Florida’s leaders are considering a far-reaching remedy to cut the soaring costs of owning a home: ditching property taxes.
Killing property taxes is unlikely. Such a move would leave the state more reliant on its sales tax and strip local governments of revenue to fund everything from schools to social services. But the idea is gaining political traction, reflecting the strain homeowners are under.
The property-tax system is among the top issues under discussion in the legislative session that began this month. The attempted overhaul represents one of the most serious efforts ever. A full repeal would be the first such move in the nation.
Florida’s lawmakers have filed dozens of bills on the issue, ranging from proposals to end property taxes to smaller tweaks to give targeted help to homeowners. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis urged the Legislature in his recent State of the State address to provide relief from such taxes.
“People are getting crushed not just by home insurance but by property taxes,” said GOP state Sen. Jonathan Martin, who is sponsoring a bill that would require that a study on the elimination of property taxes be completed by October. “That American dream in Florida is taking five figures a year in local taxes.”
Revolts against property taxes have erupted elsewhere in recent months as homeowners’ tax bills have risen alongside home values. Property values in the U.S. increased 27%, adjusted for inflation, between January 2020 and July 2024, according to the Tax Foundation, a think tank.
“You’re seeing a groundswell of opposition to property taxes generally”—one reminiscent of a wave of protest in the 1970s and 1980s that triggered ballot measures including Proposition 13 in California that capped property taxes, said Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects at the Tax Foundation.
A number of states including Wyoming, Kansas and Montana are weighing significant property-tax limitations, he said. In November, voters in North Dakota rejected a ballot measure that would have eliminated property taxes.