Texas Homestead Exemptions 2022

Homestead Exemptions remove part of your home’s value from taxation, protect against some creditors and more. In short, they lower your tax payment. Here’s what you need to know to claim your exemption:

* UPDATED to reflect 2023 increase.

• There is no fee to file through your county’s tax appraisal office. Don’t pay a company to do this for you.
• The home must be your principal residence.
• You must have a valid copy of a Texas driver’s license or identification card that matches the homestead address.
• Homestead exemption applications are due by April 30.
• Application for homestead exemption is available at the county appraisal district (CAD).
• You can now file for the exemption immediately after purchasing the home and obtaining Texas identification with that address to get a prorated exemption.
• Homestead owner must be an individual (not a corporation or business entity).
• If the individual lives in a dwelling, a homestead can be a separate structure, condominium or mobile home located on owned or leased land.
• You only need to file once unless you move or get a notice from the chief appraiser.

Additional information from Designated Title
Starting January 2022, Texas homeowners who qualify for a homestead exemption will become immediately eligible to receive a property tax reduction when they purchase their property. Those buyers will receive the exemption allocated proportionally from the time they purchase the property. For example, if the buyer purchases the property in February, they will receive the homestead exemption on that year’s tax bill for February through the end of the year.

Texas homestead exemptions from counties, schools, cities, and special districts reduce the property taxes for the homeowner. The amounts vary from county to county. All Texas homesteads receive a $100,000 exemption on their home's value from school property taxes. Other local entities, like cities and counties, offer a separate residence homestead exemption. A homestead exemption can typically save a homeowner 10% to 20% on their property taxes.

Take Advantage of Homestead Exemptions from the Texas Comptroller

One of the easiest ways a homeowner can lower his or her property tax bill is to file a homestead exemption. A homestead is generally the house and land used as the owner’s principal residence on Jan. 1 of the tax year.

Homestead exemptions reduce the appraised value of your home and, as a result, lower your property taxes. To apply for an exemption on your residence homestead, contact the (NAME) Appraisal District.

Available homestead exemptions include:
• School taxes: All homeowners may receive a $100,000 homestead exemption for school taxes.

• County taxes: If a county collects a special tax for farm-to-market roads or flood control, a homeowner may receive a $3,000 homestead exemption for this tax.

• Age and disability exemptions: Individuals 65 or older or disabled as defined by law may qualify for a $10,000 homestead exemption for school taxes, in addition to the $40,000 exemption available to all homeowners. Also, any taxing unit may offer a local optional exemption of at least $3,000 for taxpayers age 65 or older and/or disabled. Older or disabled homeowners do not need to own their homes on Jan. 1 to qualify for the $10,000 homestead exemption. They qualify as soon as they turn age 65 or become disabled.

• Taxing units may offer a local option exemption based on a percentage of a home's appraised value. Any taxing unit can exempt up to 20 percent of the value of each qualified homestead. No matter what percentage of value the taxing unit adopts, the dollar value of the exemption must be at least $5,000.

• Partial exemption for disabled veterans: Texas law provides partial exemptions for any property owned by disabled veterans, surviving spouses and surviving children of deceased disabled veterans. This includes homesteads donated to disabled veterans by charitable organizations at no cost or not more than 50 percent of the good faith estimate of the homestead’s market value to the disabled veterans and their surviving spouses. The percentage of service-connected disability determines the exemption amount.

• 100 Percent Residence Homestead Exemption for Disabled Veterans: A disabled veteran awarded 100 percent disability compensation due to a service-connected disability and a rating of 100 percent disabled or of individual unemployability from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs is entitled to an exemption from taxation of the total appraised value of the veteran's residence homestead. Surviving spouses of veterans who qualified for this exemption or who would have qualified for this exemption if it had been in effect at the time of the veteran’s death are also eligible with certain restrictions. The residence homestead application must be filed if this exemption is claimed.

• Surviving Spouses of Members of the U.S. Armed Services Killed in the Line of Duty: The surviving spouse of a member of the U.S. armed services who is killed or fatally injured in the line of duty is allowed a 100 percent property tax exemption on his or her residence homestead if the surviving spouse has not remarried since the death of the armed services member.

• Surviving Spouses of First Responders Killed in the Line of Duty: The eligible surviving spouse of a first responder killed in the line of duty is allowed a 100 percent property tax exemption on his or her residence homestead if the surviving spouse has not remarried since the death of the first responder.

For more details on homestead exemptions, contact the Central Appraisal District (CAD) at the links below. The homestead exemption application is available online at:
comptroller.texas.gov/forms/50-114.pdf

 
You may file an exemption with your appraisal district for the homestead exemption up to two years after the taxes on the homestead are due. Once you receive the exemption, you do not need to reapply unless the chief appraiser sends you a new application. In that case, you must file the new application. If you should move or your qualification ends, you must inform the appraisal district in writing before the next May 1st. A list of appraisal district addresses and phone numbers is available online.

These are the Comptroller links to DFW counties:

Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Rockwall and Tarrant

* Many counties allow the exemption to be filed via email.

I've Got Your Six!

Mark M. Hancock, GRI, MRP, AHWD
REALTOR, New Build certified
214-862-7212
DFWmark.com