Texas homestead exemption, the age-65 exemption and the school tax ceiling

Summary

Texas homeowners age 65 or older get more property tax relief than younger owners, but the relief is narrower than many people assume. There are two layers. The first is a set of exemptions that remove part of a home’s value from taxation. The second is a tax ceiling, often called the freeze, which limits how much one kind of tax, the school district tax, can increase. Texas property taxes do not freeze at 65. Local rates, special districts and changes in appraised value still matter, and some of the most useful local limits are optional and exist only where a city, county or junior college district has adopted them.

The amounts and rules in this guide are as stated in the Texas Comptroller’s Texas Property Tax Basics (January 2026) and the Comptroller’s Property Tax Exemptions page, both fetched in October 2026, together with the text of Chapter 11 of the Texas Tax Code. Amounts and local options can change, and each taxing unit adopts its own optional exemptions, so confirm every figure with your county appraisal district before you rely on it. For how appraisal districts, taxing units and bills fit together, see Texas property taxes and appraisal districts. For the wider retirement tax picture, see Texas retirement taxes.

Key takeaways

• Texas law requires school districts to grant a $140,000 residence homestead exemption under Tax Code Section 11.13(b) and an additional $60,000 for owners who are 65 or older or disabled under Section 11.13(c). Exemptions reduce the taxable value a rate applies to; they are not cash and not a percentage cut of full appraised value.
• Local units may adopt a percentage homestead exemption of up to 20 percent with a $5,000 minimum, and an age-65 or disabled exemption of at least $3,000. Whether you get either depends on the taxing units around the specific home.
• You must own the home, live in it as your principal residence and claim no other homestead. Apply with the county appraisal district before May 1; a late application is allowed up to two years after the taxes become delinquent.
• The school tax ceiling limits school district taxes only, is set from the year the age-65 exemption is first received, rises for improvements, transfers to a new Texas home as a percentage and can pass to a surviving spouse age 55 or older.
• County, city and junior college ceilings are optional and exist only where the unit adopted one. Texas property taxes do not freeze at 65, and local rates, special districts and appraisal changes still matter.
• Confirm amounts, ceiling figures and local options with your appraisal district. The figures here are as stated in the Comptroller’s January 2026 Texas Property Tax Basics and exemptions page, fetched October 2026.

What an exemption does and does not do

A property tax exemption in Texas removes all or part of a property’s value from taxation, which lowers the tax bill. It is not a cash payment, a rebate check or a credit. The Comptroller describes two types. A partial exemption removes a percentage or a fixed dollar amount of a property’s value from taxation, and a total exemption excludes the entire value. Most homestead exemptions for homeowners are partial.

The Comptroller gives a worked example. If a home is appraised at $300,000 and the owner qualifies for a $140,000 exemption, the owner pays school taxes on the home as if it were worth $160,000. The exemption is therefore subtracted from the value that the tax rate is applied to; it is not a percentage cut of the full appraised value and it does not reduce the appraised value itself. The tax savings are the exempt amount multiplied by that taxing unit’s rate.

Exemptions apply taxing unit by taxing unit. The state requires school districts to grant certain exemptions, it requires counties that collect certain taxes to grant another, and it lets cities, counties, school districts and special purpose districts choose some others. A property can therefore have a different taxable value for the school district, the county and the city, which is why the notice of appraised value from the appraisal district lists the taxable value separately for each taxing unit.

The general residence homestead exemption

Tax Code Section 11.13(b) entitles an adult to an exemption from taxation by a school district of $140,000 of the appraised value of the adult’s residence homestead. The Comptroller’s exemptions page states the same amount and describes it as an exemption school districts are required to provide. Section 11.13(a) separately provides a $3,000 exemption for county purposes, and the Comptroller explains that counties that collect farm-to-market road or flood control taxes must provide it.

Section 11.13(n) adds a local option. A taxing unit may adopt an exemption of a percentage of the appraised value of a residence homestead, and the percentage may not exceed 20 percent. If the percentage produces less than $5,000 for a particular home, the owner receives $5,000 instead. The Comptroller gives an example of a city that offers 20 percent on a home valued at $20,000, where the exemption is the $5,000 minimum even though 20 percent of $20,000 is $4,000. A taxing unit must adopt this exemption before July 1, and the Comptroller states that taxing units add it to any other residence homestead exemption for which the owner qualifies. Because each unit decides, a school district, a county, a city and a special district can all make different choices, and the percentage in a neighboring town may differ from the one where you buy.

Another section of the Tax Code, Section 11.13(n-1), provides that a school district, municipality or county that adopted a percentage exemption for the 2022 tax year may not reduce or repeal it, and that this restriction expires on December 31, 2027. When you compare towns, ask the appraisal district whether a given unit has an optional exemption in place for the current year rather than assuming one exists.

The additional exemption for age 65 or older, and the local age-65 option

Section 11.13(c) provides that, in addition to the $140,000 exemption, an adult who is disabled or is 65 or older is entitled to an exemption from taxation by a school district of $60,000 of the appraised value of the person’s residence homestead. The Comptroller states that school districts must provide it and that the exemption applies as of January 1 of the year in which the owner becomes age 65 or disabled. To qualify for the age 65 or older version, an owner must be age 65 or older, have an ownership interest in the property and live in the home as a principal residence. A person who qualifies as both age 65 or older and disabled for a school district must choose only one of the two, because Texas law prohibits receiving both from the same school district.

Section 11.13(d) lets any taxing unit adopt a further exemption for individuals who are disabled or 65 or older, either by action of its governing body or by a vote of the qualified voters. Under Section 11.13(e), the amount is $3,000 of the appraised value unless the unit specifies a larger amount, and under Section 11.13(f) an adopted amount may not later be reduced below $3,000 of the market value. The Comptroller describes this as an optional exemption of at least $3,000 for homeowners age 65 or older or disabled, and it can be offered by a city, county, school district or special purpose district. This local age-65 exemption is separate from the state-required school district exemption, and whether it exists depends entirely on where the home sits.

An eligible disabled person who is 65 or older may receive both the optional disabled and the optional elderly exemption in the same year, but only from different taxing units. These optional amounts can change from year to year because the unit’s governing body may increase them.

The exemptions are cumulative within a taxing unit only as the statute allows. The general $140,000 and the additional $60,000 are separate subsections of Section 11.13, and the $60,000 is described as in addition to the $140,000. For a school district, an owner who qualifies for both therefore has the combined amount removed from the value taxed by that district, subject to the appraisal district’s determination of eligibility.

Eligibility, application and deadlines

To qualify for residence homestead exemptions, the owner must own and occupy the home as a principal residence. The Comptroller says the residence can be a house, condominium or manufactured home if the owner owns the improvement, and a residence homestead generally includes the land, up to 20 acres, if the owner holds an ownership interest in the land. An applicant must state that he or she does not claim an exemption on another residence homestead in or outside of Texas, and Section 11.13(h) provides that a person may not receive an exemption under that section for more than one residence homestead in the same year. Making false statements on the application is a criminal offense.

An owner who moves away may still keep the exemption if the absence is under two years, the owner intends to return and does not establish another principal residence. Section 11.13(l) also allows longer absences caused by military service or by residency in a facility that provides services related to health, infirmity or aging. A home does not lose its homestead character just because part of it is rented or used for other purposes, but the exemption does not apply to the value of that portion.

The age rules differ between the exemption and the ceiling. The additional 65 or older exemption is an owner’s own entitlement based on the owner’s age. The 55 or older rule applies to the transfer of the school tax ceiling to a surviving spouse, which is described in the ceiling section below.

The Comptroller states that most exemptions require an application filed with the appraisal district in the county where the property is located, and that the general deadline is before May 1. Section 11.43(d) allows the chief appraiser to extend that deadline for good cause for a single period of up to 60 days. A person who acquires a home after January 1 may receive the general residence homestead exemption for the applicable part of that year if the preceding owner did not receive it, but Section 11.42(f) excludes the Section 11.13(c) and (d) exemptions from that mid-year rule; the additional age-65 exemption is effective as of January 1 of the tax year in which the person qualifies.

A late application is possible. The Comptroller states that a property owner may file a residence homestead exemption application, including an age 65 or older or disabled application, up to two years after the date the taxes on the property become delinquent. If the chief appraiser grants a late-filed homestead exemption, the owner receives a lower bill, and if taxes were already paid the collector issues a refund. A person who misses the deadline and is outside those provisions usually forfeits the exemption for the year.

Once granted, a residence homestead exemption does not need to be reapplied for each year unless the chief appraiser requests it or the owner’s qualifications change. A chief appraiser may not require a new application unless the appraiser has reason to believe the person no longer qualifies, has tried to check, and gives written notice stating the specific reason. If you move to a new home you must complete a new application to receive most exemptions and to transfer any tax ceiling. If the chief appraiser denies or modifies an exemption, notice must explain how to protest the denial to the appraisal review board.

The school district tax ceiling, or freeze

The school tax ceiling is the part of Texas law that most resembles a freeze. Under Section 11.26 and the Comptroller’s description, an age 65 or older or disabled owner’s residence homestead exemption qualifies the owner for a tax ceiling on school district taxes, meaning the amount of school district taxes the owner pays cannot increase as long as he or she owns and lives in the home. The appraisal district sets the ceiling at the amount paid in the year the owner qualified for the age 65 or older or disabled exemption. If the calculated school taxes in any year fall below the ceiling, the owner pays the lower amount. The statute adds that if the owner qualified after the beginning of the first year and the school taxes in the next year are lower than in that first year, the ceiling is reset to the lower next-year amount.

For an owner who first qualifies in tax year 2024 or later, Section 11.26(a-10) calculates the amount of the limitation using a formula that reflects changes in the school district’s maximum compressed rate and in the school homestead exemption amounts, so the dollar ceiling is computed by the appraisal district rather than simply copied forward. Ask the appraisal district for the ceiling figure on your account.

The ceiling rises when you improve the home. The Comptroller states that a tax ceiling increases if a home is improved, unless the work is routine repairs and maintenance or a replacement structure that meets specific criteria. For example, adding a garage or a room increases the ceiling to account for the new improvement’s value. The ceiling does not expire if the home is made uninhabitable or if the owner transfers the interest to a trust and continues to live in the home as the residence homestead. It does expire if, on January 1, no qualifying owner is using the home as a residence homestead.

If you move to another Texas home, the ceiling does not travel as a dollar amount. The Comptroller says the owner may transfer the percentage of school tax paid, based on the former home’s ceiling, to the new home. As its example, if the owner has a ceiling of $100 but would pay $400 without it, the percentage paid is 25 percent, and if school taxes on the new home would be $1,000, the new ceiling is $250, which is 25 percent of $1,000. The chief appraiser of the former home’s district can issue a written certificate for the new district to use.

When an owner who receives the age 65 or older or disabled exemption dies, the ceiling transfers to the surviving spouse as long as the surviving spouse is age 55 or older and the residence homestead was the surviving spouse’s homestead on the date of death and remains so. If the owner dies in the year of the 65th birthday without having applied, the surviving spouse may still qualify. The ceiling remains for as long as the survivor owns and lives in the home, and a surviving spouse who buys another home may transfer the percentage the same way.

Optional county, city and junior college ceilings

The school ceiling covers school district taxes only. The Comptroller states that a county, city or junior college district may freeze or limit a property owner’s taxes by adopting a tax ceiling. Whether you have one depends on where the home is. The ceiling goes into effect only after the taxing unit adopts the limitation and the owner qualifies for the homestead, and Section 11.261 describes it as applying only to a county, municipality or junior college district that has established such a limitation. A unit that has not adopted one has no ceiling to claim.

Where one exists, it works much like the school ceiling. It limits the total amount of ad valorem tax the unit imposes on the homestead of a person who is 65 or older or disabled to the amount imposed in the first tax year the owner qualified for the exemption (disregarding years before the unit adopted the limitation), and it can be increased for improvements other than repairs. If you buy another home in the same county, city or junior college district, you may transfer the former ceiling percentage, and you may request a certificate from the former home’s appraisal district. The ceiling transfers to a surviving spouse who is disabled or age 55 or older at the spouse’s death if the home was the survivor’s residence on the date of death and remains so.

Because these local ceilings are optional, the single most useful question for a buyer comparing towns is which taxing units around the specific home have adopted one, and what the unit’s optional exemptions are. The appraisal district or the taxing unit can answer it.

What does not freeze, and how to confirm your own numbers

Texas property taxes do not freeze at 65. The school ceiling applies to school district taxes only and is set when the age 65 or older exemption is first received. It does not limit county, city, junior college or special district taxes unless a unit has adopted its own optional ceiling. It does not stop special district charges. It does not stop appraised value from changing, which matters on a new home, on improvements and when you buy a different property. Local rates, special districts and appraisal changes still matter even for an owner who has every available relief.

A related point is that a ceiling is not a flat bill for life. It caps the total annual school tax so that it does not rise above the amount set, and the amount can step down when the calculation falls below it. It also resets in effect when you move, because the transfer uses a percentage applied to the new home’s school taxes, not the old dollar amount. A buyer who expects to stay in a town for decades gets the most from the ceiling, and a buyer who expects to move may see less of it.

To confirm your own numbers, apply for the homestead exemption and the age 65 or older exemption with the appraisal district in the county where the home is located, before May 1 of the year you want the exemption to apply. Then read your notice of appraised value, which lists the exemptions approved for each taxing unit. If an exemption is denied or the figures look wrong, you have the right to protest to the appraisal review board. The deadline for that protest is generally May 15 or 30 days after the appraisal district mails the notice, whichever is later.

Amounts, deadlines and local options are subject to change by the Legislature and by local governing bodies. The figures here are as stated in the January 2026 Texas Property Tax Basics and the Comptroller’s exemptions page. This guide is general information and not tax or legal advice, so confirm the amounts that apply to your home with your appraisal district and each taxing unit.

Related guides

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• Texas retirement taxes: state income tax, Social Security, pensions and federal taxes
• Moving to Texas checklist: driver license, vehicle registration, voting, homestead and utilities