A proposal would expand Florida’s homestead exemption to $500,000 and eliminate property taxes for most homeowners. The governor’s figures claim that raising the exemption to $250,000 would eliminate property taxes for about 60% of homeowners, and that $500,000 would cover about 92%. UBS compared these claims with figures from the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research and found discrepancies. State data indicates about 47% of homesteaded properties are valued at $250,000 or less, and about 75% to 80% fall at or below $500,000. The current exemption is $50,000 and affects a small share of homestead parcels. The proposal would require legislative and voter approval and includes a five-year residency requirement for new residents.
"According to the governor, lifting the homestead exemption to $250,000 would wipe out property taxes for roughly 60% of Florida homeowners. But the state's own data tells a more modest story: only about 47% of homesteaded properties in Florida are valued at $250,000 or less, UBS noted. At the $500,000 threshold-again, where DeSantis promised 92% coverage-Florida's own data pegs the share at just 75% to 80%."
"That's a gap of more than 12 percentage points between the governor's headline promise and what independent state analysis supports. Currently, the homestead exemption sits at $50,000, affecting just 0.5% of all homestead parcels in the state. DeSantis called a special legislative session to advance the proposal, which would start by raising the homestead exemption to $250,000, with a path toward $500,000 over time."
"To become law, it would need 60% approval from state lawmakers, followed by 60% voter approval on the November ballot. A residency requirement of at least five years would apply to new Florida residents. Separate reporting from the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research found that about 28% of homestead parcels have a median assessed value of $250,000 or below, an even sharper contrast to DeSantis's figure."
"UBS analysts did not dismiss the proposal entirely. The firm said the plan "could positively impact affordability" in th"
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