Property Tax Exemptions for Homeowners
A homestead exemption helps you save on taxes on your home. An exemption removes part of the value of your property from taxation and lowers your taxes. For example, if your home is valued at $100,000 and you qualify for a $20,000 exemption, you pay taxes on your home as if it was worth only $80,000.


What Kinds of Homestead Exemptions Are Available?
School taxes — all homeowners.
If you qualify for the homestead exemption, you will receive at least a $15,000 homestead exemption on the value of your home for school district taxes.

County taxes — all homeowners.
Harris County currently provides a 20% optional homestead exemption to all homeowners. This means, for example, that if your home is valued at $100,000, the exemption will reduce its taxable value for Harris County taxes by $20,000 to $80,000.

Optional exemptions — all homeowners.
Any taxing unit, including a school district, city, county or special district, may offer an exemption for up to 20% of your home's value. The amount of an optional exemption can't be less than $5,000, no matter what the percentage is. For example, if your home is valued at $20,000 and your city offers a 20% optional exemption, your exemption is $5,000, even though 20% of $20,000 is just $4,000.

The governing body of each taxing unit decides whether it will offer the exemption and at what percentage. This percentage exemption is added to any other homestead exemption for which the applicant qualifies.

Application Deadlines
In general, the last day to apply for a homestead exemption for the year is April 30 of that year. If you mail an application, it should be postmarked by that date. However, if you missed the deadline you can still apply:

For a general exemption: up to one year after the date taxes became delinquent for the year (usually February 1 of the year following the tax year).

For an over-65 or disabled person: if you turn 65, become totally disabled, or acquire a property during the year, you can apply and have the over-65 or disability exemption activated for that year. ;The deadline to apply for an over-65 or disabled person’s exemption for the year in which you qualify is the first anniversary of the date you qualify. In other words, you have one year from the date you qualify to apply.For example:

If you turn 65 during the year, you have until your 66th birthday to apply for the year in which you turn 65.
If you are already qualified and you purchase a different home, you have one year from the date you occupy the home to apply.
If you become disabled during the year, you have one year from the date you became disabled to apply.
Otherwise, the deadline for applying for the over-65 or disability exemption is the same as the deadline given above.

Homestead Cap
An additional benefit of the general homestead exemption, especially in an appreciating housing market, is the homestead cap, or limitation on increases in appraised value. The cap applies to your homestead beginning in the second year you have a homestead exemption. The cap law provides that if you qualify, the value on which your taxes will be calculated (called your appraised value) cannot exceed the lesser of:

This year’s market value; or
Last year’s appraised value, plus 10% plus the value added by any new improvements made during the preceding year.
If homes are appreciating at more than 10% per year, the cap can provide substantial tax savings. For more information, click on the following link: Discussion on Capped Values.

Over-65 Homeowners
A person who is 65 or older may receive additional exemptions. You are eligible for these exemptions as soon as you turn 65; you don’t need to be 65 as of the first of the year to apply. School districts automatically grant an additional $10,000 exemption for qualified persons who are 65 or older. An additional advantage of the over-65 exemption is the school tax ceiling. Once you qualify, your school taxes will not increase unless you make improvements to the home. Cities, the county, and other taxing units may, but are not required to, offer over-65 homestead exemptions of at least $3,000 and sometimes much more. Call the Harris County Appraisal District at the numbers listed on the contact page to determine what taxing units in which your home is located offer an over-65 homestead exemption. You can also find this information on our website by going to the page for your account and clicking the blue word “Jurisdictions” in the heading of the table of jurisdictions. We also can send you a pamphlet on disability exemptions.

Homeowners with Disabilities
A person with a disability also may get exemptions. "Disabled" means either (1) you can't engage in gainful work because of physical or mental disability or (2) you are 55 years old and blind and can't engage in your previous work because of your blindness. If you receive disability benefits under the federal Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance Program administered by the Social Security Administration, you will qualify.

Disability benefits from any other program, including a disabled veterans' pension, do not automatically qualify you for this exemption. You may need information on disability ratings from the civil service, retirement programs or from insurance documents, military records or a doctor's statement. Also read information about the disabled veterans' exemption.

If disabled, you will qualify for a $10,000 exemption for school taxes, in addition to the $15,000 exemption for all homeowners. And, any taxing unit can offer an exemption of at least $3,000 from the home value of disabled homeowners. Disabled homeowners also qualify for a school tax ceiling, the same as for those who are over-65.

Call Your County's Appraisal District's Telephone Information Center to determine what taxing units in which your home is located offer a disability homestead exemption.

http://www.hcad.org/pdf/forms/fill/11-13_fill.pdf

Do you have questions or need additional information?http://www.hcad.org/Resources/Exemptions/Homeowners.asp