Florida’s high housing costs can be burdensome for many families. Fortunately, some tax savings are on the way. Your Homestead Exemption just received a cost-of-living increase beginning in 2025.
The general election ballot had six proposed state constitutional amendments. For an amendment to pass, at least 60% of Floridians voting must approve the proposed amendment. Amendment 5 was approved by 66% of Florida voters. This amendment adjusts part of the Homestead Exemption annually based on growth in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). In a nutshell, if inflation goes up, then your Homestead Exemption will increase and reduce your property taxes.
Here’s how it will work: Under Florida law, there are two $25,000 Homestead Exemptions applied to all homesteaded property with an assessed value of $75,000 or greater. Homesteaded property owners are exempt from paying taxes on the first $25,000 in assessed value on their home. This first Homestead Exemption is applied to all taxing authorities. The second $25,000 exemption is applied to the assessed value between $50,000-$75,000, but does not apply to the school board portion of the taxes. Amendment 5 impacts this second exemption by increasing its value annually for positive inflation growth.
Concerns have been raised about a loss of revenue to local taxing authorities. However, the estimated figures show the impact on local governments is minimal and should not impact services. The Florida House of Representatives’ legislative analysis of the amendment estimated that the total fiscal impact for the 2025-26 fiscal year spread among all taxing authorities in Florida, except for school districts, would amount to a loss of approximately $22.8 million of revenue statewide. To put that in perspective, property values have risen so drastically that the Broward County government alone received more than $133 million more in revenue this year than last year. Broward County is one of hundreds of taxing authorities statewide and the additional revenue collected by Broward County this year alone is more than six times the estimated impact for all taxing authorities in the state of Florida, excluding school districts.
It should be noted that the savings for the homesteaded property owner will be modest in the first year. In Broward, the average homesteaded property owner will save approximately $10 in actual taxes, but that figure will grow over time. With our South Florida cost of living so high, it’s my opinion that every bit of savings will help.
Marty Kiar is the Broward County Property Appraiser.
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