Will Florida Eliminate Property Taxes? What Homeowners in Manatee and Hillsborough Need to Know

Governor Ron DeSantis has been actively championing a bold proposal: the elimination or dramatic reduction of property taxes in Florida. For homeowners in Manatee and Hillsborough counties — where property values have surged over the past five years — this is a policy debate that hits close to home. But understanding it requires knowing what property taxes actually fund, what existing protections Florida homeowners already have, and what the federal government can do to provide relief right now.

What Is Florida’s Property Tax Elimination Proposal?

Governor DeSantis has proposed eliminating Florida’s property tax through a constitutional amendment — which would require approval by 60% of Florida voters in a statewide referendum. This is not a simple legislative change. Property taxes in Florida are embedded in the state constitution as the primary funding mechanism for local governments, schools, and services. Removing them requires replacing that revenue with something else.

Florida currently has no state income tax and no state property tax — property taxes are levied entirely at the local level by county governments, school boards, water management districts, and other special taxing authorities. The statewide average effective property tax rate is approximately 0.89% — lower than most states — but because Florida home values have risen dramatically, annual tax bills have grown substantially even without rate increases.

State economists estimate that eliminating property taxes would cost Florida local governments approximately $40 billion annually — the single largest source of local government revenue in the state. That money currently funds:

• Public K-12 schools (roughly 40–50% of school funding in most counties)
• Sheriff and law enforcement agencies
• Fire rescue services
• County roads, parks, and libraries
• Water management and environmental programs

Any serious property tax elimination proposal must answer the question: what replaces this revenue? The most commonly discussed alternatives — higher state sales taxes, increased state income allocation, or federal grants — all involve trade-offs that Florida voters would need to weigh.

Florida Homestead Exemption: What Every Homeowner Should Know Right Now

While the property tax elimination debate plays out, Florida already has a robust set of property tax protections that many homeowners underutilize or don’t fully understand. Knowing these can save you significant money right now — no constitutional amendment required.

The $50,000 Homestead Exemption. Florida’s homestead exemption removes the first $50,000 of assessed value from your property tax calculation for your primary residence. The first $25,000 applies to all taxing authorities; the second $25,000 applies to all except school board taxes. To qualify, you must own and occupy the property as your primary residence as of January 1 of the tax year. You must apply through your county Property Appraiser’s office — in Manatee County at manateepao.com; in Hillsborough County at hcpafl.org.

Save Our Homes (SOH) 3% Cap. Once you have a homestead exemption, Florida law limits how much your assessed value can increase each year — to 3% or the Consumer Price Index increase, whichever is lower. This means long-time homeowners in rapidly appreciating markets like Lakewood Ranch and Riverview are protected from runaway assessments, even as their market value climbs dramatically. Homeowners who purchased recently pay taxes on closer to market value; those who have owned for decades benefit from significantly capped assessments.

Portability. When a Florida homeowner with a homestead exemption sells their home and buys another in Florida, they can transfer their accumulated SOH benefit (called “portability”) to the new home. This is especially valuable for homeowners who have built up large SOH differentials over many years. Portability must be applied for within three tax years of the sale of the original homestead.

Additional exemptions for seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. Florida offers additional property tax exemptions for qualifying seniors (income-limited), surviving spouses of veterans killed in combat (up to 100% exemption), totally and permanently disabled veterans (up to 100% exemption), and individuals with certain disabilities. Contact your county Property Appraiser’s office to check eligibility.

The proposed $100,000 homestead exemption. The Florida legislature has debated expanding the homestead exemption to $100,000 as a more targeted form of property tax relief — one that would reduce taxes for primary homeowners without eliminating the revenue base for local services. This proposal is pending and would also require a constitutional amendment.

The SALT Deduction Cap and What It Costs Florida Homeowners

While Florida property tax policy is primarily a state issue, one federal policy has directly increased the burden on Florida homeowners since 2017: the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap.

Before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, taxpayers who itemized their federal income taxes could deduct the full amount of their state and local taxes — including property taxes — from their federal taxable income. The 2017 law capped this deduction at $10,000 per household. For homeowners in states with high income taxes (New York, California, New Jersey), this was a massive tax increase. But it also hit Florida homeowners with high property tax bills — particularly those in rapidly appreciating markets like Manatee and Hillsborough counties where assessed values and corresponding tax bills have surged.

What it costs a typical FL-16 homeowner: A Lakewood Ranch homeowner with a $600,000 assessed value might pay $7,000–$9,000 annually in property taxes. Before 2017, they could deduct the full amount on their federal return (if they itemized). Under the current $10,000 cap, they can deduct all of it — but a homeowner paying $12,000–$15,000 in property taxes (common in coastal Manatee County) loses $2,000–$5,000 in deductions, costing them $500–$1,500+ in additional federal taxes annually.

The politics of SALT. The $10,000 cap has become a bipartisan issue in ways its architects did not anticipate. High-cost-of-living states pushed back immediately; but as home values in Florida, Texas, and other traditionally Republican states have risen dramatically, more Republican homeowners have been affected. The SALT cap was set to expire after 2025 — its fate is currently being debated in Congress as part of broader tax negotiations.

John Peters supports a meaningful increase to the SALT deduction cap. Florida homeowners who have played by the rules — bought homes, paid their taxes, watched their values rise — should not face a federal tax penalty for the success of their local real estate market. Restoring the SALT deduction is one of the most direct ways Congress can provide property tax relief to FL-16 families right now, without waiting for a Florida constitutional amendment.

What Property Tax Elimination Would Mean for Manatee and Hillsborough Counties

In Manatee County, the median home value has climbed from roughly $280,000 in 2019 to over $400,000 today. Many long-time residents — especially retirees on fixed incomes — are feeling the squeeze even as their homes appreciate on paper. The SOH 3% cap protects long-term owners significantly, but newer buyers face assessments much closer to market value.

Property taxes are one of the largest annual expenses for Florida homeowners, and relief would be broadly welcome. However, there is a critical structural reality: Manatee County’s public school system, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Manatee County Fire Rescue, and county road maintenance all depend heavily on property tax millage. Any elimination of property taxes that does not replace this revenue with equivalent state or federal funding would force cuts to these services — or dramatic increases in other fees and taxes.

The question for FL-16 voters is not whether property tax relief is desirable — it clearly is — but whether the proposed mechanism delivers real relief or simply shifts costs. A constitutional amendment that eliminates property taxes and replaces them with a higher state sales tax would likely hurt lower-income families (who spend a higher share of income) while benefiting higher-income homeowners. That trade-off deserves honest scrutiny, not just campaign sloganeering.

What Congress Can Do — and John Peters’ Position

While property taxes are levied at the state and local level, Congress can play a meaningful role in reducing the property cost burden on FL-16 families:

• Restore and expand the SALT deduction. Peters supports a meaningful increase to the $10,000 cap — the single fastest and most direct federal relief available to Florida homeowners with high property tax bills.
• Reduce unfunded federal mandates on local governments. Every federal mandate that counties must comply with without federal funding increases the pressure on local budgets — and property tax rates. Peters will fight to ensure federal mandates come with federal dollars.
• Support federal infrastructure investment. When the federal government funds roads, water systems, and other infrastructure that would otherwise be funded locally, it reduces the demand on local property taxes. The infrastructure investments Peters is fighting for in District 16 serve double duty: they improve quality of life and reduce local cost pressure. Read the infrastructure plan →
• Empower local communities. Washington’s role is to reduce federal cost burdens on local governments — not to dictate how Manatee County or Hillsborough County fund local services. Peters opposes federal overreach into local tax policy and trusts FL-16 communities to make their own decisions about service levels and funding mechanisms.

The goal is real relief for real families — not a shell game that shifts costs from one line item to another. Florida homeowners dealing with rising insurance costs on top of rising property costs deserve comprehensive relief, not political promises. Read John Peters’ plan to fix Florida’s insurance crisis →

See John Peters’ full economic platform →