Texas Property Tax Exemptions: Homestead, Senior and Veteran Relief

An adult is entitled to a $140,000 exemption from school district taxes on the appraised value of the residence homestead. A residence homestead is a structure (including a mobile home) with up to 20 acres of land and improvements used for the residence, owned and occupied as the owner's principal residence. Any taxing unit (county, city, school district or special district) may also adopt a local option exemption of up to 20% of appraised value (at least $5,000). There is also a $3,000 homestead exemption from county taxes levied for the purposes authorized by Article VIII, Section 1-a of the Texas Constitution.

File the residence homestead application (Comptroller Form 50-114, with affidavits on Form 50-114-A) with the chief appraiser of the appraisal district in each county where the property is located. An applicant not named on the recorded deed, such as an heir property owner, must provide an ownership affidavit and, for heirs, the prior owner's death certificate, a recent utility bill and any related court record. Once allowed, a homestead exemption need not be claimed again until the property changes ownership or the owner's qualification changes; the chief appraiser may ask for a new application only after trying to confirm eligibility and giving written notice of the specific reason.

For exemptions based on qualifications on January 1, the application must be filed before May 1; the chief appraiser may extend the deadline once for good cause by up to 60 days. A late residence homestead application must be accepted if filed no later than two years after the delinquency date for the taxes on the homestead; if approved, unpaid tax on the exempted amount is removed or paid tax is refunded automatically.

A homeowner 65 or older (or disabled) gets an additional $60,000 school district exemption, and any taxing unit may adopt a further local exemption of at least $3,000 for age 65+ or disabled owners. School taxes on the homestead of a person 65 or older or disabled are generally capped (tax ceiling) at the amount imposed in the first year the person qualified for the age-65/disabled exemption, subject to the adjustments set out in § 11.26. A person 65 or older may also defer collection of taxes on the homestead they own and occupy by filing an affidavit with the chief appraiser; the taxing unit cannot sue or foreclose until 181 days after a delinquency notice following the date the person no longer owns and occupies the home.

A veteran awarded 100% disability compensation for a service-connected disability with a rating of 100% disabled or individual unemployability is exempt on the total appraised value of the residence homestead, which extends to a qualifying unremarried surviving spouse. Other disabled veterans receive a partial exemption on one property they designate: $5,000 of assessed value for a 10% to under 30% rating, $7,500 for 30% to under 50%, $10,000 for 50% to under 70%, and $12,000 for 70% and over (also $12,000 if 65 or older with at least a 10% rating, totally blind in one or both eyes, or with loss of use of one or more limbs). An unmarried surviving spouse keeps the veteran's partial exemption. Total exemptions also apply to surviving spouses of service members killed in the line of duty, of first responders killed in the line of duty, and of veterans who died of a qualifying condition or disease. Disabled veterans may also defer homestead taxes.

A homeowner who is disabled (under a disability for purposes of federal Social Security disability insurance benefits) receives the additional $60,000 school exemption, may receive local disability exemptions adopted by taxing units, has the school tax ceiling, and may defer homestead taxes. A person who is both 65 and disabled may not receive both the disabled and elderly exemption from the same taxing unit in the same year but may choose either.

The appraised value of a residence homestead may not increase in a tax year by more than the lesser of its market value or the prior year's appraised value plus 10% plus the market value of new improvements. The limit takes effect on January 1 of the tax year after the owner first qualifies the property for the homestead exemption and ends when neither the owner nor the owner's spouse or surviving spouse qualifies for it.

Tax deferral: homeowners 65 or older, disabled, or qualified disabled veterans may defer, or abate a suit to collect, delinquent taxes on the homestead they own and occupy by filing an affidavit with the chief appraiser (or the court, for a pending suit).

A property owner may protest the appraised value, unequal appraisal, or denial of an exemption to the county appraisal review board. The written notice of protest is generally due by May 15 or 30 days after the appraisal notice was delivered, whichever is later (30 days after notice for a change in the appraisal records).

Taxes are due on receipt of the tax bill and become delinquent if not paid before February 1 of the year after the year in which they were imposed.