Kaufman County Property Tax Exemptions: Homestead, Over-65, Veterans

Homeowners in Kaufman County can lower their property tax bill through several exemptions administered by the Kaufman Central Appraisal District, and the Kaufman County property tax exemptions available in 2025 include a $140,000 general homestead exemption for school district taxes, additional reductions for seniors and disabled residents, and separate breaks for disabled veterans and their surviving spouses.¹ Each one has its own eligibility rules, but they all run through the same application process and the same May 1 deadline.

General Residence Homestead Exemption

If you own your home in Kaufman County and live in it as your primary residence, you qualify for the general residence homestead exemption. It removes $140,000 from your home’s appraised value before school district taxes are calculated.² County, city, and special district taxing units may offer their own optional homestead exemptions on top of that, in amounts they set individually.

To qualify, you must own the property, occupy it as your principal residence, and not claim a homestead exemption on any other property in or outside Texas.² The homestead can include up to 20 acres of land used for residential purposes along with the structure.³

Over-65 and Disability Exemptions

Homeowners who are 65 or older, or who meet the state’s definition of disabled, get an additional $60,000 off their appraised value for school taxes on top of the general $140,000.² A qualifying senior therefore has $200,000 shielded from school taxes before any assessment. Other local taxing units that adopt an optional over-65 or disability exemption must offer at least $3,000.³

Qualifying for the over-65 or disability exemption also triggers a school district tax ceiling. The school district freezes the dollar amount of tax it collects from your homestead, and that amount cannot rise unless you add improvements to the property. If you move within Texas, a proportional tax ceiling transfers to your new home.

To qualify as disabled, you must receive federal disability benefits under Social Security or otherwise meet the Social Security Administration’s definition of disability. The over-65 and disability exemptions cannot be stacked on the same property; you receive whichever provides the greater benefit.

Disabled Veteran Exemptions

Texas offers two separate tax breaks for veterans with service-connected disabilities, and the difference between them matters.

Partial Exemption by Disability Rating

Veterans with a VA disability rating can exempt a portion of the assessed value of one property they own:⁴

10% to 29% disability: up to $5,000 off assessed value
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 at least a 10% rating, totally blind in one or both eyes, or who has lost the use of one or more limbs qualifies for the full $12,000 regardless of rating percentage.⁴ This exemption is not limited to a homestead and can be applied to any property the veteran owns.

Total Exemption for 100% Disabled Veterans

A completely separate statute covers veterans rated 100% disabled or classified as individually unemployable by the VA. Under Section 11.131, these veterans pay zero property taxes on their residence homestead, and the exemption applies to all taxing units, not just the school district.⁵

Surviving Spouses

If a veteran who qualified (or would have qualified) for the 100% exemption dies, the surviving spouse keeps the total exemption on the same home as long as the spouse has not remarried and continues to live there.⁵ A surviving spouse who later moves can transfer an exemption equal to the dollar amount they received at the former property in the last year. Remarriage ends the exemption.

Surviving spouses of armed service members killed in action also receive a total property tax exemption, as long as they have not remarried.⁶

The 10% Appraisal Cap

Once your homestead exemption is in place, the appraised value used to calculate your taxes cannot rise more than 10% per year, no matter what happens to the market. Section 23.23 of the Tax Code requires the appraisal district to use the lesser of actual market value or last year’s appraised value plus 10%, plus the value of any new improvements.⁷

This cap works automatically after your homestead exemption is approved. It does not limit market value on the appraisal roll, only the taxable appraised value. When a home sells, the cap resets, and the new owner starts fresh until they file their own homestead exemption.

Tax Deferral for Seniors, Disabled Homeowners, and Veterans

If you qualify for the over-65, disability, or disabled veteran exemption and still cannot afford your tax bill, Texas lets you postpone payment entirely. By filing an affidavit with the Kaufman Central Appraisal District, you can defer collection of all property taxes on your homestead for as long as you own and occupy the home.⁸

While the deferral is active, no taxing unit can sue you for delinquent taxes or force a tax sale. The trade-off: a tax lien stays on the home and interest accrues at 5% per year on the deferred balance.⁸ When you move out, sell, or die, the full deferred amount plus interest becomes due. Taxing units then have 181 days from the date they deliver a delinquency notice to begin collection.

Heir Property and Homes in a Trust

Two ownership situations trip up Kaufman County homeowners more than any other.

Heir property. If you inherited the home through a will, transfer-on-death deed, or intestacy, you can still claim the full homestead exemption even without your name on the deed.² You will need to give the appraisal district an affidavit establishing your ownership interest, a copy of the prior owner’s death certificate, a recent utility bill for the property, and any court records relating to ownership. If other heirs also live in the home as their principal residence, each must sign an affidavit authorizing your application.

Trust-held homes. A home held in a living trust can qualify, but only if the trust document gives the trustor or beneficiary the right to occupy the property rent-free as a principal residence, for life or until the trust is revoked, and the trust is recorded in the county’s real property records.³ If your trust is missing that language, the exemption will be denied until it is amended.

How to Apply

Every homestead exemption uses Form 50-114, the Residence Homestead Exemption Application, issued by the Texas Comptroller.⁹ There is no filing fee.

You will need:

A Texas driver’s license or state-issued ID with an address matching the property. If the addresses don’t match, you can request a waiver from the chief appraiser on the form itself.¹⁰
Your property account number, found on past tax statements or through Kaufman CAD’s online property search.
The date you first occupied the property as your primary residence.
Disclosure of any other property interests and whether the home is held in a trust or legal entity.

Disabled veterans must include VA documentation of their disability rating. Over-65 applicants need proof of age, which a Texas ID normally satisfies. Heir property applicants add the documents listed above.

Submit the completed application by mail to Kaufman Central Appraisal District, PO Box 819, Kaufman, TX 75142, or file online through portal.kaufman-cad.org. The office phone is (972) 932-6081.¹

When to File

The general deadline is before May 1 of the tax year you want the exemption to apply to.¹¹ For good cause, the chief appraiser can grant a one-time extension of up to 60 days. Filing by the deadline puts the exemption on the tax bill mailed that fall.

Late applications are allowed for certain exemptions within specific windows. If you missed the deadline, contact the Kaufman Central Appraisal District to find out whether your situation still qualifies.

Once approved, a homestead exemption stays in effect year after year without a new application. It remains active until ownership or eligibility changes.¹¹ The appraisal district may periodically send a confirmation request to verify you still qualify, as required by state law; that is not the same as filing a new application.¹

Keeping the Exemption If You’re Temporarily Away

You do not automatically lose the exemption by stepping away from the house. Texas law lets you keep it during an absence of less than two years, as long as you intend to return and have not established a different principal residence.³ Two situations have no time limit:

Active-duty service in the U.S. or Texas armed forces, regardless of where you’re stationed.
Residency in a nursing home, assisted living, or similar health-related facility.

In either case, the controlling requirement is that you have not claimed a homestead exemption on another property.³

1
Kaufman Central Appraisal District. Kaufman Central Appraisal District
2
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions
3
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead
4
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.22 – Disabled Veterans
5
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent or Totally Disabled Veteran
6
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Exemptions Frequently Asked Questions
7
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 23.23 – Limitation on Appraised Value of Residence Homestead
8
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.06
9
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Residence Homestead Exemption Application
10
Kaufman CAD. Forms
11
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.43 – Application for Exemption