What is a Homestead Exemption?
A homestead exemption is an exemption that removes all or a portion of value from your residence homestead as authorized by the State or adopted by a local taxing unit.
A homestead exemption also limits the increase of your appraised value to 10% annually. This limitation is commonly referred to as a "homestead cap".
A homestead cap may exceed the 10% increase if additional improvements, land, or extensive renovations are added to your residence homestead.
Qualifying individuals must submit an application in order to receive the homestead exemption. You must complete a subsequent application if requested by the chief appraiser in order to continue benefits of a homestead exemption.
There is no fee for filing an application for a homestead exemption.
What is a Residence Homestead?
A residence homestead is a structure (including mobile home) and land (up to 20 acres) that is:
- Owned by one or more individuals or qualifying trust,
- Designed or adapted for human residence,
- Is used as a residence, and
- Is occupied by the owner(s) as their principal residence
What Will You Need?
Before you start the Homestead Exemption application process make sure you:
- Have a copy of your driver's license or personal identification certificate. Your driver's license needs to be from the Texas Department of Public Safety (TX DPS), and the address must match the homestead address. License to carry and election identification certificates are not acceptable forms of identification.
- Have a copy of all specified documents for the types of exemption (see below for details) you qualify for.
- Are logged into your TAD.org account to complete the application online. If you do not have an existing account, you can create a free one here.
- Have added your property Account Number to your dashboard, which requires an Online PIN. If you do not have an Online PIN for the Account you wish to add to your Dashboard, you can find it on your current year's Value Notice, Sales Survey Letter, or please request one by following this link: Request Online PIN. The Online PIN will be mailed to the Owner's Address that TAD has on file and you should receive it in 2-3 business days.
- Review or Update your profile with your most current information.
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING YOUR PRIVACY: For your privacy and safety TAD removes all files uploaded for the purpose of filling out this application from our website once the application has been processed. We also routinely delete uploaded files for incomplete applications.
What Types of Homestead Exemptions are Available?
A general residential homestead exemption is available to taxpayers who own and reside at a property as of January 1st of the year. Effective January 1, 2022, a qualified property owner may claim the residence homestead exemption as of the date that they own and occupy the property as their principal residence if the previous owner did not claim a homestead exemption in the same tax year.
Required Documents:
- A copy of your Texas driver's license or personal identification certificate
An over 65 exemption is available to property owners the year they become 65 years old. By state law, this exemption is $10,000 for school districts. Other taxing units may adopt this exemption and determine its amount. This exemption also limits the amount of school taxes you will pay every year to the amount you paid the first or second year you qualified (whichever is lower). This limitation is known as a tax ceiling or tax freeze. So, if you turn 65 this year and qualify for this exemption, your school taxes will not increase above the tax ceiling as long as you do not add any improvements such as a garage or pool to your home. If you do add improvements to your home, the tax ceiling can increase. Tax ceilings are mandatory for school districts, however a county, city, or junior college may also limit taxes for individuals with this exemption if the governing body adopts a tax ceiling.
If you are an over 65 homeowner and purchase or move into a different home in Texas, you may also transfer the same percentage of tax paid to a new qualified homestead. This is known as a ceiling transfer (Request to Cancel/Port Exemptions). It is possible to transfer your tax ceiling for county, city, or junior college taxes if they have adopted a tax ceiling and you move to another home within the same taxing unit.
If a homeowner claiming this exemption passes away and their spouse is 55 or older and continues to own and claim the home as their residence homestead, the spouse can continue to hold the exemptions and tax ceiling on the property.
Required Documents:
- Surviving spouses must provide proof of age of the survivor
- Proof of death of the deceased spouse
- A copy of your Texas driver's license or personal identification certificate
A person who meets the Social Security Administration's standards for disability may be eligible for a special homestead exemption, even if they are not receiving disability benefits. This means that a person has a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that prevents them from engaging in any substantial gainful activity and the impairment is expected to last for at least 12 months or result in death. A person who receives disability benefits under the Federal Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program could also qualify.
Similar to the exemption available for people over 65, an exemption for a person with disabilities provides for a tax ceiling for school taxes. If you receive this exemption and purchase or move into a different home in Texas, you may also transfer the same percentage of tax paid to a new qualified homestead. This is known as a ceiling transfer (Request to Cancel/Port Exemptions). It is possible to transfer your tax ceiling for county, city, or junior college taxes if they have adopted a tax ceiling and you move to another home within the same taxing unit.
If a homeowner claiming this exemption passes away and their spouse is 55 or older and continues to own the home, the spouse can continue to hold the tax ceiling on the property.
Required Documents:
- A currently dated disability letter from one doctor [you may obtain form from here: 5205 Form or call 817-284-4063] OR
- A currently dated award letter from Social Security Administration that states the date you became disabled
- A copy of your Texas driver's license or personal identification certificate
A disabled veteran who receives 100% disability compensation due to a service connected disability and a rating of 100% disabled or of individual unemployability from the Department of Veterans Affairs can receive an exemption from taxation of the total appraised value of the veteran's qualifying residence homestead.
Surviving spouses of veterans who qualified for the 100% Disabled Veteran Exemption or who would have qualified for it at the time of their death are eligible if the surviving spouse has not remarried, the property was the surviving spouse's residence homestead at the time of the veteran's death, and the property remains the surviving spouse's qualifying residence homestead. A qualifying surviving spouse may transfer a flat dollar amount to a subsequent residence if the qualifying spouse has not remarried.
Required Documents:
- A copy of documentation from the Department of Veterans Affairs showing 100% compensation due to a service-connected disability (including effective date of service connected disability and a rating of 100% disabled or of individual unemployability)
- A copy of documentation from the Department of Veterans Affairs naming the surviving spouse
- A copy of death certificate
- A copy of your Texas driver's license or personal identification certificate
Texas law provides partial exemptions for property owned by veterans who are disabled and who own and occupy homes that have been donated by a charitable organization. The exemption amount is determined by the percentage of service-connected disability.
To qualify, you must be a veteran, a Texas resident, and be classified as disabled with a service connected disability of 10% or more by your service branch or the Veterans Administration.
A surviving spouse may qualify for this exemption if they are a Texas resident and have not remarried.
Required Documents:
- A copy of documentation from the Department of Veterans Affairs indicating the percent of disability awarded
- Proof of donation by a charitable organization
- A copy of your Texas driver's license or personal identification certificate
The surviving spouse of a member of the U.S. armed services who was killed or fatally injured in the line of duty is allowed a 100% property tax exemption on a residence homestead if they have not remarried.
Required Documents:
- A copy of report of casualty from the armed services
- A copy of your marriage license
- A copy of your Texas driver's license or personal identification certificate
The surviving spouse of a first responder killed or fatally injured in the line of duty is eligible for a 100% property tax exemption on a residence homestead if they have not remarried.
Required Documents:
- A copy of documentation that the spouse was killed in the line of duty per the employees retirement system of Texas (ERS)
- A copy of your marriage license
- A copy of your Texas driver's license or personal identification certificate
Applying for a Homestead Exemption
If you are logged into TAD.org and have added your property Account Number to your dashboard you can use our online Homestead Application below to go through the process step-by-step. If you do not have a TAD.org account you can create one for free here. If you would rather fill out the form you can download it here.
Please make sure you are logged in and have signed the TAD.org Terms and Conditions to use this form.
Additional Questions?
If you have any questions or need assistance, please refer to the video below or contact an Exemptions Specialist representative by calling (817) 284-4063 or by visiting the Contact Us page.