Florida House overwhelmingly approves new tax cuts

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Thursday, the Florida House voted overwhelmingly to push through its latest tax proposal.

That bill — HB 7031 — was originally filed by a committee last week, and it aims to make plenty of changes regarding issues like sales tax exemptions, property taxes, tax holidays, and much more.

While the House approved the bill 105-2 on Thursday morning, the legislation still needs to get through the Senate and get the governor’s signature.

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But if it manages to clear all of those hurdles, it’s set to take effect on July 1.

In the meantime, you can find some of the bigger changes made by the bill below:

SALES TAX EXEMPTIONS

For starters, HB 7031 introduces a few new sales tax exemptions, though not all of them last forever.

These new exemptions are as follows:

• Propane tanks with a capacity of 20 pounds or less are permanently exempt from the sales tax.
• Home hardening products like impact-resistant doors, garage doors and windows designed to resist hurricane-force winds are exempt from the sales tax until June 30, 2028.

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• Leases of tangible personal property are exempt from the sales tax until June 30, 2027, if the property is owned by Space Florida and used in connection with a defense program
• Certain firearm accessories are exempt from the sales tax until June 30, 2027. They include the following goods:
  • Firearm barrels
  • Firearm cases or range bags
  • Firearm charging handles
  • Firearm grips
  • Firearm handguards
  • Internal firearm parts and components
  • Firearm magazines or other ammunition feeding devices or carriers
  • Firearm muzzle devices
  • Firearm shooting mats, rests or bipods
  • Firearm shooting chronographs
  • Firearm sights or optics
  • Firearm slides or cylinders
  • Firearm slings
  • Firearm stocks or braces
  • Firearm cleaning kits
  • Firearm suppressors or silencers
  • Firearm triggers

SALES TAX HOLIDAYS

Last year, lawmakers established a permanent back-to-school sales tax holiday that occurs throughout the entire month of August each year from now on.

But HB 7031 would move that tax holiday to July 20 - Aug. 20.

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Furthermore, the bill sets up a “Hunting, Fishing and Camping” sales tax holiday from Sept. 1 - Dec. 31. The following products are eligible for this tax holiday:

• Ammunition
• Firearms
• Bows and crossbows
• Arrows, bolts, quarrels and quivers
• Releases, sights/optics and wristguards used for bows
• Fishing supplies
  • Rods and reels with a sales price of $75 or less if sold individually ($150 or less if sold as a set)
  • Tackle boxes or bags with a sales price of $30 or less
  • Bait or fishing tackle with a sales price of $5 or less if sold individually ($10 or less if multiple items are sold together)
• Camping supplies
  • Tents with a sales price of $200 or less
  • Sleeping bags, portable hammocks, camping stoves and collapsible camping chairs with a sales price of $50 or less
  • Camping lanterns and flashlights with a sales price of $30 or less

PROPERTY TAXES

While other state lawmakers are working on homestead property tax cuts, HB 7031 deals with several other changes related to property taxes.

• Mobile Homes: New assessment limitation (no more than 3% per year) for mobile home parks when over 75% of lots are rented to residents under a lease of at least one year, as long as the taxes are required to be paid by residents.
• Space Florida: Certain property used by a non-governmental lessee under a project authorized by Space Florida is deemed an essential governmental purpose and exempt from ad valorem taxes.
• Multifamily Projects: Continues an exemption for multifamily projects on state-owned lands under existing state law, such as affordable housing apartment complexes.

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• Rental Properties: Preserves homestead property benefits for diplomatic, intelligence, consular or foreign service officers of the federal government whose employment requires them to be deployed outside of Florida, including an exemption when such property is rented to someone else.
• Property Tax Listings: Requires online listing platforms to include estimated property taxes for any residential property on their platform, though current owner’s tax information may not be used in the calculations.
• Save Our Homes: Allows the Save Our Homes benefit to transfer to a new homestead from any homestead abandoned in the prior three years.

MULTITAX CREDITS

HB 7031 creates a new “Homebuyer Workforce Tax Credit,” which can be applied against corporate income tax or insurance premium tax liabilities for businesses that help contribute to low-income employees trying to buy a home (up to $5,000 per employee).

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There’s also a temporary exemption from the tax on flood insurance policies issued by surplus line carriers, which includes policies providing personal or commercial flood coverage. This lasts until June 30, 2029.

The legislation also extends the existing Child Care Tax Credit Program for three years.