Fact-checking DeSantis: Would his plan exempt 60% of Florida homeowners from paying property taxes?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

75% : Our Sources * X.com, Gov. Ron DeSantis press conference, May 27, 2026 * X.com, Gov. Ron DeSantis post, May 27, 2026 * FLgov.com, Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Special Session on Property Tax Relief & Unveils "Save Our Homes" Property Tax Elimination Proposal, May 27, 2026 * Florida Senate, Senate Joint Resolution 2F, filed May 28, 2026 * Florida Legislature Office of Economic and Demographic Research, Property Taxes: Homestead Distribution and Benefits, Sept. 22, 2025 * PolitiFact, Is DeSantis right that most Florida property tax dollars come from vacation homes, businesses?
60% : Oct. 30, 2025 * Redfin, Florida Housing Market, Accessed May 28, 2026 * Florida Department of Revenue, Save Our Homes Assessment Limitation, Accessed May 28, 2026 * Florida Department of Revenue, Property Tax Exemptions and Additional Benefits, Accessed May 28, 2026 * Florida Phoenix, Schools, health care, public safety could be hit under property tax plan released by DeSantis, May 27, 2026 * Florida Politics, 'Save our homes': Gov. DeSantis calls 'historic' Special Session that could lead to end of homestead property taxes, May 27, 2026 * Tallahassee Democrat, DeSantis releases plan to kill most home property taxes.
51% : Florida residents also can qualify for property tax exemptions available to military veterans, active-duty military, first responders, low-income senior citizens and disabled people.
46% : DeSantis said the plan has a better chance of passing. "A $250,000 limit -- that eliminates property tax for 60% of Florida homeowners," DeSantis said May 27.
45% : What will it do?, May 27, 2026 * Florida Phoenix, DeSantis' property tax plan is different than what was described, May 28, 2026 *
42% : Under the plan, the Legislature would create a schedule to raise the exemption to $500,000 and above, eventually eliminating property taxes on primary homes at any value.
42% : The center-left Florida Policy Institute estimated that dropping property taxes on all primary homes would cost local governments about $18.5 billion, which breaks down to $7.8 billion for counties, $3 billion for cities and $7.7 billion for school districts.
40% : Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled his long-awaited plan to overhaul the state's property tax system, saying it would initially eliminate property taxes for 60% of Florida homeowners.
40% : This would erase property taxes on primary homes assessed at these values or less.
40% : Other factors affect housing values Amy Baker, coordinator at the Office of Economic and Demographic Research, told PolitiFact that Florida's existing property tax reduction programs and exemptions have to be considered to accurately calculate which residences would no longer pay property taxes under the plan.
38% : About 76% of homestead properties are valued at $500,000 or below, although DeSantis said 92% of homes would be exempt from taxes at that price level.
38% : She said it's unlikely there is any public data showing how many primary homeowners would see their property taxes eliminated under DeSantis' proposal.
27% : Critics said the proposal is a watered-down version of DeSantis' promise to immediately eliminate all homestead property taxes.

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