In June, the Florida Legislature passed the "Save our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes” joint resolution, a proposal to amend the state’s non-school homestead tax exemption from $50,000 to $150,000.
The amendment will hit the ballot in November and must receive 60% voter approval to pass. If passed, it would take effect in January and decrease the amount of property taxes homeowners pay.
Beginning in 2028, the amendment would increase the homestead tax exemption again from $150,000 to $250,000.
The bill follows a special legislative session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May to discuss property tax relief. The resolution was sponsored by state Rep. Toby Overdorf (R-85), whose district is a three-hour drive south from Alachua County. It passed 75-26 in the House and 30-9 in the Senate.
Rental properties and vacation homes wouldn’t qualify for the expanded property tax exemption. The amendment would also provide a smaller exemption for Florida residents who establish residency after Dec. 31. The exemption would increase after five years to the full amount.
While lawmakers have emphasized the benefits the bill brings to Floridians’ wallets, local officials have expressed concerns that lowering property taxes could lead to a drop in local revenue, which funds services like libraries, animal care and community support programs.
In Alachua County, officials estimate a $250,000 homestead tax exemption could reduce the county’s property tax revenue by more than $48.9 million.
Alachua County declined to comment on the proposed amendment, instead referring to information on its website.
County officials said local governments may consider increasing stormwater fees, solid waste fees and other charges to offset property tax revenue losses. It’s unclear whether Alachua County will consider additional fees to make up for revenue losses.
Concerns over the new amendment weren’t limited to the county. Gainesville officials also criticized the legislation and its potential impacts on the city’s budget.
Mayor Harvey Ward said the amendment, if passed, would be the "biggest mistake the people of Florida could possibly ever make.”
“I don't think they gave much thought to the downstream unintended consequences of this, but there are a lot of them,” Ward said. “This will make Florida a worse place to live.”
If passed, he said residents could see longer response times from emergency services like fire rescue. Local governments could be forced to cut fire department staffing, he added, and struggle to maintain equipment like firetrucks.
Longer emergency response times could in turn contribute to higher homeowners insurance rates, Ward said, because a community’s fire protection capabilities are considered when setting insurance costs.
Among other Florida counties, Alachua County has lower-than-average homeowners insurance rates, according to data by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.
City Commissioner Bryan Eastman said the bill would be devastating to local governments and residents.
Eastman said property taxes are the glue that holds cities like Gainesville together. While local governments receive grants and state and federal funding, he said property taxes help pay for core services like police operations and permitting services.
The amendment could shift taxes to small businesses, renters and owners of non-homestead properties, Eastman added, rather than reducing costs overall.
“Anyone who's not a homesteaded property owner is going to be picking up the slack on a lot of this, and so it's going to make our tax system just more unfair,” Eastman said.
Supporters of the property tax amendment, such as state Rep. Chad Johnson (R-22), whose district includes parts of Alachua County, said the bill is an opportunity for voters to express their opinion on property taxes and increase accountability for local government spending by limiting budgets.
“It is a great opportunity to continue the discussion on how we approach property taxes in the state of Florida and how we fund local governments and the services that they provide,” Johnson said.
Since he built his home in 2015, Johnson said, his property tax bill has doubled, even though his income did not significantly increase. He said the amendment will primarily benefit residents on a fixed income, like retirees and first-time homebuyers purchasing starter homes valued at less than $250,000.
Although the bill does not solve housing affordability, Johnson said, he has received multiple letters from voters in support of the property tax reform.
He added he doesn’t believe the proposal is a perfect solution to property tax debates in Florida. Johnson said he would have preferred a levy cap — a legal limit on how much a local government can collect in property taxes.
Johnson described himself as “fiscally conservative” and said private companies and organizations are better than local governments at addressing the wants and needs of citizens.
“I absolutely will never say that this is a perfect solution,” he said. “I absolutely do believe the discussion needs to be had to find an acceptable policy that allows local governments to fund the services that they need to fund, and at the same time restrict this rapid growth in local governments.”
Contact Olivia Lofaso at olofaso@alligator.org. Follow her on X @OLofaso77652.
Olivia Lofaso is a third-year journalism student and the Summer 2026 city/county commission reporter. She previously worked as a contributing writer at The Alligator. In her free time she enjoys visiting art museums and solving crosswords.
