Property Tax Amendment FAQ: What It Means for Leon County

The property tax amendment, titled "Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes," would amend the Florida Constitution to raise the homestead exemption to $150,000 effective Jan. 1, 2027, then to $250,000 eDective Jan. 1, 2028 (with a path toward full elimination over time), and would cut the annual assessment cap on non-homestead property from 10% to 5%. Now that the proposal has passed the Legislature, it will go to voters on the November 2026 ballot. If approved, it would take effect 2027 (County Fiscal Year 2028).

A homestead property is a homeowner's primary residence that qualifies for Florida's homestead exemption benefits and Save Our Homes provisions. Vacation homes, rental properties, and investment properties generally do not qualify.

The proposed amendment would increase the exemption from the current $50,000 to $250,000 over two years. The proposal would also direct the Legislature to set a schedule toward fully eliminating the homestead property tax.

Once fully phased in by FY 2029, the $250,000 homestead exemption and the companion 5% non-homestead cap are together estimated to reduce Leon County property tax revenue by approximately $70 million per year.

Once fully phased in over two years, Leon County would lose about $70 million a year in property tax revenue. To put that in perspective: of the roughly $165 million we would still collect, about $161 million is already committed to state mandates and constitutional officers. That leaves only about $4.5 million to fund everything else the County provides, including public safety, disaster response, emergency medical services, parks, solid waste, transportation, stormwater maintenance, building and permitting, animal control, veterans services, and more.

Your property tax bill may be lower, but so would the services that those property taxes support. A reduced tax bill does not reduce the need for a deputy to answer a call, an ambulance to respond, or a library to stay open, and those services would have fewer resources. So, the real question is: “what would these savings really cost you?"

The final proposal, as approved by the Legislature, does not include any state funding support for local governments to offset these revenue losses. Any potential funding support would be subject to future state legislatures – and there is no guarantee Leon County would receive any future funding.

Leon County has deliberately exercised fiscal restraint, holding the countywide millage rate flat for 15 years, charging no impact fees, and relying minimally on fee revenue, while maintaining one of the lowest per-capita budgets of any county in Florida. There is no easy budgetary method to absorb a reduction of this magnitude. As the state capital, home to FSU, FAMU, Tallahassee State College and major state facilities, all tax-exempt, Leon also provides services to substantial property that contributes nothing to the tax roll, which a one-size-fits-all formula does not account for.

This proposal is a tax shift, not a tax cut. Eliminating property taxes doesn't eliminate the cost of government — it shifts the burden onto renters and small businesses through higher fees, new taxes, or reduced services.

Initial exemptions would start with the 2027 tax year so the FY28 budget would be severely impacted by the loss of tax revenue. Tough conversations regarding the elimination of services and/or reductions in service levels would start well beforehand.

No. The proposal primarily targets homesteaded primary residences. However, it includes provisions to reduce annual assessment growth caps on non-homestead properties from 10% to 5%, potentially slowing future tax increases on those properties.

Property taxes are one of the primary revenue sources supporting county operations, including public safety, emergency management, infrastructure, parks, libraries, environmental programs, and constitutional offices. Significant reductions in property tax collections could require changes to county budgets, service levels, fees, or alternative revenue sources.

No, but the impact is still severe. The proposal applies to homestead (non-school) property taxes; other properties keep generating revenue. Still, it would eliminate nearly $70 million a year, leaving only about $4.5 million once state mandates and constitutional officers are funded, and severely affecting all other County services.

Yes. The proposal would severely reduce funding for services funded by the MSTU. Property taxes are what fund the EMS MSTU. Because MSTUs often don’t have funding from other sources, services may be required to merge or face reductions in service levels. This could mean fewer ambulances and slower response times.

The state has not identified a dependable, recurring replacement source. Lack of funding would also push local governments to consider severe cuts to non-core services or raising other fees and taxes.

Yes. If local governments lose property tax revenue, they may evaluate alternative sources or increases in funding mechanisms that could include solid waste fees, stormwater fees, fire service assessments, impact fees, or permit and licensing fees, among others. Residents may experience increases in fees and reductions in services, rather than an equivalent reduction in overall local government costs.

This will require significant service level reductions and/or tax and fee increases. Potential responses could include service level reductions, hiring freezes, delayed capital projects, increased user fees, special assessments, seeking additional state funding, operational efficiencies and cost reductions.

This policy decision by the Florida Legislature, if approved, can’t be easily reversed. Reestablishing this critical revenue source would require another constitutional amendment which would be subject to statewide voter approval.

The proposal will now be placed on the statewide ballot in November 2026 and must receive 60% voter approval to take effect. If approved, implementation would occur over multiple years.