Homeowners in Houston get $100,000 general homestead exemption from their school district. Harris County also provides a 20% homestead exemption. Other taxing units in the county offer a minimum of $5,000 exemption, upto 20%. If your ISD tax rate is 1.3%, then you save $520 on school district taxes. Similar savings are available from other taxing units. In addition, if you are over 65 years of age or disabled, you get an extra $10,000 off i.e, your general homestead exemption will be $50,000. Other taxing units may also offer you specific exemptions. You can check your applicable exemptions on Harris County Appraisal District's property search page. Scroll to the
"Exemptions and Jurisdictions" section. Here is an example:
If you are a disabled vet, then your eligible for veteran's exemption. Your homestead exemption will be determined based on the percentage of your disability.
If you are new homeowner in Harris County, you have three options to apply for your homestead exemption:
HCAD's mailing address is available on their contact page. If you have any questions, you can also call them up. Submitting a homestead exemption application is easy and FREE! DO NOT PAY ANYONE to apply for your homestead exemption. If you recently moved in, be sure to have the address on your Texas DL updated to your new address. The address on your Texas DL should match the property address for which you are claiming homestead exemption.
Effective January 1st 2022, new homeowners in Texas can apply for homestead exemption in the first year itself. Senate Bill 8 allows homeowners to file for homestead exemptions in the same year they purchase their property, instead of having to wait for the exemption to take place the following year. In case you forgot to apply for your homestead exemption after the first year, you can apply for a late homestead application and claim homestead exemption retroactively for upto two years.
If you already have a general homestead exemption, and you turn 65 or become disabled through the year, you can claim the additional exemption for the entire year by re-applying. You have upto one year from the date you qualify to apply for the additional over 65 or disabled exemption.
You can check your homestead exemption status on Harris County appraisal district's website. Search for your property and open your property details page. You should see your homestead exemption status on the property details page. Here is an example:
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