Texas Form 50-135 is the application a disabled veteran, surviving spouse, or surviving child files with a county appraisal district to claim the partial property tax exemption under Tax Code Section 11.22. You complete the applicant and property sections, mark your exemption type and VA disability rating, attach your VA rating documentation and a Texas ID, sign under penalty of perjury, and submit the packet to the chief appraiser in the county where the property is located by April 30 of the tax year.
What the Exemption Is Worth Before You Fill Anything In
Section 11.22 subtracts a flat dollar amount from the property’s assessed value based on the VA disability rating:1State of Texas. Texas Code Section 11.22 – Disabled Veterans
- 10% to 29% disability: up to $5,000
- 30% to 49%: up to $7,500
- 50% to 69%: up to $10,000
- 70% or higher: up to $12,000
A veteran who is 65 or older with any rating of at least 10 percent, who is totally blind in one or both eyes, or who has lost the use of one or more limbs automatically qualifies for the maximum $12,000 exemption regardless of rating tier.1State of Texas. Texas Code Section 11.22 – Disabled Veterans
One boundary to settle before you start. If you have a 100 percent disability rating or are rated individually unemployable and you’re applying for your primary residence, Form 50-135 is the wrong form. The total homestead exemption under Section 11.131 uses Form 50-114. Form 50-135 still applies if you have a 100 percent rating and want the Section 11.22 exemption on a property that is not your homestead; the $12,000 tier applies.2State of Texas. Texas Code Section 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent or Totally Disabled Veteran3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Exemptions Frequently Asked Questions
Who Can File
Three groups qualify under Section 11.22:1State of Texas. Texas Code Section 11.22 – Disabled Veterans
- A veteran with a service-connected disability rating of at least 10 percent from the VA or a branch of the armed forces, who owns the property and designates it on the application.
- The unmarried surviving spouse of a veteran who qualified for the exemption at the time of death. The spouse does not have to live in the same home the veteran occupied; the requirement is that the spouse remains unmarried and owns the designated property.
- If no spouse survives, each unmarried child under 18 may claim the exemption on property the child owns and designates.
Surviving spouses of service members who died on active duty also qualify for a $5,000 exemption on any one property the spouse owns.3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Exemptions Frequently Asked Questions
Documents to Gather First
You need three things in hand before you open the form.
VA disability documentation. Section 5 of the form requires documentation from the VA or a service branch showing your most recent disability rating. The easiest source is the Benefit Summary Letter you can download from va.gov/records/download-va-letters. You’ll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open it. If the download fails, call MyVA411 at 1-800-698-2411.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran’s or Survivor’s Exemption Application5Veterans Affairs. Download VA Benefit Letters
Texas driver’s license or state-issued personal ID. The address on the ID should match the property’s physical address. Active-duty service members and confidential property owners may be exempt from the address-match requirement in some districts; call your local appraisal office to confirm.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran’s or Survivor’s Exemption Application
Property account number. This is on a prior year’s tax statement or on the property deed. The account number is how the appraisal district identifies the parcel in its records. Getting it wrong can send the exemption to the wrong property.
Filling Out the Form Section by Section
Download the current version from the Comptroller’s website at comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax, or pick up a printed copy at your county appraisal district office.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran’s or Survivor’s Exemption Application Using an outdated version risks having the application sent back.
Sections 1 Through 3: Applicant and Property Information
Enter your full legal name, driver’s license or personal ID number, and mailing address. Then provide the property’s legal description and account number. The account number sits near the top of a prior tax statement. The form also asks for the current tax year. Make sure that matches the year you want the exemption to start.
Section 4: Type of Exemption
Identify whether you are a disabled veteran, a surviving spouse, or a surviving child, and enter your disability rating percentage. Remember that Form 50-135 covers only the Section 11.22 partial exemptions. A 100 percent rating applied to your homestead goes on Form 50-114 instead.3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Exemptions Frequently Asked Questions
Sections 5 and 6: Documentation and Signature
Attach your VA documentation. Then sign the certification in Section 6. The form is not notarized, but the signature is made under penalty of perjury. A false statement is a Class A misdemeanor or state jail felony under Penal Code Section 37.10.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran’s or Survivor’s Exemption Application Before signing, check that your disability rating, property account number, and legal name all match your supporting documents.
Where and When to File
File the completed form and attachments with the chief appraiser of the county appraisal district where the property sits.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran’s or Survivor’s Exemption Application If the property crosses county lines, file with each county. Most districts accept applications in person, by certified mail, or through an online upload portal.
The standard deadline is April 30 of the tax year. For good cause, the chief appraiser can grant a one-time extension of up to 60 days.6State of Texas. Texas Code Section 11.43 Disabled veterans and their survivors also have a special late-filing window: you can file up to five years after the tax delinquency date and still receive the exemption retroactively.3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Exemptions Frequently Asked Questions Veterans who didn’t know about the exemption or had other priorities after separation can recover years of missed savings.
What Happens After You File
The chief appraiser reviews the application and does one of four things: approve the exemption, modify it, request additional information, or deny it. The decision must be made within 90 days after the later of the date you first qualified or the date you provided all the information needed.7State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 11.45
If the appraiser needs more information, a written request must go out within 30 days of your filing date. If the application is modified or denied, you’ll receive a written notice within five days of the decision explaining every reason and describing how to protest.7State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 11.45
Once approved, you generally don’t reapply each year. The appraisal district periodically verifies that the property still qualifies, and the exemption stays in place unless something changes, such as a sale or a drop in disability rating.
If the Application Is Denied
You can file a protest with the county’s Appraisal Review Board, and the appraisal district cannot charge a fee for it.8State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 41.41 The denial notice includes instructions for starting the protest. Common denial reasons include a mismatch between the ID address and the property address, an expired or unclear VA letter, or the wrong exemption type on the form. Fixing the underlying issue and refiling is often faster than a formal protest, so read the denial letter closely before choosing which path to take.