If you own and live in your Texas home, the homestead exemption takes $140,000 off its value for school taxes ($200,000 if you’re 65 or older or disabled), caps how fast your taxable value can rise, and costs nothing to file. Texas voters raised both amounts in November 2025. Here’s how to make sure you have it.
What it’s worth
| Exemption | School district taxes | Who gets it |
|---|---|---|
| General homestead | $140,000 off your value | Anyone who owns and lives in the home as their main residence |
| Age 65+ or disabled | An extra $60,000 off ($200,000 total) | Owners 65 or older, or who qualify as disabled |
| Local options | Up to 20% off, set by each city, county or district | Varies by taxing unit |
At a typical school tax rate of about 1%, the $140,000 exemption alone saves roughly $1,400 a year. Many cities and counties add their own; for example, San Antonio adds $85,000 for owners 65 and older, and Sugar Land takes 15% off every homestead.
Two more protections come with a homestead:
- 10% cap. Starting the year after you qualify, your taxable value can’t rise more than 10% a year, even if the market value jumps more.
- School tax ceiling for 65+ and disabled owners. Your school taxes are frozen at the amount from the first year you qualify, as long as you don’t add major improvements.
Who qualifies
- You own the home (including through a qualifying trust).
- It’s your principal residence. You can only have one homestead.
- You can apply in the year you buy, as long as the seller didn’t claim the exemption for that year.
How to apply, step by step
- Get Form 50-114, “Residence Homestead Exemption Application,” from your appraisal district’s website. It’s free; ignore mailers that charge to file it.
- Attach a copy of your Texas driver’s license or ID with the property’s address on it. The address must match.
- Add proof if you’re claiming more: a Social Security disability award letter for the disability exemption, or a VA letter for disabled veterans (that uses Form 50-135).
- File it with your county appraisal district, not the state, by April 30. Most districts accept it online, by mail or in person.
- Check it was applied on your next notice of appraised value or on the district’s property search.
Missed the deadline? You can file a late homestead application for up to two years after the taxes became delinquent and get a refund for those years.
Special cases
- Turning 65: if your birthdate is on file, the district adds the over-65 exemption automatically. Check your notice.
- Disabled veterans: $5,000 to $12,000 off depending on your rating; 100% disabled or unemployable veterans pay no property tax on their homestead.
- Surviving spouses: a spouse 55 or older can keep the over-65 exemption; surviving spouses of disabled veterans and of service members or first responders killed in the line of duty have their own exemptions.
- Moving: the school tax ceiling can move with you to a new Texas home, as a percentage.
Exemptions and protests work together
An exemption lowers your taxable value; a protest lowers the value it’s subtracted from. Doing both gives the biggest cut. When you sign up with Recoup Capital, we check your exemptions for free, then protest your value if it’s too high. You only pay if your taxes go down.
Sources: Texas Comptroller, property tax exemptions; Comptroller newsletter on the 2025 increases; disabled veteran FAQ; BCAD Form 50-114; FBCAD homestead exemptions. Tax Code §§11.13, 11.22, 11.131, 11.26, 11.431, 23.23. Not tax advice.