One of the best benefits of owning a home in Texas is being able to take advantage of tax exemptions that can reduce your property tax burden - in some cases even reduce it to zero! See below. One of the most popular of the property tax exemptions is the 'Homeowners Exemption' which applies to your residential property that you are living in.
What is a Homestead Tax Exemption and Why Should I File For it?
The Homestead Tax Exemption is available to virtually every homeowner in the State of Texas. This exemption reduces the 'taxable value' of your property, which in turn reduces the tax liability you pay annually on your home. A 'homestead' can be a separate structure (a single-family home on a lot), a condominium or a manufactured home on owned or leased land so long as the person living in the home owns it. A homestead can include up to 20 acres so long as it is owned by the homeowner and is used for a purpose related to the residential homestead.
While most of us intend to pay our fair share in taxes, including property tax there is no reason to pay more than your fair share. Note: Property Taxes must be paid No Later Than January 31 to avoid penalties and interest on the delinquent amount.
Property tax in Texas is a locally assessed and administered. There is no state property tax. Property tax brings in the most money of all taxes available to local government to pay for schools, roads, police and firemen, emergency response services, libraries, parks and other services provided by the city and county.
The State of Texas, through the local County Appraisal Districts (CAD), provide several exemptions that lower, or may possibly eliminate, your property taxes. Your local CAD is responsible for the annual appraisal of property for tax assessment and for approving exemptions to real property tax. Most exemption applications must be filed no later than April 30. See specific exemptions below for more information – but YOU MUST APPLY!
When To Apply
A recent change in the law for 2022 allows a new property owner to file immediately for their homestead exemption and not have to wait for the new year to come around. The homestead exemption will reduce the tax value of the home which is always reset to purchase price of the property from the closing documents filed with the County. So, it's important to apply and obtain the exemption to ensure your property tax bill in the coming years is reduced by the homestead exemption.
In some cases, there are statutory times to apply for an exemption or to appeal denial of an exemption or to dispute your property appraisal valuation. See Deadlines and Important Dates below and check with your CAD for information specific to your county.
Deadlines and Important Dates for Property Taxes
- January 1 – Assessed value or property appraisals become effective for the new tax year.
- January 31 – Deadline to pay property tax for previous year. Penalty and interest apply to delinquent payments. Exceptions apply if the value has not been set from the previous year.
- April 30 (approximate) – County appraisal district mails notice of appraised value for all real estate accounts. This is also the deadline for most exemptions to be filed.
- May 1 (scheduled) – informal county appraisal district protest meetings begin for real estate assessed values and denied real estate exemptions.
- May 31 (scheduled) - Deadline to file a protest (or 30 days after notice of assessed value is mailed, whichever is later). The County appraisal district is only required to send a notice of assessed value if the assessed value increased by more than $1,000.
- July 20 (approximate) – The County Appraisal Review Board is convened to approve appraisal records.
- July 25 – Deadline for the appraisal district to certify the tax roll. Typically, counties are required to resolve the property value for 95% of the tax base by value no later than this date.
- August to September – County taxing districts are scheduled to set their tax rates for the following year.
- October (scheduled) – tax bills are mailed by the county tax assessor and are to be paid no later than January 31 of the following year.
Exemptions to Property Tax
The following categories of property tax exemptions are made available through your local county appraisal district based upon your specific qualification. Some of these exemptions can be combined; however, there may be restrictions, as noted. Also, there are some exemptions that can eliminate property tax payment for life, for instance for the surviving spouse of a military service member or first responder killed in the line of duty.
1. General Homestead Exemption - Virtually all residential property owners in the State of Texas qualify for a General Homestead Exemption on their property taxes which:
- Requires school districts to offer a $25,000 exemption on residence homesteads
- Allows any taxing unit the option to decide locally to offer a separate residence homestead exemption of up to 20 percent of a property's appraised value. The local option exemption cannot be less than $5,000.
- Requires counties that collect farm-to-market or flood control taxes to offer a $3,000 residence homestead exemption.
Qualifications: The qualifications for the general homestead exemption are:
- Ownership interest in the property
- Property is used as the owner's principal residence
- Required to state that he or she does not claim an exemption on another residence homestead in or outside of Texas.
Application Deadline: A recent change in the law that became effective January 1, 2022, makes homebuyers eligible to receive the homestead exemption beginning on the date they obtain ownership. This change now permits homebuyers, who purchase a property that does not already have a homestead exemption, to apply for the exemption immediately.
A new homeowner must apply for the exemption for the applicable portion of the tax year before the first anniversary of the date they acquired the property. If the new owner qualifies to receive the exemption prior to January 1 of the following year, the taxing units will recalculate the amount of tax due and correct the tax roll. If the tax has already been paid, the excess amount will be refunded to the payer. All other qualification requirements still apply.
2. Inherited Residence Homestead - Heir property is property owned by one or more individuals where:
- At least one owner claims the property as a residence homestead
- The property was acquired by will, transfer on death deed, or intestacy
Qualification: applicant must provide the following when not specifically identified as the residence homestead owner on a deed or other recorded instrument in the county where the property is located:
- an affidavit establishing ownership of interest in the property
- a copy of the prior property owner's death certificate
- a copy of the property's most recent utility bill; and
- a citation of any court record relating to the applicant's ownership of the property, if available.
Application Deadline: Application should be made as soon as ownership is finalized as with the General Homestead Exemption.
3. Over 65 Exemption – the Tax Code provides a mandatory exemption for persons 65 and older and:
- Requires school districts to offer an additional $10,000 residence homestead exemption
- Allows any taxing unit the option to decide locally to offer a separate residence homestead exemption. This local option exemption cannot be less than $3,000.
Qualification:
- Property owner must be age 65 or older and live in the house for which the exemption is applied for
- If the age 65 or older homeowner dies, the surviving spouse may continue to receive the local option exemption if the surviving spouse is age 55 or older at the time of death and lives in and owns the home; however, they must apply for the exemption as it will not automatically roll over to them.
Application Deadline: Application can be made immediately when the property owner qualifies, for instance, immediately upon turning 65 years of age.
4. Disabled Exemption – the Tax Code provides a mandatory exemption to disabled property owners.
- Requires school districts to offer an additional $10,000 residence homestead exemption
- Allows any taxing unit the option to decide locally to offer a separate residence homestead exemption. This local option exemption cannot be less than $3,000.
Qualification:
- The disabled property owner must meet the definition of disabled for the purpose of receiving disability insurance benefits under the Federal Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Act
- Eligible disabled persons aged 65 or older may receive both exemptions in the same year, but not from the same taxing units.
Application Deadline: Application can be made immediately when the property owner qualifies, for instance, immediately upon receiving the disability notice stating the percent of disability awarded. Contact your local (CAD) for more information on how to apply for these exemptions from different taxing districts or authorities.
5. Surviving Spouse of First Responder or Military Service Member – the Tax Code provides the following property tax exemption:
- A total property tax exemption for the residence homestead of a surviving spouse of a first responder or military service member killed or fatally injured in the line of duty
- If the surviving spouse has not remarried since the first responder’s death.
- Applies regardless of the date of the spouses’ death.
- The surviving spouse, if eligible for the exemption, may qualify a different property as a residence homestead and is entitled to the same dollar amount of the former exemption that was last received at the former homestead.
Qualification:
- A surviving spouse, not remarried, of a fire fighter, law enforcement officer or military service member killed in the line of duty or who died from injuries received in the line of duty.
Application Deadline: Application can be made immediately when the property owner receives a notice of death from the proper authority. Annual re-application is required to maintain the exemption status.
6. Veterans Exemption – the Tax Code provides partial to full property tax exemptions for any property owned by disabled veterans, surviving spouses and children of deceased disabled veterans.
- A disabled veteran who receives 100 percent disability compensation due to a service-connected disability and a rating of 100 percent disabled or of individual unemployability to a total property tax exemption
- Extends to a surviving spouse who was married to a disabled veteran who qualified or would have qualified for this exemption if it has been in effect at the time of the veteran's death
- A partial exemption for residence homesteads donated to disabled veterans by charitable organizations that also extends to surviving spouses who have not remarried. The amount of exemption is determined according to percentage of service-connected disability.
Qualification:
- the surviving spouse has not remarried;
- the property was the residence homestead of the surviving spouse when the veteran died
- the property remains the residence homestead of the surviving spouse.
Application Deadline: Application can be made immediately when the property owner qualifies, for instance, immediately upon receiving the notice of disability. Annual re-application is required to maintain the exemption status.
The chief appraiser is also required, under Tax Code Section 11.431 to accept and approve or deny an application for the surviving spouse after the deadline for filing has passed, if the application for the exemption is filed not later than two years after the delinquency date for the taxes on the homestead.
Check with your local county appraisal district (CAD) regarding specific application forms and criteria.
7. Solar and Wind-Powered Energy Devices – the Tax Code provides an exemption for these energy saving devices installed on a qualified property owner’s property.
- The Texas State Comptrollers’ office assists local officials in the administration of the exemption for solar and wind-powered energy devices
- Application for this exemption is Form 50-123, Exemption Application for Solar or Wind-Powered Energy Devices.
Application Deadline: Application deadline is April 30 for the tax year beginning January 1.
8. Charitable Organizations and Businesses - several exemptions are available for charitable organizations and businesses. Refer to the Comptroller's publication “Texas Property Tax Exemptions” for more information. Most of these exemptions have specific application forms that can be found through this link.
Application Deadline: Application deadline is April 30 for the tax year beginning January 1.
Bottom Line
This information is provided by the Geni Manning Group as a Public Service, for your information only and no claim of accuracy or inferred qualification or applicability of any information to any individual is intended. Interested persons are encouraged to contact their local County Appraisal District for specific guidance and forms or documentation required to make application and determine qualification for any of the above exemptions.
If you qualify any one of these exemptions, you can potentially save some money on your property taxes anywhere from hundreds to possibly thousands of dollars per year. If you purchased a home and have not completed the application for a General Homestead Exemption you are encouraged to apply, if you qualify.
COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICTS (Tax Appraisers)
Below are the local tax appraisers offices. Click the link to your local appraiser and find, download and fill out the form to apply for your exemption if you don't already have one.
To verify the status of your property tax exemption you can go to your county appraiser's website, find your property and it will list your tax exemptions. To apply for additional exemptions your county may require an in-person visit to the Appraisers' office. For guidance or to obtain specific forms and a list of necessary documents to be provided contact your county tax appraiser.
Collin County Appraisal District
250 Eldorado Pkwy | McKinney, TX 75069 | 469.742.9200
Dallas County Appraisal District
2949 North I-35E | Dallas, TX 75247 | 214.631.0910
Denton County Appraisal District
3911 Morse St. | Denton, TX 76208 | 940.349.3800
Ellis County Appraisal District
400 Ferris Avenue | Waxahachie, TX 75165 | 866.348.3552
Fannin County
831 Texas 56 | Bonham, TX 75418 | 903.583.8701
Grayson County Appraisal District
512 North Travis | Sherman, TX 78090 | 903.893.9673
Johnson County Appraisal District
109 North Main St. | Cleburne, Texas 76033 | 817.648.3000
Kaufman County Appraisal District
3950 S Houston St. | Kaufman, TX 75142 | 972.932.6081
Parker County Appraisal District
1108 Santa Fe Dr. | Weatherford, Texas 76086 | 817.596.0077
Rockwall County Appraisal District
841 Justin Road | Rockwall, TX 75087-4842 | 972.771.2034
Tarrant County Appraisal District
2500 Handley Ederville Rd. | Richland Hills, TX 76118 | 817.284.0024
Wise County Appraisal District
400 U.S. 380 Business | Decatur, TX 76234 | 940.627.3081
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