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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s ambitious push to deliver sweeping property tax relief has ground to a halt in the state Senate. Governor Ron DeSantis’ headline $1,000 property tax rebate proposal has been halted, throwing the future of tax policy for millions of homeowners into uncertainty. Behind the scenes, competing visions, budget anxieties, and powerful lobbies are shaping a high-stakes standoff that could drag on for months. 

Current Legislative Proposals on Florida Property Tax Reduction 

Several bills and proposals to provide property tax relief are currently under consideration in the Florida Legislature, many of which have direct support from Governor Ron DeSantis. 

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Major Proposals Under Consideration 

$1,000 Property Tax Rebate (Governor DeSantis’ Proposal): 

Governor DeSantis has proposed a property tax rebate averaging $1,000 per homesteaded property. This rebate would cover state-mandated school property taxes and provide immediate relief to over 5.1 million Florida homeowners. The funds would be distributed as rebate checks in December 2025. This proposal is part of a broader push, with DeSantis voicing his long-term goal to eliminate property taxes through a future constitutional amendment. 

The Governor has called on the Legislature to authorize the plan during the current session, emphasizing that the state’s strong fiscal position makes this relief possible. 

House Bill 1259 (2025) – Property Tax Benefits for Residential Properties: 

This bill would create a new property tax exemption and assessment limitation for certain residential properties. The whole legislative language can be found on the Florida Senate’s website. Still, in summary, it introduces exemptions and limitations to how property tax values can be assessed for qualifying homeowners. 

HJR 357 (2025) – Property Tax Exemptions: 

This House Joint Resolution proposes a new $100,000 exemption for all fundamental properties in Florida. The measure is intended to ease the property tax burden on Floridians and would require voter approval if it advances.  This bill includes commercial properties. 

House Bill 1257 (2025) – Additional Assessment Limitations and Exemptions: 

This bill proposes amendments to the Florida Constitution to provide assessment limitations, further exemptions for specific long-term leased properties, and an additional homestead exemption. 

Recent Changes to Homestead Exemption (Not DeSantis-initiated): 

Due to Amendment 5, the value of the existing homestead exemption is now indexed to inflation. 2025 the exemption increased from $50,000 to $50,722 to reflect the Consumer Price Index adjustment. 

DeSantis Unveils $1,000 Property Tax Rebate Plan. 

On March 31, 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis stood before a cheering crowd in Orlando and announced his plan to send $1,000 rebate checks to more than 5.1 million Floridians with homesteaded properties. The rebates, scheduled for distribution in December 2025 if approved, would cover the state-mandated school property tax portion of homeowners’ bills while guaranteeing that no local school district would lose funding in the process. 1 

“Property taxes effectively require homeowners to pay rent to the government,” DeSantis said, framing the plan as both immediate relief for Floridians and a bold first step toward the larger goal of eliminating property taxes through a constitutional amendment scheduled for the 2026 ballot. 1 

He was unequivocal: “If the Legislature acts on this plan now, we can get this done this year. Let’s get this done for the people of Florida this session.”1 

Who Benefits, Who’s Left Out 

Primary Winners: 

• Full-time, homesteaded homeowners: Over 5.1 million Floridians with a homestead exemption would collect, on average, $1,000 per property. 1 

• State-funded school districts: Funds to backfill school budgets would come from the state, not local governments, protecting school services. 1 

Those Excluded: 

• Owners of vacation homes, rentals, commercial real estate, and other non-homesteaded properties. 

• Renters, who would see no direct benefit. 

The proposal responds to issues DeSantis says he hears about “more than anything else” from constituents: “The No. 1 tax issue he hears from Floridians is a need for property tax relief,” according to widespread reporting of his Jacksonville roundtable. 5 

Why Property Taxes Became a Political Flashpoint 

Florida’s Homestead Exemption shields the first $25,000 of an owner-occupied home’s assessed value from taxes, with an additional $25,000 exemption for the portion above $50,000. But as DeSantis and his supporters have argued, runaway property values have outpaced these safeguards. 

“The homestead (exemption) is great, but the homestead is limited in terms of how much benefits you get, and so your property goes up three times, you’re paying more, no question about it,” DeSantis said in May 2025. 5 

Speaking at the same event, Retiree Kathy Gallo described watching her annual property tax bill jump to more than $6,300. This rise forced her to cut out cable TV and sell a second car to make ends meet. 5 

Alternate Proposals Under Consideration 

Senate Tables the Bill, Special Session Delayed 

Despite strong House support, the Florida Senate abruptly tabled House Bill 1259—the legislative vehicle for DeSantis’ rebate program—in early May, withdrawing it from consideration and effectively shelving the $1,000 rebates for the year. The planned special session to negotiate further tax relief, once set for June, has been postponed indefinitely. 

Senate leaders, including powerful committee chairs, have so far declined to offer a detailed public rationale, but the underlying factors are clear: 

• Fiscal Sustainability: The plan’s multi-billion-dollar price tag has raised red flags among budget hawks, who fear that shifting billions from the state reserve to property tax rebates could imperil other priorities or create future deficits. 

• Local Government Opposition: City and county officials, especially in revenue-strapped areas, have repeatedly warned that further property tax cuts would gut funding for police, fire, public works, and schools. 

• Tactical Disagreement: Some Senate leaders favor a steadier approach, possibly waiting for the 2026 constitutional amendment before enacting major property tax reforms. 

Rival Tax Cut Plan Fuels GOP Family Feud 

Complicating matters, House Speaker Daniel Perez and other legislative leaders have advanced an alternative strategy: a permanent reduction of the state’s sales tax from 6% to as low as 5.25%, a cut projected to total around $5 billion but likely to be trimmed to $1.6 billion in late-session negotiations. 4 

Speaker Perez argues this would provide “actual and meaningful tax relief” to all Floridians, not just homeowners. 4  But DeSantis and his allies have rejected this approach, calling instead for targeted property tax relief over broad-based sales-tax cuts. 

The dispute escalated when DeSantis threatened to veto the sales-tax package if it passed without the property tax rebates, fueling what WUSF called a “feud” among top Republicans. “Almost everyone we talk to in the Legislature would rather have property-tax relief than sales-tax relief,” Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, said during a Tampa event attended by the Governor. 4 

The Stakes: Local Budgets, School Funding, and Voters 

For DeSantis, the $1,000 rebate is a short-term fix that buys time to build support for his ultimate goal: placing a constitutional amendment before voters in 2026 to permanently cap or end property taxes.1 

However, local governments and budget watchdogs warn of dire consequences if the rebates or the longer-term plan moves forward without a credible “pay for.” The Florida Policy Institute, analyzing recent proposals, cautioned that “without sustainable, recurring revenue to fill the gap, lawmakers risk eroding Florida’s ability to fund schools, public safety, and social services”3. 

Homeowners Left in Limbo 

With the Senate tabling the bill and the special session delayed, millions of Floridians are left waiting for answers. Homeowners like Gallo must plan for another year of rising bills while city leaders brace for renewed debate in 2026 or beyond. 

For his part, Perez is doubling down on a sales tax cut framework, stating: “If the Governor wants to veto that, he’s welcome to explain to the voters why he thinks they do not deserve actual and meaningful tax relief. Maybe the truth is he just wants to spend all of it and be the only one who decides how.”4 

Meanwhile, DeSantis’ message remains clear: “Constitutional protections for Florida homeowners require approval of the voters in 2026. In the meantime, Floridians need relief.”1 

The interesting thing about Speaker Perez's position is that it aligns more with a Liberal Democrat stance that promotes subsidizing the bottom half of the electorate at the expense of the middle class, which is struggling in a Florida swamped by blue-state wealthy fleeing their spawning grounds over taxation and over-regulation. We wonder if his appointment as a State Representative in 2017 and his misguided trip to Havana to conduct a photo op and bring cash and foodstuffs to his relatives bode for something other than a traditional conservative stance on taxation.   

State Representative Fabian Basabe of House District 106 on Miami Beach sees it this way: “Voters deserve the final say on any new tax or fee. And if revenues exceed expectations, the surplus should be returned to the taxpayers, not buried and bloated budgets or used for political pet projects.” 

What Comes Next? 

With no deal on the horizon and the special session on hold, the property tax relief fight is poised to stretch through the rest of 2025 and into the next election cycle. The struggle underscores not just partisan wrangling but a deeper conflict over how to balance quick tax relief with the long-term fiscal health of the state—a balance with billions of dollars, vital school funding, and the fate of Florida’s tax system all on the line. 

For the most current details and to read DeSantis’ own words on the rebate proposal, see the official Governor’s press release, news coverage of the roundtable discussion, and the latest on the unfolding House-Senate feud. 

flgov.com 

firstcoastnews.com 

floridapolicy.org 

wusf.org 

news4jax.com