The Texas homestead exemption lowers the taxable value of the home you own and live in as your principal residence. School districts must exempt $140,000 of your home's value, any taxing unit can add a local-option exemption of up to 20% of appraised value, and counties that collect farm-to-market or flood-control taxes must exempt $3,000 (Texas Comptroller). It isn't automatic. You apply once with your county appraisal district, in Tarrant County the Tarrant Appraisal District, using Comptroller Form 50-114, generally by April 30.
Here's who qualifies, how the math works, how to file, what happens when you buy mid-year, and how it shows up in your mortgage escrow.
What the exemption does
An exemption removes part of your home's value from taxation for the taxing units that grant it. The Comptroller's own illustration: if your home is appraised at $300,000 and you qualify for the $140,000 school district exemption, you pay school taxes as if the home were worth $160,000. That example is just the math. It isn't a statement about local prices or your actual bill.
The layers stack, and each one applies only to the taxing units that grant it:
- School districts: $140,000. Required by Tax Code Section 11.13(b), per the Comptroller.
- Local option: up to 20%. Any taxing unit, like a city, county or college district, may adopt one under Section 11.13(n). If adopted, it can't be less than $5,000. Whether your city or county offers it is a local decision.
- Counties with farm-to-market or flood-control taxes: $3,000. Required by Section 11.13(a).
Who qualifies
According to the Comptroller, you must have an ownership interest in the property and use it as your principal residence. You also have to state that you don't claim a residence homestead exemption on any other home, in or outside Texas (Texas Comptroller, Residence Homestead).
- One homestead. A married couple can't claim two homesteads.
- Your ID must match. Form 50-114 requires a copy of each owner's driver's license or state ID, and the address on it must match the property. There are limited exceptions, such as certain facility residents, address confidentiality program participants and some active duty service members and spouses (Form 50-114).
- Land. The form asks how many acres you own and occupy as your principal residence, not to exceed 20 acres.
- Income-producing space. If part of the home is used to produce income, the form asks for the percentage.
Additional exemptions
If you're 65 or older or disabled, school districts must provide an additional $60,000 exemption, and taxing units may adopt their own local option of at least $3,000 (Tax Code 11.13(c) and (d), per the Comptroller). Disabled veterans have separate exemptions based on their rating. See disabled veteran property tax exemptions and the 65 and older article in the related questions below.
How to file
- Get Form 50-114. It's on the Comptroller's site, and your appraisal district, in Tarrant County the Tarrant Appraisal District, has its own filing options. Check its site for how it accepts applications.
- Attach your ID. A copy of each owner's driver's license or state ID showing the property address.
- File with the appraisal district, not the Comptroller, not your lender and not the title company. The title company may hand you the form at closing, but the chief appraiser decides.
- Answer follow-up requests quickly. If the chief appraiser asks for more information, you have 30 days to respond or the application is denied, with one possible extension of up to 15 days for good cause (Tax Code 11.45, per Form 50-114).
Deadlines and timing
- Regular deadline. Generally April 30 of the year you're applying for. The Comptroller describes it as "before May 1."
- Late filing. You can file a late residence homestead application, including age 65 or older or disabled, up to two years after the deadline (Tax Code 11.431, per Form 50-114).
- Buying after January 1. The Comptroller says you may receive the exemption for the applicable portion of that tax year immediately on qualification, if the previous owner didn't receive the same exemption for that year.
- When it ends. If you stop qualifying, for example because you move out, you must notify the chief appraiser in writing before May 1 of the following year (Form 50-114).
Once granted, a homestead exemption generally stays in place in later years without reapplying, though the chief appraiser can ask you to file a new application to confirm you still qualify. Check your appraisal district's notices each year.
How it affects your mortgage
If your loan has an escrow account, your monthly payment includes an amount for property taxes, and the exemptions on the home affect that estimate. See how a mortgage escrow account works.
When you buy, the tax figures on your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure are estimates. They may reflect the seller's exemptions, which may not carry over to you, or no exemptions at all. After you file and the exemption is granted, your servicer's next escrow analysis will reflect the actual bill. That can lower your payment, or, if the estimate assumed exemptions you didn't get, raise it. I'd rather you know which one you're looking at before closing.
Three different Texas homestead laws
- The homestead exemption (this article) lowers taxable value.
- The homestead appraisal cap limits how fast your homestead's appraised value can rise for tax purposes, and it starts the year after you first qualify. See the homestead cap.
- Homestead protection under the Texas Constitution protects your homestead from most creditors and limits what liens can be placed on it. See homestead protection.
Fictional example
This example is made up to show how the rules apply.
Jasmine closes on a Fort Worth home in March. Her Closing Disclosure tax estimate was based on the prior year's bill, which included the seller's exemptions. She files Form 50-114 with the Tarrant Appraisal District right after closing, with her updated driver's license showing the new address. Because the seller already received the exemption for that year, Jasmine's starts the next tax year. Her first escrow analysis after the new bill shows whether her payment moves. Nothing went wrong. She just knew what to watch for.
Common mix-ups
- "My lender files it for me." No. You file with the appraisal district.
- "It moves with me to my new house." No. You apply for the new home, and you tell the appraisal district when the old one no longer qualifies.
- "My old ID is fine." The address on your driver's license or state ID generally has to match the new home.
- "The exemption caps my value." The cap is a separate law.
- "I missed April 30, so I'm out of luck." Late applications are allowed up to two years after the deadline.
If you disagree with your appraised value, that's a separate process. See how to protest your property taxes.
Next step
Buying a home and want to know how taxes and exemptions will show up in your payment? Book a call and I'll walk you through the escrow estimate. When you're ready, start an application.
Related questions
Sources
Links checked Oct 21, 2026.
- Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Exemptions: Residence Homestead and Age 65 or Older or Disabled Persons (Tax Code 11.13(a), (b), (c), (d), (n); filing deadline; mid-year acquisition) (current page): https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/exemptions/
- Texas Comptroller, Form 50-114, Application for Residence Homestead Exemption (rev. Feb 2026; ID requirement, deadlines, Tax Code 11.431 late filing, 11.45 information requests, duty to notify): https://comptroller.texas.gov/forms/50-114.pdf
- Texas Tax Code Chapter 11, Taxable Property and Exemptions (Sections 11.13, 11.43, 11.431): https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.11.htm
- Tarrant Appraisal District (current site): https://www.tad.org/
About the author: McKade Lively, NMLS 2704474, American Pacific Mortgage Corporation dba True North Home Loans, NMLS 1850.
Equal Housing Opportunity.
Last reviewed: Oct 2026