Texas has no state income tax, which means property tax is where the money is, and where the mistakes are expensive.
Most homeowners file a homestead exemption once, never look at the notice again, and pay whatever the bill says. That is a costly habit. The exemption amounts changed in a big way in November 2025, the appraisal cap does not work the way most people assume, and the protest process gives you rights the appraisal district is not going to volunteer. This is a working checklist for the parts that actually move money.
48 items · 28 most people miss · free, no signup
What is my homestead exemption actually worth right now?
The school district exemption is $140,000. Texas Tax Code 11.13(b) now reads $140,000 of the appraised value, up from $100,000. Voters approved Proposition 13 on November 4, 2025.
Most people miss thisIt was retroactive to the 2025 tax year. The amendment made it effective for the tax year beginning January 1, 2025, even though the election was in November. If your 2025 bill looked wrong, this is why.
Owners 65 or older and disabled owners get another $60,000. Tax Code 11.13(c) adds $60,000 on top, for $200,000 total. That came from Proposition 11, approved the same day.
Most people miss thisThe $200,000 applies to school district taxes only. It is not an exemption against your whole bill. Cities, counties, hospital districts, and community college districts each set their own homestead exemptions separately. Read each line on your bill.
Local taxing units may add up to 20 percent of appraised value. Units can offer an optional percentage exemption with a $5,000 minimum. Some North Texas cities offer it and some do not, so two neighboring cities can treat the same house differently.
Most people miss thisFiling is free, and there is an active scam industry around this. The Texas Attorney General issued a consumer alert about businesses mailing official-looking letters offering a designation of homestead for a fee. Tarrant Appraisal District states plainly that there is no fee to file when you go directly to the district.
Did I miss the filing deadline, and can I still fix it?
The general deadline is before May 1. Tax Code 11.43(d) requires the completed application before May 1, so April 30 is the practical date. A chief appraiser may extend for good cause by up to 60 days.
Most people miss thisYou can file late for up to two years. Tax Code 11.431(a) requires the chief appraiser to accept a residence homestead application filed not later than two years after the delinquency date. If you bought in 2024 and never filed, you can likely still capture those years.
Most people miss thisThe refund is automatic once a late application is approved. Tax Code 11.431(b) says a person is not required to apply for a refund to receive it.
Most people miss thisBuying after January 1 no longer locks you out. Tax Code 11.42(f) lets a buyer who acquires after January 1 receive the general homestead exemption for the applicable portion of that year, but only if the previous owner did not already receive it. Apply before the first anniversary of the acquisition date.
Most people miss thisThe over-65 and disabled exemptions are not prorated. Tax Code 11.42(c) makes those effective as of January 1 of the year you qualify and applies them to the entire tax year. Turn 65 in December and you get the whole year.
You do not re-file every year. Tax Code 11.43(c) keeps the exemption in place until ownership changes or your qualification changes.
Most people miss thisBut districts must review every homestead at least once every five years. Tax Code 11.43(h-1) requires a periodic review on that cycle. If a re-application request arrives in the mail and you throw it out, the exemption can come off.
Why did my appraised value jump so much this year?
The cap is 10 percent, in Tax Code 23.23. Appraised value is limited to the lesser of market value, or last year plus 10 percent, plus the market value of new improvements.
Most people miss thisThe cap does not protect you in your first year. Tax Code 23.23(c) says the limitation takes effect on January 1 of the tax year following the first year you qualified for a homestead exemption. A buyer’s first full year is generally uncapped. This is the most common source of confusion in DFW.
Most people miss thisThe cap applies to appraised value, not market value. The district keeps tracking market value separately. The gap shows on your notice as a homestead cap loss, and your appraised value can keep climbing toward market value even in a flat year.
New improvements sit outside the cap. A pool, an addition, or a major remodel is added on top. Tax Code 23.23(e) excludes repairs and ordinary maintenance, so a new roof or water heater should not count as a new improvement.
The limitation attaches to the exemption on that property. You do not inherit the price the seller was paying. Ask your appraisal district how it resets in your first year so the escrow surprise does not arrive later.
How do I actually win a property tax protest?
The deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your notice was delivered, whichever is later. Tax Code 41.44(a)(1). It keys off delivery of the notice, not the day you happened to open it.
Most people miss thisThe informal conference is a legal right, not a courtesy. Tax Code 41.445 requires the appraisal office to hold an informal conference with each owner who files a protest and requests one. You have to request it. Most protests that settle, settle here.
Most people miss thisThe appraisal district carries the burden of proof. Tax Code 41.43(a) requires the district to establish value by a preponderance of the evidence, and if it fails to meet that standard the protest is determined in favor of the owner. You are not required to prove your own number first.
Most people miss thisA recent certified appraisal raises their burden. For property valued at $1 million or less, Tax Code 41.43(a-1) raises the district’s burden to clear and convincing evidence if you deliver a certified appraisal performed within the prior 180 days at least 14 days before the hearing.
Most people miss thisYou must request their evidence packet, and it is free. Tax Code 41.461 requires the chief appraiser to tell you at least 14 days before the hearing that you may request the data and schedules they will introduce. It is not mailed automatically, and 41.461(b) bars them from charging for copies.
Most people miss thisRequesting it has teeth. Tax Code 41.67(d) says information you requested that was not delivered at least 14 days before the hearing may not be used as evidence in the hearing, in any form.
Unequal appraisal is a separate ground from market value. Tax Code 41.41(a) lists value at (a)(1) and unequal appraisal at (a)(2). You can win on uniformity even when market value is defensible. The often-quoted flat 10 percent margin appears only in Tax Code 42.26 at the district court stage, not at the review board.
Evidence that works, and a rule that helps you. Bring your closing statement if you bought below the appraised value, contractor bids for deferred maintenance, dated photos of foundation, roof, or system problems, and comparable sales. In counties over 150,000 population, which is all of DFW, Tax Code 23.013(b-1) requires residential comparables within 36 months, and 23.01(c) bars excluding nearby foreclosure sales from the last three years.
Most people miss thisThey cannot charge you a fee to protest. Tax Code 41.41(d) prohibits a district or review board from requiring a fee in connection with a protest, and 23.01(g) gives owners representing themselves the express right to offer their own opinion of value.
What are these MUD, PID, and ESD charges on my bill?
They are three different things and they behave differently. A Municipal Utility District levies an ad valorem tax on your property tax bill. A Public Improvement District levies a special assessment usually billed separately by the city or county. An Emergency Services District levies an ad valorem tax on your bill.
A MUD funds water, sewer, and drainage outside city utility service. The rate often declines over time as the district retires debt, so ask for the debt schedule, not just this year’s rate.
Most people miss thisThe MUD notice is required before you sign, and skipping it has consequences. Texas Water Code 49.452(f) requires the notice prior to execution of a binding contract, and if it is not given the purchaser is entitled to terminate. A separate executed copy is required at closing.
Most people miss thisPID protections are weaker than MUD protections. Texas Property Code 5.014 requires a pre-contract disclosure and your signature, but there is no statutory termination right and no closing re-execution. The statutory form warns that unpaid installments can result in a lien and foreclosure.
A PID assessment can often be paid off in full at any time. Ask for the current payoff figure and the remaining installment schedule before you write an offer, because the annual amount varies year to year with interest and collection costs.
Most people miss thisEmergency Services District rates are constitutionally capped. Texas Constitution Article III, Section 48-e caps the levy at ten cents per $100 of valuation, and increases require voter approval.
The form to look for is TREC 59-0. Notice to Purchaser of Special Taxing or Assessment District. If your contract does not have one attached and the property sits in a district, ask why.
What if I am 65 or older, disabled, or a veteran?
The over-65 school tax ceiling freezes the dollar amount, not the value. Tax Code 11.26(a) bars a school district from increasing the total annual tax on the homestead above the amount imposed in the first year you qualified.
Most people miss thisThe ceiling is portable, and it moves as a proportion. Tax Code 11.26(g) expresses the transfer as a fraction. In the Comptroller’s illustration a ceiling of $100 where you would otherwise owe $400 is 25 percent, so a new home with $1,000 of normal school tax carries a $250 ceiling. There is no fixed statutory percentage; it is your own ratio.
Most people miss thisGet the certificate before you move. Tax Code 11.26(h) entitles you to a written tax ceiling certificate from the chief appraiser in the county you are leaving. Comptroller Form 50-311. Request it during the transaction, not after.
Most people miss thisA surviving spouse keeps the ceiling at 55, not 65. Tax Code 11.26(i) preserves it if the surviving spouse is 55 or older at the time of death and the property remains their homestead.
Most people miss thisYou can pay in four installments with no penalty or interest. Tax Code 31.031 lets owners who are 65 or older, disabled, or qualifying disabled veterans split homestead taxes into four equal payments due before February 1, April 1, June 1, and August 1. You must notify the taxing unit with the first payment. It is not automatic, and that is the step people miss.
Disabled veteran exemptions are flat dollar amounts by rating. Tax Code 11.22(a): 10 to under 30 percent is $5,000; 30 to under 50 percent is $7,500; 50 to under 70 percent is $10,000; 70 percent and over is $12,000. It applies to one designated property, which does not have to be the homestead.
A 100 percent rating means a total homestead exemption. Tax Code 11.131(b) exempts the total appraised value of the residence homestead for a veteran awarded 100 percent disability compensation with a 100 percent or individual unemployability rating. Late filing for this one runs five years rather than two.
Most people miss thisA surviving spouse who moves carries a dollar amount, not a full exemption. Tax Code 11.131(d) transfers the dollar amount of the prior year’s exemption to the new homestead. This is widely misreported online as a continuing full exemption on any future home.
What about acreage, agricultural use, and wildlife valuation?
Open-space (1-d-1) valuation taxes qualifying land on productivity, not market value. This is what nearly every Texas landowner uses. The rare 1-d classification is different and requires agriculture to be the owner’s primary occupation and income source.
Most people miss thisThe rollback is three years, and under current law 1-d-1 carries no interest. Tax Code 23.55(a) imposes additional tax for each of the three years preceding the change of use. Land under the older 1-d classification does still incur interest. Confirm your classification with the district and your CPA before you subdivide, build, or fence off acreage.
Most people miss thisWildlife management is a use category, not a separate program. Tax Code 23.51(7)(A) requires land to already be appraised as qualified open-space or timber land when wildlife management use begins. You cannot jump straight to it from an ordinary residential valuation.
Most people miss thisWildlife management requires at least three of seven listed practices. Habitat control, erosion control, predator control, supplemental water, supplemental food, shelters, and census counts. Texas Parks and Wildlife sets the standards and a written plan may be required.
Most people miss thisConverting from agriculture to wildlife management does not trigger rollback. Tax Code 23.55(g). That makes it a real option for owners who no longer want livestock but do not want a tax event.
Do not assume the prior owner’s valuation carries forward. Special valuation is application-based. File your own, and expect the district to look at use history and intensity. Ag valuation is also not a homestead exemption; acreage owners usually need both.
Dates and deadlines to know
January 1
The date that fixes ownership, use, and value for the tax year.
Before May 1
General deadline to file your homestead exemption application (Tax Code 11.43(d)).
May 15, or 30 days after your notice was delivered
Deadline to file a protest, whichever is later (Tax Code 41.44(a)(1)).
At least 14 days before your hearing
Window for the district to notify you of your right to their evidence, and your cutoff to deliver a certified appraisal that raises their burden.
By October 1, delinquent February 1
Tax bills are mailed by October 1 or as soon after as practicable; taxes are delinquent if not paid before February 1.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Exemption eligibility, protest strategy, and anything involving agricultural valuation or rollback tax should be reviewed with your CPA, attorney, or tax professional and your county appraisal district.
Published by Mac Does REI. The McDonald Group provides brokerage services through Fathom Realty in Texas and Dillard Cies Real Estate in Oklahoma. NTX Realty Trust is a separate company and is the principal cash buyer. Nothing here is legal, tax, or insurance advice.
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