The November 5, 2024, general election had many implications for Florida homeowners and property owners. We cover everything from Amendment 5—a statewide amendment to the state’s constitution regarding homestead exemptions—to local school districts and tax collectors.
Whether you’re a homeowner, small business owner, or invested in commercial real estate, these updates directly impact your property taxes and financial planning.
Amendment 5
We start with a passed amendment that impacts all homeowners in Florida. Florida’s Amendment 5, called the “Annual Adjustments to the Value of Certain Homestead Exemption," is a statewide constitutional amendment that provides an annual inflation adjustment to the state's homestead property tax exemption based on inflation rates.
Passed or Failed
In Florida, constitutional amendments must pass a 60% threshold for approval. Amendment 5 passed with 66%, and it will go into effect on January 1, 2025.
How Amendment 5 Actually Works
To detail the amendment's impact on homeowners, we must first explain how Florida assess property taxes.
Millage Rates:
At a high level, in Florida, property taxes are determined by millage rates. The millage rate is most often one-tenth of a percent, equating to $1 in taxes for every $1,000 in home value. Counties, municipalities, school boards, and districts levy these taxes.
Here's an example: You own a $100,000 home with a 5.0 millage rate. So your valued home of $100,000/1,000 = 100 mills. 100 mills x 5.0 millage rate = $520 property tax.
In Florida, millage rates on school and non-school taxes and city services like a water district rate exist.
There are also homestead exemptions, which Floridians must factor in when calculating property taxes.
Homestead Exemptions:
In Florida, every primary residence is eligible for a $25,000 homestead exemption for all property taxes.
An additional $25,000 homestead exemption applies to a homestead's assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000, but it only applies to non-school taxes.
So, let's combine the millage rates and homestead exemptions. Warning: the equation can get rather lengthy.
A home valued at $125,000, but with the non-school homestead exemption of $25,000, gets taxed at $100,000.
Example of non-school taxes:
- $100,000 non-school taxable home value/1,000 = 100 mills
- 100 x 5.0 (county tax rate) = $500
- 100 x 2.0 (city tax rate) = $200
- 100 x 0.10 (water district rate) = $10
Example of school taxes:
- $125,000 school taxable home value/1,000 = 125 mills
- 125 x 2.0 (school district rate) = $250
The total property taxes are $500 + $200 + $10 + $250 = $960/year
Now that you understand how Florida property taxes work, let's dive into how Amendment 5 affects them.
The passed amendment provides an annual inflation adjustment on the value of the homestead exemption for only non-school property taxes. This will begin on January 01, 2025, and will repeat annually on the first of the year if inflation rises from the previous year.
The state will calculate the assessment based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) percentage change. For example, if the CPI inflation rate is 5%, then the value of the exemption increases by $1,250 ($25,000 x 0.05). This results in an increased homestead exemption from $25,000 to $26,250.
Overall Impact
Proponents of the amendment argue that this bill will help alleviate property taxes for homeowners, many who are hurting from rising inflation costs. According to local brokers, Amendment 5 would save homeowners about $8-$20 annually.
Despite this decrease seeming minimal, it could add more savings, particularly during periods of high inflation.
Opponents argue that the amendment will impact local governments most and reduce around $406 million in revenue over five years if the property tax savings average $20 annually.
With this revenue loss, local governments would have to cut programs and services or raise property or sales taxes to offset the loss.
Amendment 5’s impact on homeowners and local revenue will depend entirely on inflation year-to-year. It should help homeowners save money on property taxes but might negatively affect communities struggling to operate within their current budgets.
Brevard County
Resolution 2024-068 (Economic Development Ad Valorem Tax Exemptions): Passed by 72%.
This passed resolution allows the Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County to continue authorizing and granting an ad valorem tax exemption to new and existing businesses expanding. This program has been in effect since 2005.
Businesses must qualify for the exemption by meeting specific criteria, including a minimum of 10 new jobs, wages, and capital investments. Depending on the specifics of the projects, the investment level, and job created, the exemption can last six to ten years.
Businesses can apply via the Economic Development Ad Valorem Property Tax Exemption form.
Hillsborough County
Referendum 2, School District Tax Levy Measure: Passed by 66.6%.
Referendum 2 passed by a two-thirds vote. It's a four-year millage allowing Hillsborough County School District to levy an additional $1 tax on $1,000 of the appraised taxable value of a home from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2029.
According to the Hillsborough School District, the typical homeowner in Hillsborough will have an additional annual increase of $281 in property taxes.
These funds will go directly to teacher and staff salaries, as well as academic programs. The county will also distribute to charter schools in the county. Currently, the starting salary for Hillsborough County Schools is $48,000. With the levy, all teachers will receive a $6,000 raise.
Miami-Dade County
Property Appraiser: Tomas Regalado won by 57.0%
Renaldo, 76, and former two-term Miami Mayor from 2009 to 2017 beat Democrat Marisol Zenteno to be Miami-Dade County's next property appraiser.
One of Regaldo's priorities is to keep Miami affordable and livable via expanded homestead and property owner exemptions.
Tax Collector: Dariel Fernandez won by 55.6%
Fernandez, 46, a software company owner, won the race for tax collector, beating out Democrat David Richardson. This is the first time Miami-Dade voters elected their tax collector due to a 2018 constitutional amendment that changed it from an appointed county position to an elected one.
Tax collectors gather money from motor vehicle registrations, license plates, and titles. They also issue business and handicap permits along with fishing and hunting licenses.
Fernandez's campaign ran on streamlining processes and converting from paper-based forms to digital ones.
Orange County
Democratic incumbent Scott Randolph won reelection for the Orange County Tax Collector by winning the Democratic primary on August 20, 2024, with an 86% vote. Randolph beat out David Freeman, who only received 14% of the primary vote. Since no Republican ran for the Tax Collector position, there wasn’t a November general election ballot.
Randolph has held the position since 2013 and ran unopposed in 2016 and 2020. According to the Orange County Tax Collector website, Randolph has "Implemented new technologies to improve customer service, streamlined the office’s budget, returned millions of dollars back to taxpayers, and fought to protect small businesses, churches, and non-profits from unfair tax penalties."
Pinellas County
Pinellas County School District Millage Increase Measure: Passed by 68%
Pinellas County School District voters approved increasing an ad valorem millage rate of one mill per year beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2029.
The district has been paying a half-mill rate for the past 20 years or a 50-cent tax on every $1,000 of taxable income. It is now a $1 per $1,000 of assessed value.
What does this mean for homeowners?
Property taxes on school districts will double. For instance, a property valued at $500,000 previously paid $250 on school district property taxes will now pay $500.
How will the funds be used?
According to the ballot language, the funds will go toward "necessary operating expenses including funds to recruit and retain quality teachers and support staff; preserve music, art and reading classes; provide current technology." Furthermore, the county will share funds among public charter schools.
If it had failed, the district would no longer receive any millage tax funding, and teachers would've lost their nearly $7,000 annual bonuses. Instead, the increase will help supplement an increase to about $11,000 annually and give support personnel almost $2,900 annually.
How Ownwell Helps You Save
We know navigating and understanding these statewide and local tax laws can be confusing and overwhelming.
At Ownwell, our mission is to make the cost of real estate more clear and equitable. Hopefully, this article has helped us achieve that for you.
We’re also very aware of the burden property taxes impose on homeowners and businesses. So, if you own property in Florida, you don’t have to accept your property value and tax rate as final!
Ownwell can protest your property taxes, potentially reducing your annual burden.
On average, 86% of our clients receive a reduction, and those 86% average $1,148 in savings.
If you’re a commercial real estate owner, we save our clients **31% more ** than our competitors.
See how much Ownwell can reduce your property taxes!
