Texas Homestead Exemption: Do You Qualify?

Last reviewed: October 2026 · Covers: general homestead, 65 or older, disabled, disabled veteran and surviving spouse exemptions

The short answer: if you own your Texas home and live in it, your school district must take $140,000 off its value before taxing it. If you are 65 or older or disabled, it takes off another $60,000 and your school taxes are capped. You apply once, for free, with your county appraisal district. It is never automatic the first time.

Answer the questions below to see which Texas exemptions you qualify for, roughly what they save, and which form to file.

The Texas homestead exemptions, in plain English

General homestead: $140,000 off for school taxes

Every school district in Texas must exempt $140,000 of a homestead's value (Tax Code §11.13(b)). On a $300,000 home you pay school taxes as if it were worth $160,000. School taxes are usually the biggest single line on a Texas bill, so this is the exemption that matters most.

Two smaller pieces can stack on top:

• Local option, up to 20%. Any city, county, school district or special district may exempt up to 20% of the home's value (at least $5,000). Many don't. Your appraisal district's account page shows which of your taxing units offer it.
• $3,000 county exemption, only in counties that collect a farm-to-market road or flood control tax.

Age 65 or older, or disabled: another $60,000 off, and a school tax ceiling

School districts must exempt an extra $60,000 for owners who are 65 or older or disabled (§11.13(c)), so $200,000 in total. Cities, counties, school districts and special districts can add their own on top (at least $3,000).

The bigger long-run benefit is the tax ceiling. Once you have this exemption, your school district taxes on the home are capped. They generally won't rise above the amount for the year you qualified, even if your value or the tax rate goes up. They can still go up if you add on to the home. Counties, cities and junior college districts can choose to offer a ceiling of their own (§11.261).

• It counts for the whole year you turn 65. You don't have to wait for your birthday.
• If you already have the general homestead and the appraisal district has your correct birth date, you may get the 65 exemption without a new application. Check your next notice to make sure it's there.
• Disabled means you meet Social Security's definition of disabled. Disability from another program doesn't automatically count.
• If you are both 65 and disabled, you get one or the other from each taxing unit, not both.
• If a 65-or-older owner dies, a spouse who was 55 or older at the time keeps the school tax ceiling and any local 65-or-older exemption, as long as they still live in the home. Ask your appraisal district what else carries over.

Disabled veterans

• 100% disabled or individual unemployability: the whole homestead is exempt from property tax (§11.131). This also passes to a surviving spouse who hasn't remarried.
• Partial ratings take a fixed amount off the value of any one property you own, for every taxing unit (§11.22): 10-29% up to $5,000; 30-49% up to $7,500; 50-69% up to $10,000; 70-100% up to $12,000. A veteran who is 65 or older with at least a 10% rating, is blind in one or both eyes, or has lost the use of a limb gets $12,000.
• The partial exemption is a separate form: Form 50-135. The 100% exemption uses the normal homestead form, 50-114.

Surviving spouses with a total exemption

These surviving spouses owe no property tax on their homestead, as long as they haven't remarried:

• the spouse of a U.S. armed services member killed in the line of duty (§11.133)
• the spouse of a first responder killed in the line of duty (§11.134)
• the spouse of a veteran who died of a condition or disease the VA recognizes as service-related, whatever the veteran's disability rating was (§11.136)

How to apply

1. Get Form 50-114, the Application for Residence Homestead Exemption, from your county appraisal district or the Comptroller's site. Many appraisal districts also let you file online.
2. Attach a copy of your Texas driver's license or ID showing the home's address. The appraisal district can't grant the exemption without it. Two exceptions: if you live in a care facility or are in the Attorney General's address confidentiality program, you don't need to send a license copy. If you're active-duty military (or a military spouse), or hold one of the special licenses some judges and peace officers get, you can ask the district to waive the address match. Military applicants send a copy of their military ID and a utility bill instead.
3. File it with the appraisal district in the county where the home is. Do not send it to the Comptroller. There's no fee. Be wary of companies that mail homeowners an offer to file it for a fee.
4. Check your next appraisal notice to confirm the exemption is on it.

You only apply once. The exemption stays until you move or the appraisal district asks you to reapply. If you stop qualifying (you move out or rent the home), you must tell the appraisal district in writing before May 1 of the next year.

Deadlines

• April 30 is the normal deadline for the year you're applying for.
• Bought after January 1? Apply as soon as you've moved in. You can get the exemption for the rest of that year, as long as the seller didn't already have it for that year.
• Missed it? You can file a late application for the general, 65-or-older or disabled exemption up to two years after the deadline. Disabled veterans applying for the 100% exemption get up to five years (§11.439).

The 10% cap you get after the first year

Starting the year after a home first qualifies for the homestead exemption, its appraised value can't go up more than 10% a year, however fast the market rises (new additions don't count toward the cap). If your notice shows a jump bigger than 10% on a home you've had the exemption on, that's worth questioning. Our Texas protest guide explains how to protest, and the May 15 deadline.

Common questions

How much is the Texas homestead exemption?

School districts must exempt $140,000 of a homestead's value. Owners 65 or older or disabled get another $60,000, for $200,000 in total, plus a ceiling on school taxes. Cities, counties, school districts and special districts may add a local-option exemption of up to 20% of the value.

When is the deadline to apply for a Texas homestead exemption?

Generally April 30 of the year you are applying for. If you buy a home after January 1, you can apply as soon as you live in it. A late application for the general, 65-or-older or disabled exemption can be filed up to two years after the deadline.

Is the Texas homestead exemption automatic?

No. You must file Form 50-114 with your county appraisal district, with a copy of a Texas driver's license or ID showing the home's address. After it is granted you don't reapply each year unless the appraisal district asks.

Do I get the over-65 exemption automatically?

Possibly. If you already have the general homestead exemption and the appraisal district has your correct birth date, you may not need a new application. The exemption counts for the whole year you turn 65.

What exemption do disabled veterans get in Texas?

A veteran rated 100% disabled or individually unemployable by the VA pays no property tax on their homestead. Partial ratings take $5,000 to $12,000 off the value of one property, depending on the rating.

Sources

• Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Exemptions
• Texas Comptroller, Residence Homestead Exemptions (January 2026)
• Texas Comptroller, Form 50-114, Application for Residence Homestead Exemption
• Texas Comptroller, Texas Property Tax Exemptions (publication 96-1740)
• Texas Tax Code §§11.13, 11.131, 11.133, 11.134, 11.136, 11.22, 11.26, 11.261, 11.42, 11.431, 11.439, 23.23

Edited by The Editorial Team. Based on the Texas Comptroller's published rules and the Texas Tax Code. Exemption amounts and local options change; confirm with your county appraisal district. Not legal or tax advice.