Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing to eliminate property taxes, which would make the state the only one with no income or property tax—boosting its “free state” image.
While the idea may sound appealing, real estate experts are divided over potential unintended consequences, such as Continuum Realty President Phil Gutman telling Fox News Digital: “I don’t see how this could possibly hurt anybody that’s going to vote to pass it, but again, it’s all going to come down to exactly what gets affected, because I know that that money does need to be replaced somehow, somewhere by someone.”
Worry and doubt was also shared by Budge Huskey, president and CEO of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, who stated: “I am a native Floridian, and I believe that we have created an environment which is among the best in the entire country as far as the balance of business-friendly and lifestyle, and it is imperative that we maintain that advantage that we have. But at the same time, it has to be responsible, and it has to be based on real numbers.”
Lawmakers are reviewing major housing reforms, including a $500,000 homestead exemption ($1 million for seniors), a 15% cap on property assessment hikes, and eliminating property taxes. DeSantis proposed the plan in March and later vetoed a study on how local governments use property tax revenue.
“Property taxes effectively require homeowners to pay rent to the government,” DeSantis said in the original press release. “Constitutional protections for Florida homeowners require approval of the voters in 2026. In the meantime, Floridians need relief. I am today proposing a plan that will result in—on average—$1,000 rebate checks for each homestead as a discount on their property taxes. If the Legislature acts on this plan now, we can get this done this year.”
The Florida Policy Institute says property taxes bring in $55 billion annually, funding 18% of county budgets, 17% of municipal budgets, and up to 60% of public education. To offset their elimination, sales tax may need to double from 6% to 12%. Gov. DeSantis recently suggested on Fox News an “entry tax” for new residents as a possible solution.
“For the real estate world, it doesn’t benefit or negatively affect us in any way. Obviously, it depends on how much that entry tax would be,” Gutman said. “At some point, you have to be okay with paying some sort of fee and entry tax or whatever it takes to get here.”
“From the standpoint of real estate sales in general, it would be very much a positive,” said Huskey. “However, I do think that in order to try to offset any kind of entry tax, [it] would have to be almost at an exorbitant level based upon the current migration that we have. We are not experiencing the same levels of migration that we had during COVID by any stretch of the imagination.”
“Who’s gonna build the roads? Who’s gonna fund the [police]? Who’s going to fund education? Who’s to do all the things that need to be done to have a productive society?” Huskey also asked. “It gets back to the fact that everybody wants lower taxes, but it must be strategic.”
