Texas Homeowners, 🤠

Some of you may have received a notice in the mail recently regarding re-filing 📄 for your homestead exemption. Due to a recent change in our Property Code, Texas homeowners may now be required to reapply for their homestead tax exemption every 5️⃣ years.  This is a departure from the old rule, which treated the homestead exemption as a one-time filing—once granted, it stayed in place until the property was sold.  But the amended Code now requires appraisal districts to review exemptions periodically—and allows the chief appraiser to require a new application to confirm that a homeowner is still entitled to a given exemption.  This includes the homestead exemption.

 
Not everyone will be required to reapply— but many homeowners will.  If you get a letter from your appraisal district, don’t ignore it.  If you have any questions, call the district office—and be nice to the person on the other end of the phone.  But make sure to respond with the requested information within the stated deadline.  In the vast majority of cases, the appraisal district will continue the exemption without issue.  But if you ignore the letter, you will lose your homestead exemption—which means your tax bill is going to go up significantly.

This document is for informational purposes, and does not constitute legal advice.  For more information, go to comptroller.texas.gov, or contact your central appraisal district office.