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Florida Homestead Tax Exemption: What could go up if property taxes go down?

CPA Paul Miller suggests businesses could end up carrying more of the financial burden to offset lost revenue

Mark Lennihan/AP

By: Jamie Ostroff

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida lawmakers on Tuesday passed a property tax cut proposal that would increase the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $250,000 over two years, with inflation adjustments beginning in 2029. The bill would still need approval from 60% of voters in November.

The measure would also lower assessment caps on non-homesteaded properties from 10% to 5%.

WATCH BELOW: Massive Florida Tax Cut Proposal Leaves Experts Guessing on Consequences

Massive Florida Tax Cut Proposal Leaves Experts Guessing on Consequences

To find out what voters want to know, we turned to social media and brought your questions to a group of experts, who are divided on what the ripple effects could be.

Viewer Terri Coyle asked: "What other expenses will go up if this passes?"

The answers to this question varied among our panel of experts.

Real estate attorney Steve Wallace, based in Boynton Beach, raised the possibility of new fees tied to local services.

"There could potentially be non-ad valorem taxes assigned to the sheriff's office, fire rescue, some of the other things. Additionally, there may be some increased fees because the only other way that the county or the local governments can derive revenue," Wallace said.

CPA Paul Miller suggested businesses could end up carrying more of the financial burden to offset lost revenue.

"For example, an annual fee on a tax return or an annual fee in Florida, stuff like that would be moving the needle," Miller said.

Municipal attorney Raul Gastesi offered a different perspective, suggesting the measure could actually push home prices higher.

"I expect home prices could actually increase because now home buyers have more money at their disposal, and that in the past has resulted in home prices going up," Gastesi said.

Realtor Danielle Blake was skeptical of that theory.

"I think there's a lot of other factors that go into that besides property taxes," Blake said.

Blake pointed to interest rates as a more significant barrier to sales than property taxes alone.

"People have talked about affordability, and they usually talk about insurance and property taxes, but really what's holding back a lot of the sales is the interest rates," Blake said.

All four experts acknowledged there are significant unknowns about how counties, municipalities and markets might respond to decreasing property tax revenue.

Wallace summed up the uncertainty.

"If I had a crystal ball, I certainly wouldn't be a lawyer," Wallace said.

As with any ballot measure that passes, lawmakers would need to return to Tallahassee to work out the specifics in a bill to implement the changes.

Viewers with questions about the proposed property tax reform can email jamie.ostroff@wptv.com.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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