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Governor Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday he is calling a special legislative session beginning Monday, June 1, to advance his “Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes” plan – a proposal that could eventually eliminate homestead property taxes in Florida entirely.

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The plan starts by raising the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $250,000 immediately. DeSantis says that alone would wipe out property taxes for about 60% of Florida homeowners. A further expansion to $500,000 would cover roughly 92% of homesteaded properties.

The governor cited explosive growth in local government property tax collections – nearly doubling from $32 billion to $60 billion over seven years – as justification for the move. “Taxing something that you own repeatedly is the worst way to do taxation,” DeSantis said.

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But local governments are sounding the alarm. Counties and municipalities say property taxes are the backbone of funding for schools, police, fire, and EMS – and eliminating them could leave a $55 billion hole in public services. DeSantis says a state trust fund would be created to cover core local services.

Here is the catch: this is not a done deal. Lawmakers must approve the proposal with 60% support in both chambers. If it passes the Legislature, it goes on the November ballot – where it would need another 60% from Florida voters to become law.

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