Who Is Exempt From Paying Property Taxes in Texas?

In Texas, a 100 percent disabled veteran and the surviving spouse of a U.S. service member killed in the line of duty pay no property tax on their home. Everyone else who qualifies for an exemption gets a reduction, not a free pass. The main groups entitled to relief are homeowners living in their own house, seniors 65 and older, people who meet the Social Security definition of disabled, veterans with service-connected disabilities, certain surviving spouses, and qualifying religious, charitable, and agricultural property owners. The size of the break depends on which category you fit, and some can be stacked.

Homeowners Living in Their Own House

Any adult who owns and occupies a Texas home as a principal residence qualifies for the general residence homestead exemption. Every school district in the state must exempt the first $140,000 of the home’s appraised value before calculating the school portion of the bill.¹ On a home appraised at $350,000, school taxes apply only to $210,000. Cities and counties may add their own optional exemptions, typically a percentage of appraised value, but not all of them do.²

A second protection comes with the homestead. Once you qualify, the appraised value used for your tax bill cannot rise more than 10 percent per year, no matter what the market does. The cap takes effect on January 1 of the tax year after you first qualify.³ Major improvements and new construction are added at market value on top of the capped figure, but the underlying home value stays limited.

The homestead exemption only covers your principal residence. Second homes, rentals, and investment properties don’t qualify.

Seniors 65 and Older and People With Disabilities

Homeowners who are 65 or older, or who meet the Social Security Administration’s definition of disabled, receive an additional $60,000 school district exemption on top of the standard $140,000. The combined mandatory school district exemption reaches $200,000 for a qualifying homeowner.¹ Local taxing units can adopt further exemptions of at least $3,000 for these homeowners.²

Qualifying also freezes the school tax bill. The year you first become eligible, the school district locks in that year’s amount as a ceiling. Later value increases and rate changes don’t raise it, and only a substantial improvement to the property adjusts the ceiling. A surviving spouse age 55 or older can inherit the ceiling if the deceased spouse qualified in the year of death and the survivor stays in the home.²

Seniors and disabled homeowners also have the option to defer property taxes entirely for as long as they live in the home. Deferral is not forgiveness. Deferred taxes accrue 5 percent interest per year and come due in full when the property is sold or ownership transfers. Deferred taxes not paid within 180 days after the homeowner no longer qualifies become subject to the standard penalties and collection fees.⁴

Veterans With Service-Connected Disabilities

A veteran rated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or their branch of service as disabled gets a flat dollar reduction from the assessed value of one property they designate, scaled to the rating:⁵

10% to 29% rating: $5,000 off assessed value
30% to 49% rating: $7,500 off assessed value
50% to 69% rating: $10,000 off assessed value
70% to 100% rating: $12,000 off assessed value

The veteran must be a Texas resident. This exemption attaches to a designated property and is not limited to a homestead.

Full Exemption for 100 Percent Disabled Veterans

Under Section 11.131, a veteran rated 100 percent disabled, or classified as unemployable because of a service-connected disability, pays no property tax on their residence homestead. The appraised value doesn’t matter. A home worth $500,000 and a home worth $5 million receive the same complete exemption.⁶

Donated Homes

A disabled veteran rated below 100 percent who receives a home from a charitable organization gets an exemption equal to their disability percentage. A veteran rated 60 percent, for example, has 60 percent of the home’s appraised value exempted.⁵

Surviving Spouses

Several categories of surviving spouses qualify for continued relief:

The surviving spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran keeps the total exemption as long as they do not remarry and the property remains their primary residence.
The surviving spouse of a veteran who received the donated-home exemption keeps the same proportional exemption on the same conditions.
Under Section 11.133, the surviving spouse of a U.S. service member killed or fatally injured in the line of duty receives a total property tax exemption on their residence homestead, which lasts until they remarry.⁵
A surviving spouse age 55 or older can continue a deceased spouse’s school tax ceiling if the deceased qualified in the year of death.

The line-of-duty benefit is one of the most overlooked exemptions in the state. Qualifying spouses sometimes go years without claiming it.

Religious and Charitable Organizations

Nonprofits can qualify for full exemptions under Tax Code Sections 11.18 and 11.20, but the standards are strict. A religious organization must use its property primarily for worship or spiritual development. The exemption covers the sanctuary, associated parking, and land reasonably necessary for operations. Occasional secular use does not defeat the exemption as long as worship remains the primary function and any income from that use goes back into maintaining the property.¹

A charitable organization must use its property exclusively for charitable purposes that would otherwise fall to the government and must be structured so no profits are distributed to members or directors. Both types of organizations apply through the local appraisal district, which can require documentation of structure and actual use.

Agricultural, Timber, and Wildlife Landowners

Landowners using property primarily for agriculture, timber production, or wildlife management can apply for a special appraisal based on the land’s productive capacity rather than market value. This is technically an alternative valuation under Article VIII, Section 1-d-1 of the Texas Constitution, not an exemption, but the practical effect is the same. A 50-acre parcel near a growing suburb with a $1 million market value might carry a productive agricultural value of $15,000, and the tax bill reflects the lower figure. The land must have been used for qualifying agricultural purposes in at least five of the preceding seven years, and converting the land to a non-agricultural use triggers a rollback tax covering up to five years of the difference.

How to Claim an Exemption

All residence homestead exemptions, including the senior, disability, and disabled veteran versions, go on a single form: the Application for Residence Homestead Exemption, Form 50-114, filed with the appraisal district in the county where the property sits.⁷ You’ll need your property account number from local appraisal records and a Texas driver’s license or state ID with an address matching the property. The address mismatch is the single most common reason applications stall. If you recently moved and haven’t updated your license, update it first.

The standard filing deadline is April 30 of the tax year. A late application is accepted up to two years after the deadline, and disabled veterans seeking the 100 percent exemption or the donated-home exemption have up to five years.⁸ Years outside the late-filing window are gone for good.

1
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Chapter 11 – Taxable Property and Exemptions
2
Comptroller of Public Accounts of Texas. Property Tax Exemptions
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Texas Comptroller. Valuing Property
4
Travis County Tax Office. Property Tax Breaks, Over 65 and Disabled Persons Homestead Exemptions
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Comptroller of Public Accounts of Texas. Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Exemptions Frequently Asked Questions
6
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent or Totally Disabled Veteran
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Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Application for Residence Homestead Exemption Form 50-114
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Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Residential Homestead Exemptions