Hurricane season begins this weekend without Florida’s usual tax holiday as budget talks stall

Florida Gov. DeSantis on hurricane preparedness (Full news conference)

Gov. Ron DeSantis held a hurricane preparedness event at a Home Depot store in Jupiter, Florida.

ORLANDO, Fla. - The 2025 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins on June 1, and weather officials are forecasting an above-average year.

More than a dozen named storms are expected, including up to 10 hurricanes – at least three of which could reach major hurricane status, according to NOAA.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a hurricane preparedness news conference in South Florida on Friday, alongside Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie, urging residents to prepare in the event of a natural disaster.

DeSantis vows return of tax holiday for hurricane preps

The backstory:

Around this time each year, Florida typically launches a Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday, allowing residents to purchase essential supplies tax-free.

But this year, the tax break is on hold amid ongoing budget disputes in Tallahassee. In previous years, the tax holiday has saved Florida families an estimated $72 million.

What they're saying:

"We usually do the hurricane tax preparedness holidays for the first two weeks of hurricane season. And then we do two weeks at kind of the height of hurricane season. But they haven't even done the budget yet," DeSantis said during the hurricane-preparation event Friday morning at a Home Depot in Jupiter. "So we don't have any of the tax holidays in place in the state of Florida."

"I think you need two weeks early so that you can get all the supplies you need, tax-free," he added. "So we're going to make sure one way or another, there's going to be a hurricane preparedness tax holiday."

What's next:

Lawmakers aren’t expected to revisit the budget until after June 2, with a hard deadline of July 1—the start of the new fiscal year. However, negotiations remain at a standstill, with both sides still roughly $4 billion apart.

Florida emergency management director on hurricane season

Kevin Guthrie, Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, speaks alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis at a hurricane preparedness event in Jupiter, Florida.

How do you prepare for hurricane season?

Dig deeper:

It's never too early to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season – or any emergency. It's important to have a plan, have ways to communicate and get emergency information, save and protect important documents, medication, and have extra food and water.

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