Tax rebates for Florida homeowners? This new bill could make it happen

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Property taxes have become a hot-button issue in Florida recently, with many lawmakers looking to eliminate them altogether.

However, another bill filed in the Legislature would do something different — it aims to provide tax rebates on property taxes.

That bill (SB 1308) was filed last week by state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-11, who said that the measure would allow homeowners to keep more of their own money.

“It’s YOUR hard-earned money, not theirs,” he wrote. “Let’s keep government small and accountable.”

If approved, the bill would amend state statutes regarding ad valorem taxes, adding in the following language:

“...Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a county may, by ordinance, establish an ad valorem tax rebate program for property owners.

The rebate program must be within designated areas where the county determines it is necessary for the health, safety, and welfare of its residents and must be available to all property owners within the same class of real estate...”

Senate Bill 1308 (2025)

However, the bill doesn’t mention any requirements for local governments to implement these rebate programs, meaning it would be up to individual counties and municipalities to pass such an ordinance if they opt to.

If approved, the bill would take effect on July 1. It’s just one of several Legislative proposals aiming to chip away at the influence of property taxes in the state.

Another of these motions was also put forward last month by Ingoglia: SJR 1016. The legislation seeks to implement a new amendment to the state Constitution, rewriting how homestead exemptions are applied statewide.

Under current rules, the state exempts homeowners from property taxes up to a certain level of the property’s assessed value. It works as follows:

• The first $25,000 of assessed value — Exempt from all property taxes
• Between $25,000 and $50,000 of assessed value — Taxable
• Between $50,000 and $75,000 — Exempt from non-school taxes
• Over $75,000 — Taxable

However, the amendment would boost the exemption threshold, making it so that a property is exempt from all property taxes up to $75,000 — a three-fold jump from the existing $25,000 threshold. This includes getting rid of the non-school taxes exemption between $50,000 and $75,000 in assessed value.

“In 1990, your homestead accounted for 32% of the value of your home,” Ingoglia wrote. “Today, your current homestead exemption accounts for LESS THAN 10% of the value of your home! Floridians are demanding property tax relief!”

If approved by lawmakers and DeSantis, the proposed amendment would likely go before Florida voters in the 2026 General Election to determine whether it should be enshrined in the state’s Constitution. It would have to get 60% of the electorate’s approval to pass.

But yet another bill (SB 852) would examine the possibility of axing property taxes altogether, putting together a study that would determine the impact of such a move on taxpayer-funded public services and overall economic stability in the state.

All of these proposals come after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took to social media to voice his support for eliminating property taxes.

Last month, DeSantis directly addressed the subject during a news conference in Jacksonville, according to News 6 partner WJXT.

At the time, he pointed to rising home prices — sparked by a combination of demand spikes and inflation — though he said he plans to work with the Legislature before his term ends in 2027 to potentially get a constitutional amendment on the ballot to address issues like the homestead exemption.

“We can’t control private markets, but we can control how much they can tax you. So we’re going to be working over the next year and a half to see what we can present for voters to be able to vote in the next election for some major, major property tax limitations and reliefs,” DeSantis said.

For Florida homeowners, lowering or outright removing property taxes could greatly cut down on their expenses. As a state, Florida ranks around the middle of the pack when it comes to real-estate property tax rates, WalletHub reports.

Proponents of property taxes often assert that they’re a vital part of collecting revenue for local government functions, such as public schools and police stations.

As such, removing property taxes would likely require another source of funding to make up for that lost revenue, or else the state and local governments might need to consider cutting expenses.

But on the flip side, property taxes are a relatively unpopular form of taxation — the second-most unpopular behind federal income taxes, according to the most recent Gallup poll.

Opponents argue that property taxes unfairly target homeowners, who have already taken on all of the other burdens that come with homeownership. Worse yet, tax incidence means that the cost of these taxes could even end up falling downstream to lower-income renters who make use of these properties.

Regardless, property taxes are decided upon by local governments, so an amendment would have to be passed in order to make those kinds of changes.