How to Defer Property Taxes in Texas: Form, Costs, and Lender Notice

To defer property taxes in Texas, file a notarized tax deferral affidavit with the chief appraiser of your county’s appraisal district. If you qualify, every taxing unit must stop collection efforts and halt any foreclosure on your home for as long as you own and live there. The taxes do not disappear. They sit as a lien against the property and accrue interest at 5% or 8% per year until you sell, move out, or die, at which point the full balance comes due.

Who Can Defer

Texas Tax Code Section 33.06 gives you a legal right to defer collection if you meet one personal qualification and one property qualification.¹ You qualify personally if any one of these is true:

You are 65 or older.
You meet the Social Security Administration’s definition of disability (you don’t need to be drawing benefits, but your condition must meet SSA’s standard for federal disability insurance).
You are a disabled veteran eligible for an exemption under Section 11.22 of the Tax Code. Section 11.22 covers veterans across a range of disability ratings starting at 10%, and surviving spouses of disabled veterans can also qualify.²

The property qualification is simpler: you must own the home and use it as your primary residence.

A separate program under Section 33.065 lets any homeowner, regardless of age or disability, defer part of a sharp value increase. If your home’s appraised value went up more than 5% over the prior year, you can defer the taxes attributable to the amount above that 5% threshold.³ You still owe taxes on the prior year’s value plus the first 5% of the increase. Only the excess gets deferred, and the interest rate on that deferred balance is 8% instead of 5%.

The Form You File

Which form you use depends on which deferral you’re claiming.

For the age 65 or older, disability, or disabled veteran deferral, use Form 50-126, the Tax Deferral Affidavit for Age 65 or Older or Disabled Homeowner. It’s on the Texas Comptroller’s website or available from your appraisal district office.⁴

For the appreciation deferral, use Form 50-274, the Tax Deferral Affidavit for Appreciating Residence Homestead Value.⁵

Both forms need your property account number or legal description so the district can match the filing to the right parcel. You’ll also need to attach proof of eligibility:

Age 65 or older: a birth certificate or Texas driver’s license showing your date of birth.
Disability: an award or determination letter from the Social Security Administration.
Disabled veteran: a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs documenting your rating.

Each affidavit must be signed under oath before a notary public.

Where to File It

Deliver the completed, notarized affidavit to the chief appraiser of the appraisal district where your home is located. Not the tax collector, not the school district. The statute names the chief appraiser specifically.¹ You can hand it in at the office or send it by certified mail with a return receipt so you have proof of the filing date.

Once the chief appraiser processes it, every taxing unit that levies against your property (county, school district, special districts) is notified and must stop collection and any pending foreclosure.

If a tax sale is already on the calendar, you can still stop it. Deliver the affidavit to the chief appraiser, to the tax collector for the unit that requested the sale, and to the officer conducting the sale, and do it no later than five days before the scheduled sale date.⁶

If You Have a Mortgage, Call Your Lender First

This is where homeowners most often get hurt. The deferral is your right against taxing units; it does not bind your mortgage lender. Most mortgage agreements require you to keep property taxes current, and lenders have a strong reason to enforce that clause: the deferred tax lien outranks the mortgage lien.⁷

If your lender objects, they can pay the taxes themselves and then raise your monthly payment, demand immediate reimbursement, or declare you in default. If your taxes are paid through an escrow account, the lender will usually pay the bill no matter what you’ve filed.

The practical takeaway: the deferral works cleanly if you own your home outright. If you still have a mortgage, contact the lender before you file so you know their position in advance.

Reverse mortgages are stricter still. Federal rules require reverse mortgage borrowers to keep property taxes current, and missing a payment can trigger default.⁸ For loans made after April 27, 2015, the servicer may have already set aside loan proceeds to cover taxes. A deferral affidavit will not override that obligation. Talk to the servicer before doing anything.

What Deferral Costs You

Deferred taxes are not forgiven. They stay as a lien on your home and grow each year. The annual interest rate is 5% for the age, disability, and disabled veteran deferral under Section 33.06, and 8% for the appreciation deferral under Section 33.065.⁹

Both rates sit far below what a standard delinquent tax bill accumulates. Without a deferral, Texas imposes a monthly penalty that caps at 12%, plus 1% per month in interest that keeps running. A bill left unpaid a full year can push combined penalties and interest past 24%.⁹ While your deferral is active, no penalties accrue. Only the flat 5% or 8% applies.

One caveat: any penalties and interest that built up before you filed are preserved. The deferral stops future accrual at the lower rate. It doesn’t wipe out what you already owed.

When the Deferral Ends

The deferral lasts as long as you own and occupy the home. It ends when you sell, move out, or die. At that point the entire deferred balance plus accrued interest comes due.

Taxing units cannot sue or schedule a foreclosure sale until the 181st day after the tax collector sends a delinquency notice following the end of your ownership and occupancy.¹ That gives you or your heirs about six months to pay the balance or arrange a sale.

Surviving Spouse

If you qualified for the deferral and you die, your surviving spouse can keep it in place if all three of these are true: the home was your residence homestead at your death, your spouse was 55 or older when you died, and your spouse was living in the home at your death.¹ The deferral then continues until the surviving spouse sells, moves out, or dies. If the spouse was under 55 or not living in the home, the deferral ends and the 181-day clock starts.

Selling the Home

When you sell a home with deferred taxes, the full balance has to be paid off. Because the deferred tax lien is superior to any mortgage, the title company will pay the tax balance from the closing before anything else gets handled. Call your local tax office early in the sale process to get an accurate payoff figure so nothing surprises you at closing.

1
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.06 – Deferred Collection of Taxes on Residence Homestead of Elderly or Disabled Person or Disabled Veteran
2
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.22 – Disabled Veterans
3
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.065 – Deferred Collection of Taxes on Appreciating Residence Homestead
4
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Tax Deferral Affidavit Age 65 or Older or Disabled Homeowner Form 50-126
5
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Tax Deferral Affidavit for Appreciating Residence Homestead Value Form 50-274
6
DENTON COUNTY. What Is a Property Tax Deferral?
7
DENTON COUNTY. What Is a Property Tax Deferral? – Section: How Does a Deferral Affect a Mortgage?
8
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. You Have a Reverse Mortgage: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities
9
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. 2025 and 2026 Penalty and Interest Chart