What changes when you move from Texas to Florida?

Texas voters added a ban on an individual income tax to the state constitution as Proposition 4, which the governor declared adopted on December 4, 2019. The Florida Department of Revenue says Florida does not impose a personal income tax, so there is no return to file. Wages, pensions, IRA and 401(k) withdrawals and Social Security go untaxed by the state in both places, and a retiree from Texas saves nothing on state income tax by moving.

The Texas Comptroller says Texas has no state property tax: local governments set the rates, appraisal districts value property as of January 1, and bills are generally due by January 31 of the next year. Texas school districts must exempt $140,000 of a residence homestead's value from school taxes, and $60,000 more for owners 65 or older or disabled. Florida limits the yearly rise in a homestead's assessed value to 3 percent or the change in the consumer price index, whichever is lower, and the Florida Department of Revenue puts that cap at 2.7 percent for 2026.

If you keep a house in Texas, the Comptroller's homestead application, Form 50-114, says the owner must notify the chief appraiser in writing before May 1 of the year after the right to the exemption ends. On the same form, the owner states that he or she claims no homestead exemption outside Texas. The county appraisal district handles both.

The Texas Department of Insurance says a homeowners policy on the coast might not cover wind and hail, and many owners buy that coverage from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, which the Legislature created for people who cannot get it from private insurers. In Florida, the Department of Financial Services says insurers must offer, with a few exceptions, hurricane deductibles of $500, 2, 5 or 10 percent of the dwelling or structure limit, applied to all covered hurricane losses in a calendar year. The Texas insurance help line is 800-252-3439.

For the car, Texas ended safety inspections for noncommercial vehicles on January 1, 2025, and charges a $7.50 inspection program replacement fee at registration. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles is at 1-888-368-4689.

Interstate 10 runs about 880 miles across Texas, from the New Mexico line to the Louisiana line, by the Texas Department of Transportation's count, and the Federal Highway Administration lists its east end at Jacksonville. Both states face the Gulf: NOAA measures the Texas shoreline, with its islands, bays, rivers and creeks, at 3,359 miles, against 5,095 miles on Florida's Gulf side and 3,341 on its Atlantic side.

Florida's own rules for the driver license, car registration, homestead exemption and home insurance are answered on their own pages.

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