Americans will head to the polls for the United States’ midterm elections on November 3, but Florida voters will decide a potential rule change that could have major implications for Canadian snowbirds who own vacation homes in the state.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed an amendment to the state’s constitution that, if passed, will change the Sunshine State’s property tax rules in favor of Americans, while leaving Canadians to foot the bill and “subsidize the state.”
Canadians are the single largest source of international homeowners in Florida, and the possibility of a tax overhaul for their vacation homes already has many snowbirds reconsidering their southern travel plans. That said, there’s an advantage in the legislation’s fine print that could also benefit the state’s Canadian property owners.
Canadian Snowbirds To “Subsidize” Florida Under Proposed Tax Rule Change
DeSantis’s proposal seeks a change to the state’s constitution, called Amendment 3. If Floridians vote it in, it would significantly cut property taxes — but only for residents. Canadian snowbirds, who are the biggest foreign market for homeownership in the state, would be excluded. His reasoning is short and sharp.
In a March press conference, DeSantis said he wants “Canadian tourists and Brazilian tourists subsidizing the state and making it so Florida residents pay less taxes.” DeSantis told Fox Business earlier this year that he intends to increase taxes on “residential, Airbnb, Canadian snowbirds, [and] commercial” properties to make up for the shortfall that would result from Americans paying less tax under his proposed law change.
He added, “That’s a lot of money that they have,” and it would seem he wants more of it for his state. He made it very clear that he has no intention of including Canadian snowbirds in that tax break.
“I don’t want to give Canadians a tax cut,” DeSantis declared.
Canadians are the single largest group of foreign property buyers in Florida’s real estate market; they represented 37.8% of all international demand in the first three months of this year, Florida Realtors data shows. Seven out of 10 foreign buyers were Canadian in some communities. So, that’s a lot of Canadians who would still be on the hook for taxes across the Sunshine State. In fact, they’d pay more each year. However, there’s still an advantage for snowbirds tucked in the policy’s fine print.
How Florida’s New Tax Rule Would Work For Canadian Vacation Homeowners
Currently, tax law in Florida allows residents, or what it calls “homesteaders,” a homestead tax exemption. The exemption slashes up to $51,411 USD of taxable value from the value of a home.
If the vote passes with a 60% majority, the state’s homestead exemption will rise to $150,000 USD in 2027 and $250,000 USD in 2028. Then, from 2029, the value of a Florida resident’s home shielded from tax exemptions will rise annually. A limit to that exemption increase will be set each year as well, tied to inflation.
How the legislation affects Canadian snowbirds, though, is explained by “non-homesteaders” rules. For Canadian snowbirds, it means they’ll technically still pay more property tax each year, since their rate will increase as it does under current rules. But it also sets a lower limit on the amount Florida can increase those taxes annually. That’s the silver lining here.
The Silver Lining For Canadian Vacation Homeowners’ Taxes
Typically, Florida property taxes for non-homesteaders, including Canadians, go up approximately 1–2% annually. This increase is capped at 10%. However, DeSantis’s amendment would lower the cap to 5%. Therefore, a vacation home owned by a Canadian snowbird (or non-resident) may still see their property tax increase to 5% a year in order to raise revenue for local governments. But that’s good news for Canadians, because it’s actually lower than the 10% that the current rules allow.
“The constitutional amendment voters will consider is a much more measured approach than what was originally proposed,” said Evan Rachkovsky, a spokesperson for the Canadian Snowbirds Association. “This provides property owners with greater predictability and limits how quickly their assessments can increase.”
Under the rule proposal, the change to property taxes would be gradual until full elimination is reached. The amendment would require “a schedule for full elimination,” meaning the change to property taxes would be a gradual lowering over several years until total elimination.
During that time and thereafter, Canadian snowbirds’ property taxes would go toward exempting Floridians from paying. Essentially, Canadians would pay so that Americans don’t have to.
Naturally, plenty of Canadians have reacted negatively, but so, too, have some Floridians. Although DeSantis’s proposal does have that one silver lining for snowbirds, there are questions surrounding how it’ll work in reality because the funding shortfall runs into the billions, which has prompted Floridian opposition.
A $12 Billion Florida Tax Shortfall
Nonprofit tax research group Florida TaxWatch estimates that this particular change to Florida’s constitution could lead to a tax gap of $12 billion for Floridian municipalities. As a result, state advocates have warned of service cuts across the state’s towns and cities that could affect police, fire departments, and many other essential public services — plus even the ability to control mosquito-borne diseases, which recently prompted a state of emergency in three Florida counties.
“If this amendment passes, every Florida community will face critical shortfalls,” says Vote No on 3, an advocacy coalition.
TheTravel has contacted Governor DeSantis for further comment on the matter, including whether the proposal could lead to a shortfall and force some Canadians to sell up and cease visits, thereby risking Florida residents’ proposed tax exemption.
Whether or not it passes is yet to be seen; Florida residents will vote for or against it on November 3. Should it go ahead despite the potential shortfall in state coffers, Canadian snowbirds with vacation homes would face an overhaul of the way they pay property taxes. Unsurprisingly, those affected have had plenty to say about it, plus the fact it comes at a heated time for U.S.-Canada relations isn’t doing any favors.
How Canadian Snowbirds Are Taking It
Glenn McGill, who has stayed in North Fort Myers, Florida, for the last 15 years during the winter, told CBC News that rising property taxes will only drive more Canadians away.
“They’re a greedy bunch. They want to drive Canadians out. Those who are well off really don’t care but we’re not rich, we’re not broke, we can do the Florida thing comfortably, but starting to pay extra taxes — that would hurt,” he said.
He added that political tensions between the U.S. and Canada aren’t helping the sentiment, either. “This political thing with Trump, I’ve had enough of it,” he said. These ill feelings aren’t new.
President Donald Trump’s initial tariff threats towards Canada and his remarks that it should become the 51st state ignited a boycott of U.S. travel and goods in early 2025. The travel boycott in particular ran into 2026, but just as Canadians’ visit trends started to show signs of recovery, tariff talks between President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney this summer broke down.
A second-wave boycott commenced, and at that point, frustrated Canadians even began pointing the finger at Americans, blaming them for the boycotts and their voting choices.
“We cannot and will not support the American government or the people who allowed this to happen again, as they no longer can claim they didn’t know what might happen. It is clear that Trump is attempting a takeover of Canada by economic warfare, which cannot be tolerated, and we cannot idly stand by and allow these attacks to happen,” wrote Ontario resident David Hackney to CTV News.
Furthermore, after a volatile 2025 and a year of Canadians increasingly selling their U.S. vacation homes, data suggests many snowbirds are still abandoning the idea of winter stays. A 2025 Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA) survey revealed that most Canadians said they would avoid U.S. travel in the winter.
Just 26% said they’ll travel south, which is a 37% decline from 2024. Baby boomers saw the steepest drop, a surprising revelation given that they’re typically the primary snowbird age group. Only 10% said they planned U.S. trips, a 66% nosedive compared with 2024.
Meanwhile, it’s not just snowbirds voting with their wallets. Canadian tourists have also stayed away from traditionally popular snowbird states. Visit Florida pointed out that the state saw a 13.1% slump in visits last year compared to the same period in 2024.
Changing tax rules, political scuffles, bans on Canadian goods, and increasing scrutiny for snowbirds, including fingerprinting and registration for stays over 30 days and the possibility of fines and prosecution for failure to comply, might be enough to sway more Canadians away again from sunny states this winter. On November 3, Floridians heading out to vote will ultimately help decide Canadians’ fate in what is historically one of their favorite destinations in the United States.
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