TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Amid a huge push for property tax reform lately, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis late last year put his foot down on reform for seniors alone.
In a post on X, the governor called age-specific reform is a “non-starter.”
“Making homestead properties tax-free would be a major boon to young families, who will be better able to make ends meet,” he wrote.
Age-specific property tax relief is a non-starter.
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 17, 2025
Making homestead properties tax-free would be a major boon to young families who will be better able to make ends meet.
Why saddle anyone — but particularly young people — will rising local taxes based on increased… https://t.co/PnmLODgtdE
His comments followed a series of new property tax proposals in the state Legislature, a couple of which aimed to give relief to senior citizens.
For example, HJR 205 and SJR 270 would have exempted residents ages 65 and over from paying non-school taxes on their homes. That said, all of the proposals ultimately died in the Legislature last month.
However, DeSantis has promised that property tax cuts are still in the works, courtesy of a special session being planned for later this month.
But DeSantis also said that he refuses to support property tax reform if it doesn’t extend to younger generations, too.
“Why saddle anyone — but particularly young people — will (sic) rising local taxes based on increased assessments, which are nothing more than an unrealized gain?" he asked.
[BELOW: Florida lawmakers debate eliminating property taxes]
DeSantis has been a vocal proponent of cutting — if not outright eliminating — property taxes statewide, arguing that they unfairly target homeowners, who have already taken on all of the other burdens that come with homeownership.
On the flip side, proponents of property taxes often assert that they’re necessary to collect revenue for local government functions, such as public schools and police stations.
However, local governments are the ones that levy property taxes — not the state — so it would require a constitutional amendment to eradicate them statewide.
Property taxes are local, not state. So we’d need to do a constitutional amendment (requires 60% of voters to approve) to eliminate them (which I would support) or even to reform/lower them…
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 13, 2025
We should put the boldest amendment on the ballot that has a chance of getting that… https://t.co/WpOQmjNl0X
Aside from the Legislature, one lawmaker said he’s putting together a citizens initiative to get rid of property taxes from the state constitution. It’ll require at least 891,523 valid signatures to get anywhere, though.
Regardless, if any proposal is ultimately approved, it will then require 60% of voters to approve them in the 2026 general election before it can take effect.
[BELOW: Florida House pitches property tax proposals for 2026 ballot]