The $140,000 homestead exemption is now written into the Texas Constitution, but it only reduces your tax bill if your exemption is active, verified, and on file with HCAD. On June 16, 2025, Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 into law, increasing the mandatory homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000. Texas voters approved Proposition 13 on November 4, 2025, constitutionally ratifying the change and making it retroactive to the 2025 tax year. For the typical Harris County homeowner, that translates to more than $1,200 in annual school tax savings, and that number compounds when local district exemptions are layered on top. April 30 is the application deadline. Everything below explains what you need to confirm before that date passes.
What Changed and Why It Matters
The homestead exemption is the portion of your home's assessed value that school districts cannot tax. Texas voters previously approved Proposition 4 in 2023 by a margin of 83.4% to 16.6%, increasing the exemption from $40,000 to $100,000. SB 4 and SJR 2 raised the ISD homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, a 40% increase, benefiting all 5.7 million Texas homesteads. The school district maintenance-and-operations levy is almost always the single largest line item on a Harris County property tax bill, so a $40,000 increase in the exempted amount has real annual consequences.
Senate Bill 23, also signed on June 16, 2025, increased the homestead exemption for homeowners over 65 or with disabilities from $10,000 to $60,000, producing a combined exemption of up to $200,000 for eligible individuals. Tax Code Section 11.13(b) now requires school districts to provide the $140,000 exemption on a residence homestead, and Section 11.13(n) allows any taxing unit to adopt a local option exemption of up to 20% of a property's appraised value. There is no fee to apply for or maintain a homestead exemption in Texas, and there is no annual renewal requirement once the exemption is granted.
The constitutional amendment increased the homestead exemption for school district property taxes from $100,000 to $140,000, with the increased exemption applying to tax years beginning on January 1, 2025, and thereafter. In the November 2025 Texas Constitutional Amendment Election, voters approved all 17 proposed amendments to the state constitution. Constitutional ratification means the $140,000 floor cannot be quietly rolled back by a future legislature without returning to voters statewide.
The $140,000 exemption is now written into the Texas Constitution. It cannot be reduced without another statewide vote.
Texas Proposition 13 (SJR 2), ratified November 4, 2025Know Your Home's Value Before You Calculate Your Savings
Your exemption reduces your taxable value — but accurate market data tells you what you're actually working with. An address-specific valuation from HarrisCountyHomeValue.com uses recent comparable sales, your home's specific characteristics, and neighborhood-level trends to generate a data-backed estimate in seconds, no agent required.
Get My Free Estimate →The Harris County Dollar Math
Concrete numbers make this easier to evaluate. Harris County home prices were selling for a median price of approximately $309,000 as of January 2026. Under the new law, a school district can only tax a $309,000 home on $169,000 of that value, a reduction of $140,000 in taxable value. The HISD Board of Education adopted a tax rate of $0.8783 per $100 of taxable value for tax year 2025. Applied to the $140,000 exemption increase, that rate produces school tax savings of approximately $1,230 per year for a homeowner within HISD boundaries. That savings recurs every year the exemption stays in place, and it compounds over the life of homeownership.
Harris County and the City of Houston each provide a 20% homestead exemption on top of state law. These exemptions operate against different taxing authorities and are calculated independently against your appraised value, so they stack rather than compete. On a $309,000 home, the county's 20% optional exemption reduces the county-taxable value by an additional $61,800, and the City of Houston's 20% layer does the same for city taxes. The $140,000 school exemption and the local 20% exemptions are entirely separate calculations.
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD carries a tax rate of $1.0669 per $100 of value for tax year 2025. CFISD also offers a 20% local optional homestead exemption on top of the state's $140,000 floor. For a homeowner in the CFISD zone with a $309,000 home, the combined school-district exemptions reduce the taxable base by $140,000 plus 20% of appraised value before any county or city layer is applied. That stacked structure makes CFISD among the more favorable school district environments in Harris County for homeowners who have their exemptions properly on file.
| Scenario | Taxable Value | School Tax (Est.) | Annual Savings vs. No Exemption |
|---|---|---|---|
| $309K home, no exemption (HISD) | $309,000 | $2,714 | — |
| $309K home, old $100K exemption (HISD) | $209,000 | $1,836 | $878 |
| $309K home, new $140K exemption (HISD) | $169,000 | $1,484 | $1,230 |
| $309K home, $200K senior exemption (HISD) | $109,000 | $957 | $1,757 |
Estimates use the HISD adopted rate of $0.8783/$100 for tax year 2025 (source: houstonisd.org). Median home value based on Redfin data, January 2026. Actual savings depend on your appraised value, school district, and whether local optional exemptions apply.
The Five-Year Verification Trap
The Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 1801, effective September 1, 2023, which now requires the chief appraiser of an appraisal district to verify the eligibility of homeowners for the homestead exemption at least once every five years. HCAD conducts these reviews partly through annual postcard mailings that list the exemptions currently applied to your property. The critical detail: if that postcard is returned as undeliverable because your mailing address on file is outdated, the district can cancel your exemption. No exemption means no $140,000 school district reduction, no 20% county layer, and an immediate spike in your tax bill.
The verification requirement is not a theoretical risk. Failure to respond to the appraisal district's notice to renew could result in the loss of the exemption. Homeowners who purchased in the past five years and assumed the previous owner's exemption setup carried over are particularly exposed. Exemptions do not transfer with a property sale. The new owner must apply independently. If you purchased your Harris County home in 2022, 2023, or 2024 and have not filed your own application, you are currently paying full assessed-value school taxes and leaving the savings on the table. That also means you are not protected by the 10% homestead cap, which prevents your appraised value from increasing more than 10% per year and only activates during your second year of holding the exemption.
The fastest way to confirm your status costs nothing and takes about two minutes. Go to hcad.org, search your property address, and scroll to the "Jurisdictions/Exemptions" section. If you see "HS" listed under Exemption Type next to your school district, your homestead exemption is active. If you do not see it, or if you have recently changed your mailing address without notifying HCAD, act before April 30.
- Go to hcad.org and click "Property Search"
- Enter your property address and select your parcel from the results
- Scroll to the "Jurisdictions/Exemptions" section
- Look for "HS" under Exemption Type next to your school district
- If "HS" is absent, download Form 50-114 from the same site and submit with a copy of your Texas driver's license showing the homestead address
Seniors and Disabled Homeowners: A Different Calculation
For homeowners who are 65 or older, the math and the mechanics both change. If you qualify for the 65 or Older Exemption, there is a property tax "ceiling" that automatically limits school taxes to the amount you paid in the year that you qualified for both the homestead and the 65 or Older exemption. Once that ceiling is set, school taxes cannot increase even if appraised values or tax rates climb. Proposition 11, approved November 4, 2025, gives senior citizens and those with disabilities an extra $60,000 exemption, bringing the combined school district exemption for qualifying seniors to $200,000.
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick stated that "the homestead exemption for seniors will increase to $200,000, which means the average senior homeowner will never pay school property taxes again." What this means in practice: a senior homeowner over 65 in the Spring Branch ISD area with a $309,000 home and the full stack of exemptions would have a school-taxable value of $109,000, assuming the over-65 exemption is already on file. If it is not on file, the school tax ceiling cannot be established, and you lose the freeze protection permanently for the years it went unclaimed. HCAD allows you to apply for the over-65 exemption as soon as you turn 65 without waiting for January 1 of the following year. Given what the ceiling is worth over a decade of appreciation, filing promptly is one of the most consequential financial actions an older Harris County homeowner can take.
One clarification worth stating plainly: you cannot simultaneously claim both the over-65 and the disability exemptions from the same taxing unit. You choose one. If both categories apply to your situation, your tax professional or HCAD can help you evaluate which produces the greater benefit. A county, city, or junior college may also limit taxes for the 65 or Older Exemption if they independently adopt a tax ceiling.
Recent Buyers and Heir Property
If you purchased a Harris County home in 2024 or closed in early 2025, the window to file for this tax year closes April 30. If your application is postmarked by April 30, the exemption can be processed in time for your property tax bill that comes out in the fall. If you file after April 30, the exemption will be applied retroactively if you file up to one year after the tax delinquency date, typically February 1 of the following tax year. Texas Property Tax Code Section 23.23 limits increases of the total assessed value to 10% year over year under homestead exemption, but this limitation takes effect on January 1 of the tax year following the first year the owner qualifies. New buyers have an additional incentive to file immediately rather than waiting.
Heir property is property owned by one or more individuals where at least one owner claims the property as a residence homestead and the property was acquired by will, transfer on death deed, or intestacy. As of 2020, heir property owners can access 100% of the homestead exemption and related tax protections on their homestead, even when there are co-owners of the property. An heir property owner not specifically identified as the homestead owner on a recorded instrument must submit: an affidavit establishing ownership of interest in the property (Form 50-114-A); a copy of the prior property owner's death certificate; a copy of the property's most recent utility bill; and a citation of any court record relating to the applicant's ownership, if available. Only one heir property owner can submit the homestead exemption application. If other relatives also inherited the property and occupy it as their principal residence, those relatives must provide an affidavit authorizing the submission.
One nuance that catches people off guard: late applications are allowed for prior years. You may file for any homestead exemption up to two years after the delinquency date, which is normally February 1. You will not owe any penalty or fee for a late filing. You simply lose the benefit for the years the exemption was absent. Given the $1,230-plus in annual school tax savings now available under the $140,000 exemption, a retroactive filing covering two prior years could recover more than $2,400 for homeowners who have been missing the exemption.
Your April 30 Action Checklist
Everything described above reduces to four checks every Harris County homeowner should complete before April 30.
First: confirm your exemption is active. Go to hcad.org, pull up your property, and verify "HS" appears in the Jurisdictions/Exemptions section for your school district. If it does not, download Form 50-114 from the Texas Comptroller's website and submit it with a copy of your Texas driver's license showing the homestead address. The five-year homestead verification rule remains in effect, requiring Texas county appraisal districts to review property owners' eligibility for homestead exemptions every five years. HCAD also accepts applications through its mobile app, which lets you submit photos of your ID directly from your phone.
Second: verify your mailing address is current with HCAD. The five-year verification postcard cannot reach you if your address on file is outdated. A returned mailer can trigger cancellation of your exemption. Log in to your HCAD account and confirm the address listed matches where you actually receive mail. This is a two-minute check that can prevent a costly lapse.
Third: if you are 65 or older and have not filed the over-65 exemption, file now. The school tax ceiling cannot be set retroactively. Every year it is absent is a year that ceiling protection is gone permanently. The compounding value of freezing your school tax liability in place, particularly in a market where HCAD appraisals continue to climb for higher-value properties, is substantial over a multi-decade retirement horizon.
Fourth: if you bought in 2024 or were recently added to a deed, do not assume the previous owner's exemption covers you. It does not. File your own application. The new exemption levels were contingent upon voter approval of the constitutional amendment, which appeared on the ballot in the November 2025 election, and if approved, the changes apply retroactively to the 2025 tax year. The cost of filing is zero. The cost of not filing, compounded over the years you spend without the 10% cap, is substantial.
The Texas property tax system rewards homeowners who stay current with their paperwork and penalizes those who assume everything is handled. Beginning with the 2025 tax year, the school district exemption is $140,000 under SB 4 and Proposition 13, saving a typical Houston homeowner roughly $1,230 per year in school taxes alone. That savings only lands if the exemption is actually applied to your account. Check hcad.org today. April 30 is not a soft deadline.