The Texas homestead exemption is a package of protections on your primary residence that lowers your property taxes, caps how fast your appraised value can rise, and shields the home from most creditors. The centerpiece is a $100,000 reduction in appraised value for school district taxes, with larger benefits layered on for homeowners who are 65 or older, disabled, or veterans with a service-connected disability. To claim it, you have to own the home, live in it as your principal residence, and file a one-time application with your county appraisal district.
Who Qualifies
The owner has to be an individual, not a business entity like a corporation or LLC. Qualifying trusts count as individual owners under state regulations. You need to own the home and use it as your principal residence, and the anchor date is January 1 of the tax year: if you own and occupy the property on that date, you qualify for the full exemption that year.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions
Buying mid-year no longer means waiting until next January. Since 2022, Texas allows a pro-rated general homestead exemption for the portion of the year you qualify, provided the previous owner didn’t already claim the same exemption for that tax year.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions You still have to apply.
You can claim the exemption on only one property. If you own homes in more than one place, it goes on the residence where you actually live most of the year. Manufactured homes on rented lots can qualify, as long as you own the home itself and meet the documentation requirements.
The $100,000 School District Exemption
Every homeowner who qualifies gets $100,000 knocked off the appraised value of the home for school district tax purposes.2State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead This general residence homestead exemption is mandatory for every school district in the state. On a home appraised at $350,000, the school district can only tax you on $250,000.
The amount was $40,000 before Texas voters approved Proposition 4 in November 2023, more than doubling the exemption. The increase took effect for the 2023 tax year.
Extra Exemptions for Seniors and Disabled Homeowners
Homeowners who are 65 or older, or who have a qualifying disability, receive an additional $60,000 school district exemption on top of the general $100,000.2State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead Combined, that’s $160,000 off school district appraised value.
Cities, counties, and other local taxing units can also adopt an additional exemption of at least $3,000 for owners who are 65 or older or disabled. Many set the amount higher. Whether your particular taxing units offer it depends on local decisions, so check with your county appraisal district.2State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead
Disability for these purposes means the same thing Social Security uses: a condition that prevents you from engaging in substantial gainful activity. Expect to submit either a Social Security Administration determination or a physician’s statement when you apply.
The School Tax Ceiling
Once you qualify for the over-65 or disabled person school district exemption, your school district taxes are frozen at the dollar amount you paid the first year you qualified.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 11.26 – Limitation of School District Tax The appraisal district still appraises the property and calculates what taxes would be, but if the result comes out above your ceiling, you only pay the ceiling amount.
Your taxes can drop below the ceiling if rates fall or your value drops, but they can’t rise above it. Improvements beyond ordinary repairs are the exception. Adding a room or building a garage bumps the ceiling up to reflect the added value.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 11.26 – Limitation of School District Tax
If a homeowner with a ceiling dies, a surviving spouse who is at least 55 can keep the same ceiling, as long as the home was the surviving spouse’s homestead when the qualifying owner died and stays their homestead afterward.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 11.26 – Limitation of School District Tax
Disabled Veteran Exemptions
Texas provides two tiers of relief for veterans, and the veteran exemptions apply to all property taxes, not only school district taxes.
Partial Disability Ratings
Veterans with a VA-rated disability receive an exemption based on the severity of the condition:4State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 11.22 – Disabled Veterans
- 10% to 29% disability: up to $5,000 off the assessed value
- 30% to 49%: up to $7,500
- 50% to 69%: up to $10,000
- 70% or higher: up to $12,000
Veterans who are 65 or older with at least a 10% rating, who are totally blind, or who have lost the use of one or more limbs receive the $12,000 exemption regardless of percentage.4State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 11.22 – Disabled Veterans
100% Disability or Individual Unemployability
Veterans rated 100% disabled or classified as individually unemployable by the VA receive a complete exemption, removing the entire appraised value of the homestead from taxation by all taxing units. A surviving spouse who does not remarry and continues to live in the home can keep the full exemption.5State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent or Totally Disabled Veteran
Optional Local Exemptions
Beyond the mandatory school district exemptions, any taxing unit in Texas — counties, cities, community colleges, special districts — can choose to offer a homestead exemption of up to 20% of the home’s appraised value. If 20% of your home’s value works out to less than $5,000, the exemption is $5,000.2State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead
Whether a particular city or county offers one, and at what percentage, varies. Your county appraisal district can tell you which local units have adopted optional exemptions. They stack with the school district exemption, so a single home can have several exemptions reducing the taxable value for different taxing entities.
The 10% Annual Appraisal Cap
Even setting the tax ceiling aside, homestead owners get a cap on how fast the appraised value can rise. The appraisal district can’t increase a homestead’s appraised value by more than 10% per year, plus the value of any new improvements like additions or outbuildings.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 23.23 – Limitation on Appraised Value of Residence Homestead
The cap matters most when home prices climb quickly. If market value jumps 25% in a hot year, the appraisal district can still only raise your appraised value by 10% over the prior year’s appraised value. Ordinary repairs and maintenance don’t count as new improvements that would push value beyond the cap.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 23.23 – Limitation on Appraised Value of Residence Homestead
One catch: the cap doesn’t start working until the second year you own the home. In the first year after a purchase, the appraisal district appraises the property at full market value, and the limitation kicks in for subsequent years. In a rising market, the gap between capped appraised value and actual market value grows the longer you stay.
Protection From Creditors
The homestead exemption isn’t only about property taxes. It also shields your home from most creditors. Under state law, a homestead is exempt from seizure for debts, so a creditor with a judgment against you generally cannot force a sale of your home to collect.7State of Texas. Texas Property Code 41.001 – Interests in Land Exempt From Seizure
Some debts can still reach the home:7State of Texas. Texas Property Code 41.001 – Interests in Land Exempt From Seizure
- Purchase money loans: the mortgage lender can foreclose for nonpayment
- Property taxes: taxing authorities can seize the property for unpaid taxes
- Home improvement debts: contractors who performed work under a written contract
- Home equity loans and reverse mortgages: lenders holding credit secured by the home
- Divorce division: a court-ordered partition between spouses
- Federal tax liens, including refinancings of a lien from tax debt
Credit card companies, medical debt collectors, and most other unsecured creditors cannot touch the home. If you sell, the proceeds stay protected for six months after the sale.7State of Texas. Texas Property Code 41.001 – Interests in Land Exempt From Seizure
How much land the protection covers depends on whether the property is urban or rural. An urban homestead is a home and up to 10 acres, where the property sits within a municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction and receives police protection, fire service, and at least three municipal utilities such as electricity, water, natural gas, sewer, or storm sewer. A rural family homestead can run up to 200 acres, and a single adult up to 100 acres, used in connection with the home.8State of Texas. Texas Property Code 41.002 – Definition of Homestead
How to Apply
File Form 50-114 from the Texas Comptroller or your county appraisal district’s website.9Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Residence Homestead Exemption Application There’s no filing fee. Submit the completed form to the chief appraiser in the county where the property is located.
The application asks for your date of birth, the last three digits of your Social Security number, and a copy of your Texas driver’s license or state ID. The address on your ID has to match the property address. If it doesn’t, update the ID before applying, or ask the chief appraiser to waive the matching requirement.9Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Residence Homestead Exemption Application Active-duty military personnel can use a utility bill instead and don’t need a matching ID address.
If you’re applying for the over-65, disability, or veteran exemptions, include supporting documentation: a VA award letter for veteran claims, a Social Security disability determination for disability claims. Check the appropriate boxes on the form for each exemption you’re requesting.
The deadline is April 30 of the tax year. You can still submit a late application after that, and the chief appraiser can grant a 60-day extension for good cause.10State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 11.43 – Application for Exemption Most counties accept applications by mail, in person, or through an online portal.
After Approval
Once the appraisal district approves your application, the exemption shows up on your next tax bill as a lower taxable value. You generally don’t need to reapply each year. The exemption stays in place as long as you own and occupy the home, unless the appraisal district asks for re-verification or your eligibility changes. If the chief appraiser denies the application, you’ll get a written notice explaining why and instructions for filing a protest with the appraisal review board.
If your property taxes are paid through a mortgage escrow account, tell your lender after the exemption takes effect. The lower bill means the escrow account will collect more than needed, and under federal rules the servicer must refund a surplus of $50 or more within 30 days of the annual escrow analysis. Ask for an adjustment to your monthly payment so you’re not overpaying into escrow going forward.
Watch the annual notice of appraised value your appraisal district mails each spring. It shows whether the exemption is still applied and whether the 10% cap is holding your value below market. If something looks wrong, contact the appraisal district or file a protest before the deadline printed on the notice.