The Texas homestead exemption is the single most valuable property-tax break a homeowner gets — and it just got bigger. Proposition 13, passed by Texas voters in November 2025, raised the school-district homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000. Combined with the 10% appraisal cap and the age-65/disabled add-ons, a typical homestead homeowner now shields tens of thousands of dollars of value from school-district taxes every year.
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A homestead exemption removes a fixed dollar amount of your home's appraised value from taxation by participating jurisdictions. If your home is appraised at $400,000 and you have the standard $140,000 school-district homestead exemption, your school-district taxable value is $260,000 — and the school-district portion of your bill is calculated on the smaller number. Cities, counties, and special districts each set their own rules; they often add an optional 1-20% homestead exemption of their own.
The exemption is also a gateway requirement for two of the most powerful protections in the Texas property tax code: the 10% appraisal cap and (for qualifying homeowners) the over-65 / disabled tax ceiling. Without an active homestead exemption, neither protection applies to your home.
Texas Tax Code §23.23 limits how fast the assessed (taxable) value of a homestead-exempt residence can rise from year to year — to 10% maximum per year, no matter how far the appraised (market) value moves. If your home's appraised value jumped $100,000 last year on the CAD's notice, the assessed value used to calculate your bill can only have grown 10% of last year's assessed value. The difference between the two is the "homestead cap loss," a line item printed on every Notice of Appraised Value.
The cap doesn't apply in your first qualifying year. Texas law requires you to have held an active homestead exemption on January 1 of the prior year for the cap to kick in. So a buyer who closed in 2025 gets no cap protection for 2026 — the appraised value and assessed value can be equal that first full year. The cap starts protecting them in 2027.
The cap also resets in two circumstances: when the property changes ownership, and when significant new improvements are added (additions, finished basements, major remodels). The reset is property-by-property, not owner-by-owner, so a brand-new owner inherits no cap history from the previous owner.
Homeowners frequently misunderstand this — sometimes to the tune of thousands of dollars in lost savings. The protest fight is over your appraised value, even if your assessed value is lower because of the cap. Here's why bothering to protest still pays:
Bottom line: even with a homestead exemption and an active cap, an appraisal protest is worth filing if there's room to reduce your appraised value. Here's the evidence that wins.
The application is Texas Comptroller Form 50-114 ("Application for Residence Homestead Exemption"). Most county appraisal districts accept it online through their portal; all accept paper forms by mail or in person.
You'll need:
Texas changed the application window in 2022: you can now apply any time during the year you qualify, not just before April 30. If approved, the exemption is retroactive to January 1. If you missed previous years, Tax Code §11.431 lets you file a late application for up to two prior years and receive a retroactive refund. It's a one-time application — you don't refile each year unless eligibility changes.
For school-district taxes, the standard residence-homestead exemption is $140,000 of appraised value, raised from $100,000 by Proposition 13 in November 2025. Homeowners 65 or older or disabled get an additional $60,000 on top of that. Many cities, counties, and special districts add their own optional homestead exemptions of 1-20% — those vary by jurisdiction.
Texas Tax Code §23.23 limits how fast the assessed (taxable) value of a home with an active homestead exemption can rise — capped at 10% per year, regardless of how much the appraised (market) value moves. The cap doesn't apply in the year you first qualify; it kicks in starting on January 1 of the second year you've held the exemption. The cap also resets when the property's owner changes, or when significant improvements (additions, major remodels) are added.
You must (1) own the property on January 1 of the tax year, (2) use it as your principal residence, and (3) not claim a homestead exemption on any other property. Texas now allows you to apply at any time during the year of qualification, not just before April 30 — the legislature changed this in 2022. The exemption is retroactive to January 1 once approved.
File Form 50-114 ('Application for Residence Homestead Exemption') with your county appraisal district. Most CADs accept applications online; all accept paper forms by mail or in person. You'll need a Texas driver's license or state ID showing the property address. The application is one-time — you don't refile each year — but you must notify the district if eligibility changes.
The cap resets when the property changes hands. If you bought a home in 2025, the 2026 appraised value can match the market value with no cap protection. The 10% cap will start protecting you in 2027, the second January 1 you've held the exemption. This is why a recent buyer's first-year appraisal often jumps significantly — there's no cap shielding the move.
Yes — and people often miss this. Your protest fight is over the appraised value, not the assessed (capped) value. Even if your assessed value can only rise 10% this year, reducing your appraised value still pays off the moment your appraised value drops below the cap, AND it sets a lower base for future caps. A successful protest now compounds for every year the cap would otherwise have been increasing your taxable value.
The statistics on this page are best-effort aggregates compiled from public county appraisal-district records as of the data extract date noted above. We update them periodically; we cannot guarantee they reflect the most recent appraisal-roll certifications, post-extract value changes, or supplemental records.
Always verify deadlines, portal availability, and contact details with your county's central appraisal district before filing — the links to each county's official site are provided above.
The information on this page is provided for general educational purposes only. It is not property-tax advice, legal advice, or financial advice. Property tax law and appraisal-district procedures change; for guidance specific to your situation you should consult a qualified professional.
Looking up an address through this site or generating a free estimate does not create a customer relationship with Protesting Property Taxes. You become a customer of our service when you purchase a report.
The homestead exemption protects your assessed value, but your appraised value still drives next year's starting point — and it still compounds. Enter your address; we'll show you a free analysis of where the CAD's number may leave room for a reduction.
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