Texas Form 11.13 Homestead Exemption: Section-by-Section Walkthrough

To claim your Texas residence homestead exemption, fill out Form 50-114 with your ownership and residency details, attach a Texas driver’s license or state ID showing the property address, and file it with your county’s central appraisal district between January 1 and April 30. The form is free, you file it once, and the exemption stays with the home as long as you own and live in it.¹

Confirm You Qualify Before You Start

Three conditions must all be true: you own the home (partial ownership counts), you live in it as your principal residence, and your Texas driver’s license or state ID shows that same address.¹ Only individuals can file. Corporations, partnerships, and other business entities cannot claim the exemption, and you have to certify on the form that you aren’t claiming a homestead anywhere else, in Texas or outside it.²

Your homestead can include up to 20 acres used for residential purposes. Renting a room or running part of a business from the home doesn’t disqualify you, but the exempted value is reduced in proportion to any non-residential use.³ If you bought the home after January 1, you can still get the exemption for the rest of that tax year as long as the previous owner didn’t already claim the same one.²

What to Have in Front of You

Pull these together before opening the form:

Your Texas driver’s license or state ID, with an address that matches the property. If you recently moved, update it with the Department of Public Safety first.
Your property account number, from your tax statement or the appraisal district’s online search tool.
The legal description of the property, found on your deed or closing documents.
The date you acquired the home and the date you began living in it.

Active-duty service members and their spouses can ask the chief appraiser to waive the address-match rule, as can holders of driver’s licenses issued under Transportation Code Section 521.121(c) or 521.1211. If you’re using that waiver, attach a copy of your license application.¹ Residents of certain health care or aging facilities and participants in the state’s address confidentiality program can also be excused from the ID-address requirement. Section 4 of the form has checkboxes for each situation.

Working Through the Six Sections

Download the current version of Form 50-114 from the Texas Comptroller’s property tax page or from your county appraisal district’s website.¹ Do not send it to the Comptroller. It goes to your local appraisal district.

Section 1: Exemptions Requested

Confirm that you live in the property, then check a box for each exemption you’re claiming. Everyone who qualifies checks the general residence homestead exemption. If you’re 65 or older, disabled, a 100 percent disabled veteran, or the surviving spouse of a qualifying individual, check the additional box that fits. Two more questions appear here: whether you received a homestead exemption on a previous property, and whether you want to transfer a tax limitation. Both matter if you’re moving from one Texas homestead to another.

Section 2: Property Owner and Applicant Information

Fill in your name, date of birth, driver’s license or ID number, phone, email, and percentage of ownership. If you’re married, include both spouses. Every person with an ownership interest should be listed. If your mailing address isn’t the same as the property address, enter it separately.

Section 3: Property Information

Enter the date you acquired the property, the date you began living in it, the physical address, and the legal description. For a manufactured home, add the make, model, and ID number, and attach proof of ownership from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs or a sales agreement.¹

The section also asks whether any part of the property produces income and, if so, what percentage, and how many acres (up to 20) you own and occupy. Answer honestly. Overstating residential use is one of the faster ways to get flagged during review.

Section 4: Address-Match Waivers

Use this section only if one of the waivers above applies to you. Check the box that fits your situation and attach the supporting document the form calls for.

Section 5: Other Residential Property

List any other residential property you own in Texas, by county. This is how the district confirms you aren’t claiming more than one homestead.

Section 6: Signature

Sign and date the affirmation. A false statement here is a Class A misdemeanor or state jail felony, depending on the circumstances.¹

Extra Boxes Worth Checking

Form 50-114 handles several add-on exemptions, so check every box you qualify for before you file.

Age 65 or older, or disabled. Either qualification adds a $60,000 school-district exemption on top of the $140,000 general exemption, for a total of $200,000 off your appraised value for school taxes.³ Your driver’s license already shows your age; for disability, attach a determination letter. A surviving spouse who is 55 or older when the over-65 homeowner dies can keep receiving the exemption.

Disabled veteran. VA-rated veterans qualify for a partial exemption from all property taxes, scaled by rating: up to $5,000 for 10 to 29 percent, up to $7,500 for 30 to 49 percent, up to $10,000 for 50 to 69 percent, and up to $12,000 for 70 to 100 percent. Veterans rated 100 percent disabled, or determined individually unemployable, qualify for a complete exemption of the home’s total appraised value. A surviving spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran can also qualify if not remarried.⁴ All of these are claimed on the same Form 50-114.

Transfer a tax limitation. If you had an over-65 or disabled person school tax ceiling on a previous Texas home and are moving to a new one, check the transfer box in Section 1. You’ll also need to request a certificate from the appraisal district where the old home was located so the new district can calculate your transferred ceiling.⁵

City, county, and other local-option percentage exemptions require no separate application. They apply automatically once your general homestead exemption is on file with the district.³

If You Inherited the Home Without Being on the Deed

You can still file, but with extra paperwork. Along with Form 50-114 you’ll submit:

Comptroller Form 50-114-A, an affidavit establishing your ownership interest
A copy of the previous owner’s death certificate
The property’s most recent utility bill
A citation of any related court record, if one exists

If other heirs also live in the property, each must sign an affidavit authorizing you to submit the application on the homestead’s behalf.¹ Recording your interest with the county clerk isn’t required, but it helps your paper trail for future transactions.

Where and When to File

Send the completed form and supporting documents to the central appraisal district in the county where the property sits. Not the Comptroller. Not the tax assessor-collector. Most districts accept applications online through their portals, by mail, or in person. If you mail it, use a method with tracking or delivery confirmation.

The regular window is January 1 through April 30 of the year you want the exemption to apply.¹ Missed it? You can still file a late application up to two years after the delinquency date for the taxes on the homestead. If a late application is approved after you’ve already paid the tax bill, the collector will refund the exemption-related portion within 60 days of being notified by the chief appraiser. You don’t have to ask for the refund separately.⁶

What Happens After You File

The chief appraiser has to rule within 90 days of the later of (a) the date you first qualified or (b) the date you provided all the information needed to decide.⁷ If more documentation is needed, you’ll get a written request within 30 days of filing, and you then have 30 days to respond. Miss that window and the application is denied. The appraiser can grant a single 15-day extension for good cause.¹

Once approved, you don’t refile every year. The exemption stays in place until ownership changes or your eligibility changes, such as moving out or no longer using the property as your principal residence.⁸

If your exemption is denied or modified, the chief appraiser must send written notice within five days explaining why and how to protest.⁷ To challenge the decision, file a Notice of Protest (Form 50-132) with the Appraisal Review Board by May 15 or within 30 days after the notice was delivered, whichever is later. The district will offer an informal conference first; if that doesn’t resolve things, the ARB holds a hearing and mails you its written decision.

1
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Residence Homestead Exemption Application
2
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions
3
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. 100 Percent Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Frequently Asked Questions
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.26 – Limitation of School Tax on Homesteads of Elderly or Disabled
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.431 – Late Application for Residence Homestead Exemption
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.45 – Action on Exemption Applications
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.43 – Application for Exemption