The Texas over-65 property tax exemption gives homeowners aged 65 or older an extra $60,000 off their home’s appraised value for school district taxes, stacked on top of the $140,000 general homestead exemption every Texas homeowner receives. Combined, that shields $200,000 of your home’s value from the biggest line on most Texas property tax bills. Just as valuable, qualifying freezes your school district tax bill at the dollar amount you paid in your first eligible year, so future rate hikes and rising appraisals can’t push it higher.
What You Actually Save
The exemption works in two layers. Every Texas homeowner who lives in their home as a principal residence gets a $140,000 general homestead exemption from school district taxes. When you turn 65, an additional $60,000 exemption is added on top.1State of Texas. Texas Code Tax – Section 11.13 – Residence Homestead The general amount rose from $100,000 to $140,000 after Texas voters approved a constitutional amendment in November 2025.
Counties, cities, and special districts can offer their own over-65 exemptions on the taxes they levy. If a local taxing unit adopts one, it must be worth at least $3,000 off your appraised value, and many are set higher.1State of Texas. Texas Code Tax – Section 11.13 – Residence Homestead Call your county appraisal district to find out what your local taxing units offer, because the total benefit varies by community.2Texas Comptroller. Local Property Appraisal and Tax Information
The School District Tax Ceiling
The ceiling is often more valuable over time than the dollar exemption itself. Once you qualify, your school district taxes are locked at whatever you paid in your first qualifying year. If your appraised value climbs or the school district raises its rate, your bill stays at that frozen amount. It can drop below the ceiling if values fall, but it can never go above it.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code – Section 11.26
The ceiling only resets upward when you make improvements that add value to the home. Adding a room, building a garage, or putting in a pool all count. The district applies its current tax rate to the value added by the improvement, and your ceiling moves to the new, higher amount. Routine repairs and ordinary maintenance don’t change it.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code – Section 11.26
One boundary matters: the mandatory ceiling applies only to school district taxes. Counties, cities, and special districts are not required to freeze your taxes, though some have adopted voluntary freezes. Whether other taxing units cap your bill depends on where you live.
Who Qualifies
Three things have to be true:
- You are 65 or older. Eligibility starts the day you turn 65, even mid-year.
- You have an ownership interest in the property.
- The home is your principal residence. Vacation homes and rentals don’t count.
You don’t have to wait for the next January to claim it.4Texas Comptroller. Property Tax Exemptions If you already have the general homestead exemption and the appraisal district has your correct birth date on file, the over-65 exemption may be applied automatically when you reach 65, with no new paperwork required.5Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Residential Homestead Exemptions
How to Apply
File Form 50-114, Application for Residence Homestead Exemption, with the appraisal district in the county where your home is located. One form covers all homestead exemptions; complete the section for age 65 or older.6Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Application for Residence Homestead Exemption Form 50-114 Most appraisal districts accept applications by mail, in person, or through an online portal.
You’ll need to submit:
- A copy of your Texas driver’s license or state-issued ID with an address matching the property.
- Your date of birth, used to verify eligibility.
- If you own a manufactured home, a copy of your Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs statement of ownership, or a purchase agreement, or a sworn affidavit if neither is available.
The form is free from your county appraisal district or the Texas Comptroller’s website.6Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Application for Residence Homestead Exemption Form 50-114
Deadlines
The standard filing deadline for homestead exemptions is April 30 of the tax year, but seniors get more flexibility: you can apply at any point during the year you turn 65, even after April 30 has passed. If you miss that window entirely, you can still file a late application up to two years after the delinquency date for that year’s taxes. If you already paid the taxes before your late application is approved, the taxing units will refund the overpayment automatically, with no separate refund request needed.7State of Texas. Texas Code Tax – Section 11.431 – Late Application for Homestead Exemption
Once the exemption is approved, you don’t reapply each year. It stays on your property as long as you own it and live there as your principal residence.5Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Residential Homestead Exemptions
Taking Your Tax Ceiling to a New Home
Moving within Texas doesn’t mean losing your ceiling. You can transfer a proportional version of it to your next home. The new school district calculates what your taxes at the new home would be in the first year without any ceiling, then multiplies that figure by the ratio of your actual capped taxes at the old home to what the old home’s taxes would have been without the cap.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code – Section 11.26
In plain terms, if your ceiling was saving you about 40% at the old home, you’ll see roughly 40% savings at the new one. To request the transfer, check the tax limitation transfer box on Form 50-114 and list your previous address and county. You can also request a written certificate from the former appraisal district with the figures needed to calculate the new ceiling.6Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Application for Residence Homestead Exemption Form 50-114
If Your Spouse Dies
A surviving spouse can keep both the over-65 exemption and the tax ceiling if the spouse was 55 or older when the qualifying homeowner died, was living in the home at that time, and continues to own and live in the home. The surviving spouse also keeps the ability to carry the ceiling to a new home under the same portability rules.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code – Section 11.26 If the homeowner died in the same year they first qualified, the ceiling is calculated as if they had been eligible for the full year, so the surviving spouse isn’t penalized for a mid-year death.
If You Also Qualify for the Disability Exemption
If you’re 65 or older and also have a qualifying disability, you can’t stack both exemptions from the same taxing unit. For school district taxes, you choose whichever gives you the larger benefit. You can, however, take the over-65 exemption from one taxing unit and the disability exemption from another in the same year.8Office of the Texas Governor. Tax Exemptions Each exemption comes with its own ceiling, so compare the combinations across all your taxing units before choosing.