How to File a Texas Homestead Exemption: Forms, Deadlines, and Extras

To file a Texas homestead exemption, submit Form 50-114 to the appraisal district in the county where your home sits by April 30 of the tax year you want the exemption to apply.¹ There is no filing fee, and you only file once. The exemption stays with the property for as long as you own it and live in it as your principal residence.

The Form and Documents You Need

The application is Form 50-114, available as a PDF on the Texas Comptroller’s website or through your county appraisal district.² The form asks for the property address, the owner’s name, and the legal description of the property. You can find the legal description on your deed or through the appraisal district’s online property search.

You also need a copy of your Texas driver’s license or state-issued ID, and the address on that ID must match the address of the property you’re claiming.³ Mismatched addresses are the most common reason applications get rejected, so if you moved recently and haven’t updated your license, do that first.

There is a narrow exception to the ID-matching rule. Active-duty military members, their spouses, and holders of certain special driver’s licenses can ask the chief appraiser to waive the requirement.² The request is built into the form. Check the appropriate box and attach documentation.

Where and How to Submit

Send the completed form to the appraisal district in the county where your property is located, not to the state comptroller and not to your city or school district. Most districts accept applications by mail, in person, or through an online portal.

The deadline is April 30 of the tax year you’re claiming.¹ Once your application is approved, you do not refile in later years. The exemption remains on the property until you sell it, stop using it as your primary residence, or your qualification changes.³ The appraisal district will periodically review your eligibility on its own; you don’t need to do anything unless the district contacts you.

If You Bought Mid-Year or Missed the Deadline

If you bought your home after January 1, you may not have to wait for the next tax year. You can receive the exemption for a prorated portion of the current year right away, provided the previous owner wasn’t already receiving the same exemption on that property.⁴

Missing April 30 is not the end of the road. Texas allows late homestead applications up to two years after the original filing deadline.¹ If a late application is approved, the appraisal district adjusts your tax bill and either reduces what you owe or refunds what you overpaid.

Disabled veterans rated at 100 percent, and surviving spouses of those veterans, have a longer window: up to five years after the deadline to apply retroactively.¹ Homeowners who turn 65, become disabled, or purchase a qualifying property mid-year have one year from the date they qualify to file and still receive the exemption for that tax year.

Who Qualifies

You qualify if you own the property (or have an ownership interest in it), use it as your principal residence, and don’t claim a homestead exemption on any other property in or outside Texas.⁴ Vacation homes and investment properties do not qualify.

An urban homestead can include up to 10 acres across one or more contiguous lots. A rural homestead can include up to 200 acres for a family or 100 acres for a single adult, and those parcels do not need to be contiguous.⁵

If you move away temporarily, you can keep the exemption for up to two years as long as you don’t establish a homestead elsewhere and you intend to return. Military members deployed outside the country and homeowners living in a health or assisted-living facility can hold the exemption beyond that two-year window.

Property held in a trust can still qualify, but the trust document must specifically give the beneficiary the right to occupy the home rent-free, aside from taxes and specified expenses. If the trust doesn’t already say so, that language can be added through a trust amendment, a separate deed, or a court order.

What the Exemption Is Worth

Every school district in Texas exempts $140,000 of a qualifying home’s appraised value from school property taxes.⁴ On a home appraised at $350,000, the school district taxes only $210,000.

Any other taxing unit — your county, city, or a special district — can adopt an optional homestead exemption of up to 20 percent of your home’s appraised value, with a $5,000 floor.⁶ Not every taxing unit offers this, and the percentages vary. Your appraisal district can tell you which local exemptions apply.

Once your exemption is in place, there’s also a cap on how fast your appraised value can rise. The appraisal district cannot increase the taxable value of your home more than 10 percent per year, no matter what the market does.⁷ The cap kicks in the second year you hold the exemption, because the district needs a baseline year to measure from, and it does not cover the value of new improvements you add, such as a room addition or a pool.

Extra Exemptions to Check Before You File

The main Form 50-114 also captures additional exemptions available to certain homeowners. It’s worth reviewing those before you submit.

Age 65 or Older, or Disabled

If you’re 65 or older, or meet the state’s definition of disabled, you qualify for an additional $60,000 school district exemption, for a total school exemption of $200,000.⁸ You cannot claim both the over-65 and disabled exemptions for school taxes. If you qualify for both, pick one.

Qualifying also freezes your school district tax bill. The amount you owe the first year you become eligible becomes a ceiling that your school taxes cannot exceed later, even as your home’s value rises. Some cities and counties offer a similar freeze, and if you sell and buy another Texas home, a proportional version of the ceiling transfers with you. Other taxing units may adopt an additional exemption of at least $3,000 for homeowners who are 65 or older or disabled, and many set that figure higher.⁶

Disabled Veterans

Veterans with a service-connected disability qualify for an exemption that scales with their disability rating:⁹

10–29 percent rating: $5,000 off the property’s value
30–49 percent rating: $7,500 off the property’s value
50–69 percent rating: $10,000 off the property’s value
70–100 percent rating: $12,000 off the property’s value

Veterans 65 or older with at least a 10 percent rating, and those who are blind or have lost the use of a limb, qualify for the $12,000 exemption regardless of their overall rating. The disabled veteran exemption can apply to any property the veteran owns; it does not have to be a primary residence.⁹

Veterans rated at 100 percent disabled, or determined to be individually unemployable by the VA, receive a complete exemption on their residence homestead and pay no property tax on that home.¹⁰ An unmarried surviving spouse of a service member killed in the line of duty can also qualify for a total exemption on their homestead.

1
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Residence Homestead Exemptions
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Residence Homestead Exemption Application
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 11.43 – Application for Exemption
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions
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State of Texas. Texas Property Code 41.002 – Definition of Homestead
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 11.13 – Residence Homestead
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 23.23
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Office of the Texas Governor. Tax Exemptions
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Exemptions Frequently Asked Questions
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. 100 Percent Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Frequently Asked Questions