Florida Gov. pitches $117.4B budget with tax breaks, new tax holidays
Key Points(5)
- Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced his proposed “Floridians First” budget for Fiscal Year 2026–27, a $117.4 billion spending plan that continues his administration’s focus on fiscal discipline, debt reduction, and broad tax relief for families and businesses.
- The proposal includes $16.75 billion in reserves and $250 million toward debt reduction, part of a recurring accelerated paydown that would put the state on track to retire more than half of its tax-supported debt next fiscal year.
- Under DeSantis, the Budget Stabilization Fund has grown from $1.5 billion to the constitutional maximum of $5 billion, bolstered by this year’s additional $118 million investment.
- “Since I became governor, we have run budget surpluses, reduced the state’s legacy debt by more than 50%, and enacted record tax relief,” DeSantis said.
- “The ‘Floridians First’ Budget will keep Florida on the course of fiscal responsibility.” The proposal highlights nearly $9.7 billion in total tax relief since the governor took office, including the repeal of the commercial rent tax, saving small businesses $2.7 billion annually.
Governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced his proposed “Floridians First” budget for Fiscal Year 2026–27, a $117.4 billion spending plan that continues his administration’s focus on fiscal discipline, debt reduction, and broad tax relief for families and businesses.
The proposal includes $16.75 billion in reserves and $250 million toward debt reduction, part of a recurring accelerated paydown that would put the state on track to retire more than half of its tax-supported debt next fiscal year. Under DeSantis, the Budget Stabilization Fund has grown from $1.5 billion to the constitutional maximum of $5 billion, bolstered by this year’s additional $118 million investment.
“Since I became governor, we have run budget surpluses, reduced the state’s legacy debt by more than 50%, and enacted record tax relief,” DeSantis said. “The ‘Floridians First’ Budget will keep Florida on the course of fiscal responsibility.”
The proposal highlights nearly $9.7 billion in total tax relief since the governor took office, including the repeal of the commercial rent tax, saving small businesses $2.7 billion annually. It also continues a broad slate of permanent and temporary sales-tax holidays, covering back-to-school items, disaster preparedness supplies, diapers, baby products, sunscreen, insect repellent, and admissions to Florida State Parks.
DeSantis is also recommending a second consecutive Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday from Sept. 7 to Dec. 31, 2026, covering firearms, ammunition, crossbows, camping supplies, fishing supplies, and expanded items like decoys. The holiday is expected to save Floridians an estimated $35 million if approved.
The budget sets aside $300 million to support ongoing property-tax policy discussions and proposes new safeguards to prevent locally imposed ESG-related taxes and DEI-linked financial mandates.
The administration also points to government-wide efficiency efforts. Following agency reviews, the budget proposes eliminating 354 positions, bringing total net reductions under DeSantis to nearly 1,000 despite a population increase of more than 10 percent. Officials say these efforts have produced $850 million in savings.
Alongside the reductions, the plan includes a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment for all state employees and 5 percent increases for sworn law enforcement officers, Florida Park Rangers, judges, attorneys, and IT professionals.
