If you already own and live in your primary residence in Florida, this would reduce your annual property tax bill by roughly 60%. The longer you’ve owned your home (and the more your Save Our Homes cap has saved you), the bigger the benefit in absolute terms.

Future Florida homebuyers. Lower property taxes mean a lower PITI payment, which means you can either afford more home for the same monthly payment or have a more comfortable payment on the same home. When lenders calculate your qualification, every dollar of reduced taxes is a dollar that improves your purchasing power.

Retirees and fixed-income homeowners. Property taxes are one of the biggest ongoing costs of homeownership. Reducing that burden is especially meaningful for people on fixed incomes who might otherwise struggle with rising tax assessments.

Who doesn’t benefit

Real estate investors and landlords. The amendment only applies to homesteaded properties — primary residences. If you own rental properties, vacation homes, or investment properties in Florida, your property taxes would remain unchanged. Don’t count on this reducing the cost of holding investment properties.

Renters (directly). While landlords could theoretically pass savings along through lower rents, there’s no guarantee of that. Landlords’ properties aren’t homesteaded, so their taxes wouldn’t change under this proposal anyway.

Out-of-state property owners. Second homes and vacation properties don’t qualify for homestead exemption and wouldn’t be affected.

The Revenue Question No One Is Answering Yet

The single biggest unanswered question is: where does the replacement revenue come from?

Florida counties and municipalities rely heavily on property tax revenue to fund police, fire departments, roads, parks, libraries, and other essential services. According to the Florida Association of Counties, non-school property taxes generate approximately $28 billion per year statewide. That money has to come from somewhere.

The most frequently discussed replacement is a broadened or increased state sales tax. Florida’s current state sales tax is 6%, with counties adding their own surcharges (typically 0.5% to 1.5%). Shifting the burden from property taxes to sales taxes would change who pays and how much.

Property taxes are based on the value of your home — broadly speaking, wealthier homeowners with more expensive homes pay more. Sales taxes are applied equally regardless of income or wealth, which means the shift could disproportionately affect lower-income households who spend a higher percentage of their income on taxable goods.

This isn’t a reason to oppose or support the amendment. It’s context you should have when evaluating what “eliminating property taxes” actually means for your household finances.

What This Means for the Florida Housing Market

If this amendment passes and non-school property taxes are eliminated for homesteaded properties, the impact on Florida’s housing market could be substantial.

Increased demand. Lower ongoing costs make Florida even more attractive to buyers — especially retirees and remote workers relocating from high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Illinois. Florida already doesn’t have a state income tax. Removing most property taxes would make the total tax picture incredibly compelling.

Potential price increases. Basic economics: if more people want to buy in Florida because of lower carrying costs, prices go up. The monthly savings from eliminated property taxes could get absorbed into higher home prices over time as buyers bid more aggressively. Don’t be surprised if the market prices in most of the benefit before you can take advantage of it.

Refinance opportunities. Current homeowners whose property tax portion drops significantly would see a lower total housing cost — but they wouldn’t necessarily need to refinance to benefit. The change would flow through their escrow analysis automatically, reducing their monthly payment.

Insurance remains the wild card. Even if property taxes drop, homeowners insurance costs in Florida have been rising dramatically. A $3,000 per year reduction in property taxes doesn’t help much if your insurance premium jumped $2,000 in the same year. Florida’s insurance market is its own challenge, and this proposal doesn’t address it.

What You Should Do Right Now

If you’re a current Florida homeowner

Make sure you have your homestead exemption filed. If this passes, only homesteaded properties benefit. The filing deadline is March 1 each year — if you haven’t filed yet, do it now. Check with your county property appraiser’s website.

If you’re thinking about buying in Florida

Don’t make a purchasing decision based on a proposal that hasn’t passed the Senate or gone to voters yet. But do factor in the possibility. If you’re comparing Florida to other states, the potential for significantly lower property taxes is one more data point in Florida’s favor.

When you’re running numbers on affordability, use our mortgage payment calculator to see how different property tax scenarios affect your monthly payment.

If you’re an investor

This doesn’t change your tax picture. Non-homesteaded properties are not affected. If you’re using a DSCR loan for investment properties, your tax assumptions stay the same.

If you’re waiting for this to pass before buying

I’d caution against that strategy. Even if the amendment passes the Senate and goes to voters in November 2026, implementation wouldn’t be immediate. You could be waiting well into 2027 or beyond. Meanwhile, if the market prices in the expectation of lower taxes, homes could get more expensive before you ever see the tax benefit.

The buyers who benefit most from something like this are the ones who already own the home when the change takes effect.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Florida completely eliminate property taxes?

Not entirely. The proposal eliminates non-school property taxes on homesteaded (primary residence) properties only. School district taxes — about 40% of your current bill — would remain. Investment properties, second homes, and rental properties would still pay the full property tax bill. And the proposal still needs to pass the Florida Senate and receive 60% voter approval in November 2026.

How would this affect my monthly mortgage payment?

If you’re a Florida homeowner with a homestead exemption, your property tax portion of your monthly escrow payment would decrease by roughly 60%. On a $400,000 home in the Tampa area, that could mean about $280 less per month. Your lender would adjust this during the annual escrow analysis.

Does this apply to rental or investment properties?

No. The proposed amendment applies only to properties with a Florida homestead exemption, which requires the property to be your primary residence. Rental properties, vacation homes, investment properties, and commercial real estate would continue to pay property taxes at current rates.

When would this take effect if it passes?

The earliest this could become law is after the November 2026 election, assuming the Senate approves it and at least 60% of Florida voters approve the constitutional amendment. There would likely be a transition period after voter approval before local governments actually stop collecting the non-school taxes, possibly extending into 2027 or 2028.

Will home prices go up because of this?

Likely, yes. Lower carrying costs make homes more affordable on a monthly basis, which tends to increase demand. Florida is already one of the most popular relocation destinations in the country, and eliminating most property taxes would intensify that. Over time, higher demand tends to push prices up — potentially absorbing much of the tax savings into higher purchase prices.

How would local governments replace the lost revenue?

That’s the biggest open question. Non-school property taxes currently generate approximately $28 billion per year for Florida counties and cities. The most commonly discussed replacement is a broadened or increased state sales tax, but no specific plan has been finalized. This will be one of the most debated aspects of the proposal as it moves through the legislative process.

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By Cole Brantley, NMLS# 1905939 | Licensed Mortgage Loan Originator | Mpire Financial (NMLS# 2108504)

Cole Brantley is the Head of Direct to Consumer at Mpire Financial and a licensed mortgage loan originator serving buyers in 35+ states. With over 1,500 homebuyers helped to the closing table, Cole specializes in finding the right loan by shopping over 100 wholesale lenders for every client. Learn more about Cole.

This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Rates shown are approximate and subject to change. Your rate depends on credit score, down payment, loan type, and other factors. Contact Cole Brantley for a personalized quote.