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Property Tax Exemptions
A property tax exemption excludes all or part of a
property's value from property taxation, ultimately resulting in lower property
taxes. A "Partial" exemption excludes a part of the value from taxation and can
exclude all of the value of a property from taxation if the exemption amount
exceeds the market value (i.e., homestead exemption). An "Absolute" or "Total"
exemption excludes the entire property from taxation (i.e., churches).
Homeowner Exemptions
General Residential Homestead Exemption
Over-65 Homestead Exemption
Surviving Spouse of Person Who Received Over-65
Exemption
Disability Homestead Exemption
Surviving Spouse of a Person who Received the
Disability Exemption
Residence Homestead Exemption for Disabled Veteran with 100% Disability
Late Filing
Benefits of Exemptions
Other Exemptions
Disabled Veteran or Survivors of a Disabled
Veteran
Over-65 and Disabled Person Tax Deferral
Charitable Exemptions
Religious Exemptions
Agricultural Appraisal
Freeport Exemptions for Business Personal
Property
Appointment of Tax Consultants
Homeowner Exemptions
General Residential Homestead Exemption
To qualify, the property must be designed or adapted for human
residence and the homeowner must own the property on January 1 of the year
application is made. The person claiming the exemption must reside at the
property on January 1 and cannot claim a homestead exemption on any other
property. If more than one individual (not a married couple) owns the property,
each separate individual must make application if they reside at the property.
Exemptions are allocated according to percent of ownership interest the
applicant has in the property. The exemption application must be completed,
notarized and include a driver’s license or social security number and
date of birth.
Over-65 Homestead Exemption
You may qualify for this exemption on the date you become age 65. You must
submit proof of age. Acceptable proof includes a copy of the front side of your
driver's license or a copy of your birth certificate. If you qualify for the
Over-65 Exemption, there is a property tax “ceiling” that automatically
limits School taxes to the amount you paid in the year that you
qualified for the homestead and Over-65 exemption. A County, City or Junior
College may also limit taxes for the Over-65 Exemption if they adopt a tax
ceiling. Tax ceiling amounts can increase if you add improvements to your home
(i.e., adding a garage, room or pool).
In addition, Over-65 homeowners who purchase or move into a different home in
Texas may also transfer the percentage of school taxes paid, based on
the former home’s school tax ceiling. This is commonly referred to as a Ceiling
Transfer. To transfer your tax ceiling for the purposes of County, City
or Junior College District taxes, however, you must move to another home within
the same taxing unit. You must request a certificate from the Appraisal
District for the former home and take it to the Appraisal District for the new
home, if it is in a different district.
Over-55 Surviving Spouse of a Person who
Received the Over-65 Exemption
If qualified, a Surviving Spouse may receive an extension of the
Over-65 exemption and the tax ceiling. In order to qualify, your deceased
spouse must have been receiving the Over-65 exemption on this residence
homestead or would have applied and qualified before the spouse's death. The
Surviving Spouse must have been 55 years of age or older on the date your
spouse died. You must have ownership in the home and submit proof of age and
proof of death of your spouse.
Disability Homestead Exemption
Persons with disabilities may qualify for this exemption if they 1) qualify for
disability benefits under the federal Old Age, Survivors and Disability
Insurance Program administered by the Social Security Administration or 2)
have a physician's statement indicating the date the disability began and that
you are unable to engage in any substantial gainful work for a period which has
lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12
months or that can be expected to result in death.
If you qualify for the Disability Exemption, there is a property
tax “ceiling” that automatically limits School taxes to the
amount you paid in the year that you qualified for the homestead and Disability
exemption. A County, City or Junior College may also limit taxes for the
Disability Exemption if they adopt a tax ceiling. Tax ceiling amounts can
increase if you add improvements to your home (i.e., adding a garage, room or
pool).
in addition, Disabled homeowners who purchase or move into a
different home in Texas may also transfer the percentage of School taxes
paid, based on the former home’s school tax ceiling. This is commonly referred
to as a Ceiling Transfer. To transfer your tax ceiling for the purposes
of County, City or Junior College District taxes, however, you must move to
another home within the same taxing unit. You must request a certificate from
the appraisal district for the former home and take it to the appraisal
district for the new home, if it is in a different district.
You may not receive both this exemption and the Over-65
exemption.
Surviving Spouse of a Person who Received
the Disability Exemption
There may be additional benefits for the Over-55 Surviving Spouse of a person
who was receiving the Disabled Person exemption before their death. You may
contact the Customer Service department for additional information at
214-631-0910.
Residence Homestead Exemption for Disabled Veteran with 100% Disability
You qualify for this exemption if you are a disabled veteran who receives from
the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its successor 100 percent
disability compensation due to a service-connected disability and a rating of
100 percent disability or of individual unemployability. This exemption applies
to the property on which you have your residence homestead exemption as of
January 1, beginning with the 2009 Tax Year. This entitles you to an exemption
of the total appraised value of your residence homestead.
An exemption application must be completed and accompanied with a copy of your
award letter, “VA tax letter” or other document from the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs showing 100 percent disability compensation due to a
service-connected disability and a rating of 100 percent disabled or of
individual unemployability.
A surviving spouse or child does not qualify for this exemption.
Late Filing
When filing for the General Residential Homestead exemption and
the Disability Homestead exemption, you must file an application no later than
one year after the delinquency date.
Benefits of
Exemptions
All school districts in Texas grant a reduction of $15,000 from
your market value for a General Residential Homestead exemption. Some taxing
units also offer additional optional reductions for the homestead exemption. In
addition, each school district will grant a minimum reduction of $10,000 from
the market value for an over-65 exemption. For optional exemptions, the
governing body of each taxing entity decides whether it will offer the
exemption and at what percentage or amount.
Other Exemptions
Disabled Veteran or Survivors of a
Disabled Veteran
You qualify for this exemption if you are a veteran of the U.S.
Armed Forces and your service branch or the Veterans Administration has
officially classified you as disabled with a percentage of 10% or more. You
must be a Texas resident. Your application can apply to any property you own on
January 1 on which property taxes are assessed. You must complete an
application and attach a copy of a current dated letter from the Veterans
Administration reflecting the percent of disability awarded. You must file the
application by April 30 or no later than one year after the delinquency date. A
surviving spouse or child may also qualify to continue this exemption; a
surviving spouse may continue the exemption if the survivor does not remarry.
When the disabled veteran attains age 65, is totally blind in one or both eyes,
or has lost the use of one or both limbs, they will qualify for 100% of the
amount offered regardless of the disability percentage awarded by the V.A.
A surviving spouse or child of an armed forces member killed on
active duty may qualify for this exemption. The surviving child, must be under age 18
and unmarried, or surviving spouse must be a Texas resident. An application must be
completed along with a letter from the Veterans Administration showing the
person died while on active duty, copy of your marriage license; a surviving
child must attach a copy of proof of age and relationship to the deceased.
Over-65 Tax and Disabled Person
Deferral
If you are a homeowner who qualifies for the Over-65 or the
Disabled Persons exemption, you may also defer or postpone paying any property
taxes on your home for as long as you own and live in it. Check with your
appraisal district for information about how to apply for this postponement. It
is important to note that this deferral only postpones your taxes and does not
cancel them. It also accrues eight (8) percent interest annually until the
deferral is removed. When the property is sold or comes under the ownership of heirs,
the taxes and accrued interest becomes payable.
Note: If you have an existing mortgage on your residence, the tax deferral does
not prevent your mortgage company from paying delinquent taxes; a tax deferral applies
only to the collection of taxes.
Charitable Exemptions
An organization that qualifies as a charitable organization is
entitled to certain exemptions from taxation. To qualify, the organization must
be organized exclusively to perform religious, charitable, scientific,
literary, or educational purposes, engage exclusively in performing one or more
of many charitable functions. A charitable organization must be operated
in a way that does not result in accrual of distributable profits, realization
of private gain resulting from payment of compensation in excess of a
reasonable allowance for salary or other compensation for services rendered, or
realization of any other form of private gain, and some charitable
organizations must be organized as a non-profit corporation as defined by the
Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act. See the Texas Property Tax Code in Section
11.18 for more details. Applications may be obtained from the appraisal
district.
Religious Exemptions
An organization that qualifies as a religious organization is
entitled to certain exemptions from taxation. To qualify, the organization must
be organized and operated primarily for the purpose of engaging in religious
worship or promoting the spiritual well being of individuals. The organization
must be operated in such a way that no individual profits (other than salary)
and the organization's bylaws, charter or other regulations must pledge its
assets for use in performing the organization's religious functions. See the
Texas Property Tax Code in Section 11.20 for more details. Applications may be
obtained from the appraisal district.
Agricultural Appraisal
Land designated for agricultural use is appraised at its value
based on the land's capacity to produce agricultural products. The value of
land based on its capacity to produce agricultural products is determined by
capitalizing the average net income the land would have yielded under prudent
management from production of agricultural products during the five (5) years
preceding the current year. Property owners may qualify for agricultural
appraisal under two different laws. You may refer to Subchapter C, Section
23.41 and Subchapter D, Section 23.51 of the Texas Property Tax Code for
details of these laws or you may consult with the appraisal district.
Freeport Exemptions for Business
Personal Property
Material that is transported outside of this state not later
than 175 days after the date the person who owns it on January 1 acquired it,
or imported it into this state, and assembled, manufactured, repaired,
maintained, processed, or fabricated and shipped the materials out of the state
during the required time is freeport goods. An application for this exemption
must be filed with the appraisal district by April 30 each year. Copies of this
application complete with instructions and supplemental forms is available on
this website or obtained from the appraisal district.
Appointment of Tax Consultants
A person may not perform property tax consulting services for
compensation unless the individual is a registered property tax consultant or a
registered senior property tax consultant. Consultants must complete
Appointment of Agent forms listing each account the consultant is authorized to
represent. That form must be on file with the appraisal district prior to
actions taken on behalf of the tax consultant's client. Check with the
appraisal district for more details on applying for this form.
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