Florida House Committee Approves Home Hardening Tax Breaks

Florida’s chief financial officer is applauding lawmakers for approving a home-hardening measure that could affect homeowners insurance rates in years to come.

“Since last year, we’ve been pushing hard on the idea of helping homeowners better fortify their homes from storms with our ‘Home Hardening’ initiative,” CFO Jimmy Patronis said in a statement. “This is a practical way of saving folks money while incentivizing homeowners to better protect their homes from hurricanes.”

The Florida House Ways and Means Committee this week passed a tax package that includes sales tax incentives for homeowners who install impact-resistant windows, doors, garage doors and roof tie-downs. In many cases, the homeowners will also receive credits on their home insurance premiums.

Patronis also supported the passage of Senate Bill 1054 by the Senate Rules Committee. The bill, if signed into law, would require schools to teach financial literacy to high school students, including the basics of insurance, money management, credit scores, loan applications and related matters.

That bill was approved by the Senate Education Committee earlier this month. A House subcommittee passed a similar bill today, Feb. 16.

Topics Florida Homeowners