The Texas homestead exemption, explained
What comes off the bill, which taxes it touches, when to file, and what to do with a verification letter from your appraisal district.
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How much does a Texas homestead exemption take off?
Last verified September 2026. Source: Texas Comptroller.
Which taxes it actually lowers
The headline number is a school tax number. Under Tax Code 11.13(b) school districts exempt $140,000 of the value of a residence homestead, and 11.13(c) adds another $60,000 for owners who are 65 or older or who qualify as disabled, for $200,000 in total. Those amounts came from SB 4 and SB 23 with SJR 2 and SJR 85, which voters approved on November 4 2025. They apply to the 2025 tax year, so they belong on bills mailed from October 2025 forward. The school amount went from $100,000 to $140,000, and the age 65 and disabled amount went from $10,000 to $60,000.
Every other taxing unit is its own decision. A county, city, or special district may adopt a local homestead exemption of up to 20 percent of the home value under 11.13(n), and a county that levies a farm to market or flood control tax gives $3,000 under 11.13(a). Whether your city or county adopted anything, and how much, shows on your own bill. Confirm it with your appraisal district before you count on a number.
How to file it, step by step
One form, one office, no fee. The whole filing is Form 50-114 plus an identification document, sent to the appraisal district for your county.
Download Form 50-114
The application for a residence homestead exemption is Form 50-114 from the Texas Comptroller. If your appraisal district posts its own version of the same form, use that one, and use the current year version.
Attach the identification the statute asks for
Tax Code 11.43(j) generally asks for a copy of a Texas driver license or a state issued personal identification certificate, and the address on it generally has to match the address of the property you are claiming. If the license still shows an old address, update it before you file.
File it with your county appraisal district
Send the application to the appraisal district that appraises the property, not to the Comptroller and not to the tax office that sends the bill. Filing is free. No district charges for a homestead application, so nobody needs to be paid to file one for you.
Check the April notice for the exemption line
When the notice of appraised value comes in April, read the exemption line and confirm the homestead is on it. If it is missing, call the appraisal district before the protest deadline and ask what they still need.
The deadline, and the two-year window if you miss it
The application is generally due before May 1 under Tax Code 11.43(d), which in practice means April 30. Missing it does not end the matter. Section 11.431 generally lets the chief appraiser accept a late homestead application for up to two years after the delinquency date for the taxes on the home, and when a late application is approved the collector generally refunds the tax already paid on the exempted amount within 60 days. So a bill you already paid can still turn into money back. Confirm the window and the process with your appraisal district.
If you just bought the house
New owners used to wait for the next January 1. Since 2022, Tax Code 11.42(f) generally lets a buyer receive the exemption for the rest of the purchase year when the seller did not have a homestead exemption on the property. The Comptroller describes it as qualifying for the applicable portion of the tax year immediately. File as soon as you own and occupy the home, and confirm the timing with your appraisal district.
The 10 percent cap on how fast the appraised value of a homestead can rise, under Tax Code 23.23, is a separate benefit and it starts the year after your first qualifying year. That is one more reason to file the first year rather than the second.
The SB 1801 verification letter
SB 1801, passed in 2023, added Tax Code 11.43(h-1): an appraisal district has to re-verify that each granted homestead exemption still qualifies at least once every five years. Districts work through the roll sector by sector, so the letter reaches different neighborhoods in different years, and yours arriving is not a sign anything is wrong. What matters is answering it. Return the district form, or a fresh Form 50-114 with your identification, by the date on the letter. Not responding can remove the exemption. You never reapply on a schedule of your own, only when the district asks by mail. Collin CAD publishes a plain description of how the audit runs. Confirm your own letter with your appraisal district, and read what the letter asks for.
At 65 or older, or with a disability
The extra $60,000 under 11.13(c) is only part of it. The school tax ceiling in Tax Code 11.26 freezes the school tax on the home, and under 11.26(g) that ceiling can transfer as a percentage to your next home in Texas, so moving does not throw the benefit away. Under 11.42(c) the exemption is generally available in the year you turn 65, not the year after, and under 11.26(i) a surviving spouse who is at least 55 generally keeps the ceiling. Confirm every date with your appraisal district.
ExemptLand pre-fills Form 50-114 from the county record for your address. You review it, sign it, and file it yourself. ExemptLand does not file on your behalf, and none of this is legal or tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
- How much is the Texas homestead exemption in 2026?
- For school district taxes, $140,000 of the home value is exempt under Tax Code 11.13(b). Owners who are 65 or older or who qualify as disabled get another $60,000 under 11.13(c), for $200,000 in total. Other taxing units are separate. Confirm the amounts on your own account with your appraisal district.
- When is the homestead deadline, and can I file late?
- The application is generally due before May 1, which in practice means April 30 (Tax Code 11.43(d)). A late application is generally accepted for up to two years after the delinquency date for that year, and under 11.431 the collector generally refunds tax already paid on the exempted amount within 60 days. Confirm the dates with your appraisal district.
- I just bought the house. When do I file?
- File as soon as you own and occupy it. Since 2022 a buyer may generally receive the exemption for the applicable portion of the purchase year if the seller did not have a homestead exemption on the property (Tax Code 11.42(f)). Confirm with your appraisal district, because the earlier rule made new owners wait until January 1 of the next year.
- Do I have to reapply every year?
- No. Form 50-114 is filed once, and there is no annual renewal. The one exception is a verification request: under Tax Code 11.43(h-1) the appraisal district has to re-verify every homestead at least once every five years, and if they mail you a request you have to answer it.
- I got a homestead verification letter. Is it real?
- A letter from your own appraisal district asking you to verify the homestead is normal and comes from SB 1801 (2023), which added Tax Code 11.43(h-1). Districts work through their rolls sector by sector, so your neighbor may get one in a different year. Respond only to mail from the district itself, and never pay a third party to answer it.
- Does the $140,000 come off my county and city taxes?
- No. The $140,000 under 11.13(b) applies to school district taxes only. Any other taxing unit may adopt a local homestead exemption of up to 20 percent of value under 11.13(n), and a county that levies a farm to market or flood control tax gives $3,000 under 11.13(a). What your county and city actually adopted is on your bill, so confirm it with your appraisal district.
- Will my October tax bill show it?
- It should. The $140,000 amount came from SB 4 and SJR 2, which voters approved on November 4 2025 and which applies to the 2025 tax year, so it belongs on bills mailed from October 2025 forward. Read the school district line on the bill, and if the exemption is missing, ask the appraisal district about filing late under 11.431.
- What changes at 65 or with a disability?
- You get another $60,000 off school taxes, for $200,000 in total, and the school tax ceiling under Tax Code 11.26 freezes the school tax on the home. Under 11.42(c) the exemption is generally available in the year you turn 65 rather than the year after, under 11.26(g) the ceiling can transfer as a percentage to your next Texas home, and under 11.26(i) a surviving spouse who is at least 55 generally keeps it. Confirm your own dates with the appraisal district.
Official sources
- 1.Texas Comptroller, residence homestead exemptions
- 2.Form 50-114, residence homestead exemption application
- 3.Texas Tax Code 11.13, residence homestead exemption amounts
- 4.Texas Tax Code 11.43, application and verification
- 5.Texas Tax Code 11.431, late homestead applications
- 6.Texas Tribune, the November 4 2025 property tax vote
- 7.Collin CAD on the SB 1801 homestead verification
Related
This page provides general information only and is not legal or tax advice. Amounts, deadlines, and local exemptions vary, so confirm them with your appraisal district before you rely on them.