Florida’s Plan To Abolish Property Taxes: Real Reform or Another Dead‑on‑Arrival Fantasy?

January 14, 2026•4 min read

Florida’s debate over abolishing (or sharply cutting) homestead property taxes is real, but the details are still in flux, and the way options appear on the 2026 ballot will matter as much as the proposals themselves. Today we discuss the key tensions: local revenue gaps, higher sales taxes, renters versus owners, and whether voters will be overwhelmed by “too many choices.”

What’s Actually On The Table

Lawmakers are working toward a constitutional amendment for the 2026 ballot to reduce or phase out non‑school property taxes on homesteads, with several joint resolutions in play (for example, HJR 203 to phase out non‑school homestead taxes over about 10 years by raising the exemption each year).
Any amendment must get 60% voter approval, which is why multiple similar options on the same ballot could easily cause all of them to fail.

For readers who want to go deeper, Florida House summaries and analyses of HJR 203 and related resolutions are useful primary sources.

Property Taxes, Counties, And “Who Pays”

Most property tax revenue in Florida funds counties, school districts, and cities, not the state’s general fund; studies estimate that roughly one‑third of county revenue can come from property taxes, and homesteads alone can represent 8–15% of total county revenue in some areas.
State‑level analyses of large homestead cuts show some counties cannot fully replace lost revenue even if they max out local sales surtaxes, which is why talk of state “backstopping” poorer counties has emerged.

A recent WUSF and FSU analysis offers concrete county‑by‑county impact examples if homestead property taxes are eliminated or sharply reduced.

The 9% State Sales Tax Idea

One prominent replacement concept is raising the state sales tax rate (currently 6%) up toward 9%, with counties and cities still allowed to add their own local surtaxes on top.
Because higher‑income households account for a disproportionate share of consumer spending, a broad consumption tax tends to shift more of the total tax load toward higher earners, even though the rate is flat.

For background on sales tax structure and incidence in Florida, state revenue reports and independent policy papers on HJR‑style proposals are helpful references.

Homeowners, Renters, And The 5% “Exit” Tax

In your dialogue, you raise a hypothetical 5% tax on the sale of a home; versions of this idea appear in some discussion drafts as a transfer or “exit” tax meant to capture revenue when owners sell.
Economists generally expect such transaction taxes to:
- Reduce mobility (people move less often because selling is more expensive).
- Encourage owners—especially older or 55+ households who often move every few years—to stay put longer, waiting for more equity to offset the added cost.

Readers curious about how transaction taxes affect housing turnover can look at research on real estate transfer taxes and mobility in public‑finance journals.

“Menu Of Options” And Voter Overload

Your concern that a “menu” of 9–11 different tax amendments could doom them all is already reflected in public comments: Gov. Ron DeSantis has explicitly warned that multiple competing amendments would split the vote and “guarantee” failure, and has floated a special session to narrow things to one clean proposal.
With many similar‑sounding amendments, most voters are likely to rely on headlines or third‑party summaries instead of parsing technical differences—raising the risk that the measure with the best policy design is not the one that gets the most support.

Realtor.com’s explainer on DeSantis’ push for “just one proposal” is an accessible overview of this ballot‑design problem.

What Florida Residents Can Do Now

Nothing is final yet: legislative committees are still shaping which proposals advance, and leadership is debating whether to consolidate them before the March decision point for what can go on the 2026 ballot.
Residents who care about this—owners, renters, investors, and 55+ households—can:
- Read plain‑English summaries of the major joint resolutions (HJR 203 and similar).
- Call or email their state representative and state senator to ask which version they support, how local revenue gaps would be filled, and whether they will back a single, clearly written amendment or a "menu of options".

For contact information and bill texts, the Florida House and Florida Senate official sites remain the best starting points.

Additional Sources

Gus Ortiz

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