How does Miami-Dade spend your property taxes?

The Florida Legislature is considering proposals to cut property taxes for homeowners across the state. What could that mean in Miami-Dade County? Here's a look at where roughly $3.2 billion in property taxes go in the county's 2026 budget. The chart isn't a complete guide to what a tax cut could mean if voters approve the change statewide. For instance, one House proposal would block local governments from cutting budgets to public safety agencies if a tax cut passed. That would mean deeper cuts elsewhere.

Property taxes are rarely listed separately as a revenue source in Miami-Dade County's budget when laying out how various departments and county expenses are funded. Instead, those budgets usually list how much money a department or expense receives from a general fund. Miami-Dade has two general funds: one to pay for countywide expenses and one to pay for services provided by the county to unincorporated areas outside of city limits. Both general funds receive significant dollars from property taxes. To calculate most of the numbers in the chart above, the Miami Herald applied the portion of property taxes in each fund (81% for countywide, and 34% for the unincorporated areas) to show how much property tax money goes into each listed expense. There are two exceptions: Fire Rescue and Libraries, a pair of departments funded by dedicated property taxes that do not go into a general fund but instead are listed separately on each department's budget.
Chart: Douglas Hanks