It is essential to pay close attention to tax due dates to avoid incurring late fees or penalties. Some counties offer early payment discounts between 1% and 4% for timely homeowners. To my recollection, the property tax conversation started when the Champlain Towers South condo tower collapsed, exposing a crisis in aging condominium buildings. The reserve requirements in some condominiums have increased by up to 50 percent, insurance costs have exploded and, Suspense Account suddenly, older residents on fixed incomes couldn’t afford their homes.
What do property taxes pay for in Florida? Why DeSantis, lawmakers want to lower them
With no state income tax, the focus shifts to sales and property taxes, which fund essential local services. By being informed about both state and local tax requirements, Floridians can make better florida income tax rate financial decisions and take advantage of available exemptions and benefits. While the homestead exemption may increase your tax break with time, there are other ways you can lower your property tax bill. For example, relocating to a county with lower property tax rates, limiting your home improvements, or seeking other government assistance programs. Florida vacation or rental property owners also qualified for property tax relief beginning in 2008.
Florida Property Tax Rates
In this guide, we’ll explore key components of The Sunshine State’s tax system, from income and sales taxes to property taxes and retirement benefits. Backfilling forgone local property tax revenue through new state taxes is difficult because it dramatically shifts overall tax burdens, undermines local accountability, and cannot easily adjust for changing population mixes. Florida imposes a flat sales tax rate of 6% on nearly all goods and services in the state. A handful of products have a lower tax rate, including amusement machine receipts (4%) and commercial property renting, leasing, or licensing (2%).
What do I need to know about my property tax in Florida?
Gabriella Cruz-Martínez is a finance journalist with 8 years of experience covering consumer debt, economic policy, and tax. Property taxes have skyrocketed nearly 60% within the last five years in Florida, and constituents did something about it. There are already a number of tax-reduction bills, eight so far to be exact, in the works for the next legislative session that begins in January but it’s doubtful DeSantis would find them sufficient enough. NASCAR tickets are also exempt starting Oct. 1, but the impact on revenues was deemed “indeterminate” by state economists. Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, rejected that plan over concerns its $5 billion price tag would leave the state with too few resources to pay for vital services in future years.
However, while there is no state income tax, residents may still be subject to federal income taxes. He’s concerned that if property taxes are reduced or totally axed, sales taxes are likely to go up. For wealthy Californians, tax rates are higher than in most other states, but not drastically so when compared to the tax burdens lower-income residents face elsewhere. In fact, 16 states, including Texas and Florida, tax their poorest residents at rates higher than California’s top 1% pay.
DeSantis is miffed the bill and the budget don’t include his proposal to slash the public schools portion of property taxes. Ignoring an inaccurate property valuation is one of the most expensive mistakes homeowners make when it comes to saving on property taxes. If you believe your Florida property assessment is wrong, you have the right to appeal it. For example, if the annual inflation rate is 5%, the value of the homestead exemption increases by $1,250 ($25,000 x 0.05) for a total non-school homestead exemption of $26,250. Note that the state will determine inflation based on the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) percentage. Unless you pay your taxes through an escrow account attached to your mortgage, Florida taxes are due between November 1 and March 3, depending on the county where you reside.
- After a protracted debate between the House and Senate over how to cut taxes, the bill signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 30 will more heavily benefit businesses than consumers or homeowners.
- If you have been overassessed, we can help you submit a tax appeal.
- There are no guarantees that working with an adviser will yield positive returns.
- Tax burdens rose across the country as pandemic-era economic changes caused taxable income, activities, and property values to rise faster than net national product.
- Right now, all three types of property owners — non-homestead residential, homestead residential and commercial — pay for police, fire, solid waste, water and sewer, infrastructure and other services.
‘When the state controls the purse, (local) flexibility is gone,’ one tax policy expert says.
Your county’s property tax assessor will send you a bill detailing the exact amount of property tax you owe every year. In order for your comment or email to be published on our website and in next week’s print edition, you must include your first and last name and city/town of residence. You can also shoot me an email with «property tax» in the subject line. Ensure you’re taking advantage of the tax savings benefits available to you. Stay up-to-date with local and state tax laws and engage in strategic financial planning. Taxpayers can check if they claimed this credit by looking at their 2021 tax return and checking if they left the Recovery Rebate Credit field blank or filled it out as $0.
So, families no longer need to squeeze their shopping into a single week or weekend. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 7031 into law on June 30, 2025, with a $1.3 billion tax package within the state’s $117 billion budget. This aligns with the state’s ongoing focus on maintaining a low-tax environment while strengthening taxpayer protections. ’ Well, how come nobody asks, ‘Why can’t government spend less money? In Florida, the burden of proof for payroll overassessment falls on the homeowner. Thus, it is up to you to convince the Value Adjustment Board (VAB) that your property has been inaccurately assessed.