How Much Is Property Tax in Texas
Texas homeowners paid an average effective property tax rate of 1.40% in 2024, about $1,400 a year for every $100,000 of home value. That is the 7th highest of the 50 states and well above the rate in each of Texas’s four neighbors (Tax Foundation).
Texas has no state property tax. The bill comes from local governments: your school district, city, county and often a hospital, college or utility district. Each sets its own rate, and the county appraisal district sets the value they all tax.
Key facts
- School homestead exemption: $140,000, and $200,000 for owners 65 or older or disabled (Tax Code 11.13).
- Apply before May 1 with your county appraisal district. There is no fee.
- Protest deadline: May 15, or 30 days after your appraisal notice was mailed.
- Bills are due January 31. Penalty and interest start February 1.
- A homestead’s taxable value cannot rise more than 10% a year, plus new improvements.
Texas taxes homes at a rate well above its neighbors. The gap with Louisiana, the lowest of the four, is more than two to one.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Texas | 1.4% |
| Oklahoma | 0.79% |
| New Mexico | 0.63% |
| Arkansas | 0.56% |
| Louisiana | 0.55% |
Source: Tax Foundation, Property Taxes by State and County, 2026, from Census Bureau American Community Survey data. Rate is residential property taxes paid divided by owner-occupied home value.
Texas sits with the high-tax Northeast and Midwest, not with the South. Of the ten highest-rate states, it is the only one from the South or West, at $1,400 a year for every $100,000 of home value.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| New Jersey | $1880 |
| Illinois | $1880 |
| Connecticut | $1540 |
| Vermont | $1510 |
| New Hampshire | $1500 |
| Nebraska | $1440 |
| Texas | $1400 |
| Ohio | $1360 |
| Iowa | $1330 |
| Wisconsin | $1320 |
Source: Tax Foundation, Property Taxes by State and County, 2026, effective rates on owner-occupied homes; dollars derived by applying each rate to $100,000. New Jersey ranks first on unrounded figures.
The rate did fall. Texas’s effective rate was 1.47% in 2023 and 1.40% in 2024, the year after the 2023 relief package took effect.
How the Texas Homestead Exemption Works
The homestead exemption takes $140,000 off your home’s value before your school district taxes it. If your home is appraised at $300,000, your school district taxes $160,000. School taxes are the biggest line on most Texas bills.
- Everyone with a homestead: $140,000 off for school taxes, raised from $100,000 by voters in November 2025.
- 65 or older, or disabled: another $60,000, for $200,000 in all. Before 2025 the total was $110,000.
- County taxes: a separate $3,000 exemption for county purposes.
- Local option: a school district, city or county may exempt up to 20% of your home’s value, at least $5,000. Ask your appraisal district which of your taxing units offer it.
To qualify, you must own the home and live in it as your main residence. File Form 50-114 with your county appraisal district before May 1 (Comptroller). You file once. If you bought after January 1, you can still claim it for the part of the year you qualify.
According to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the exemption was $15,000 in 2015, so it has grown more than ninefold in a decade.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $15K |
| 2023 | $100K |
| 2025 | $140K |
| 2025, age 65 or disabled | $200K |
Sources: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, statement of February 13, 2025 (2015 and 2023 amounts); Texas Tax Code 11.13(b) and (c) (2025 amounts).
What the 2025 Increase Saves
On a $300,000 home, the 2025 changes cut the school operating tax by about $359 in this illustration. The math below holds the home’s value flat and assumes the school district taxes at the state’s compression rate. Your district’s rate may differ, and the bill also includes school debt, city, county and other taxes.
That lands near the state’s own estimate. Patrick’s office said the average homeowner would save $363.44 from the higher exemption and $496.57 with the rate cut included (Lt. Gov.). Those are statewide averages. A rising appraisal or a higher city or county rate can eat the savings.
When Are Texas Property Taxes Due
Texas property tax bills go out around October and are due by January 31 of the next year. On February 1, penalty and interest start to build on unpaid bills (Comptroller). Most homeowners with a mortgage pay through escrow, so the lender pays the bill and your monthly payment changes when it does.
How to Protest Your Property Appraisal in Texas
You can protest your appraisal by May 15, or within 30 days after your notice was mailed if that is later. Protesting is free, you do not need a lawyer, and you can do it in person, by phone or video, or with a written affidavit (Comptroller). Open the situation closest to yours. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
What to do, by situation
Open the one closest to yours.
My appraisal notice came in higher than I think my home is worth
- Check the notice for the value, the exemptions listed and the protest deadline printed on it.
- File Form 50-132 with the appraisal review board by May 15, or within 30 days after the notice was mailed.
- Gather evidence: recent sales of similar homes nearby, photos of damage or needed repairs, repair estimates, and your closing statement if you bought recently.
- At the hearing, show the difference between their value and yours, and why.
Tax Code chapter 41 gives every owner the right to protest to the appraisal review board. The board must give you at least 15 days notice of the hearing.
My exemption is missing from my notice or my bill
- File Form 50-114 with your county appraisal district. The deadline is before May 1.
- If you turn 65, file again for the added exemption and the school tax freeze.
The homestead exemption is not automatic. Tax Code 11.13 grants it, but the appraisal district applies it only when you file.
I lost at the appraisal review board
- For a homestead, or property worth $5 million or less, ask for binding arbitration within 60 days of receiving the board's order.
- Or sue in district court within 60 days. The Comptroller notes you typically must prepay the taxes.
- For property worth more than $1 million, you can also appeal to the State Office of Administrative Hearings within 30 days.
Tax Code chapters 41A and 42 set the appeals and their deadlines.
I rent my home
- Renters cannot claim a homestead exemption. Your landlord pays the tax on the property.
- You can still vote in local elections and speak at the public hearings local governments hold before adopting a tax rate.
Homestead exemptions apply only to a home the owner lives in. The 20% cap on appraisal increases for other property, including rentals, expires at the end of 2026 unless lawmakers extend it.
Property Tax for Seniors in Texas
Texas homeowners 65 or older get $200,000 off for school taxes, and their school tax on the home is frozen. The school district cannot raise the tax above what you owed in the first year you qualified, except for new improvements such as an addition (Tax Code 11.26).
- The freeze moves with you. Buy a new home in Texas and you keep the same percentage of the new home’s school tax that you paid on the old one (section 11.26(g)).
- Cities, counties and junior colleges freeze their taxes only if that government has adopted a freeze (section 11.261). Ask your appraisal district.
- Disabled homeowners get the same exemption and freeze.
- A surviving spouse can keep the freeze in some cases (section 11.26(i)).
How a Texas Property Tax Bill Is Built
Your bill is the appraised value, minus your exemptions, times the combined rate of every local government that taxes your home. The state sets the rules, the appraisal district sets the value, and local governments set the rates.
One Texas property tax year, from appraisal to payment
- January 1 Value is set as of this date The county appraisal district values your property at market value as of January 1. A homestead cannot rise more than 10% over last year, plus improvements.
- Spring Appraisal notice arrives The notice shows the proposed value and the exemptions on file. Exemption applications are due before May 1.
- May 15 Protest deadline Or 30 days after the notice was mailed, whichever is later. Hearings before the appraisal review board begin around May 15.
- Summer Values are certified The appraisal district sends each school district, city, county and special district the taxable value in its boundaries.
- Late summer Local governments set rates Each holds public hearings and adopts a rate. School operating rates are capped by the state compression formula.
- October Bill arrives Tax bills go out, and escrow accounts are adjusted for homeowners with a mortgage.
- January 31 Payment due Penalty and interest start February 1.
Sources: Texas Comptroller, property tax basics and protests; Tax Code 23.23.
Why Texas Property Taxes Are So High
Texas has no state income tax, so local governments, school districts above all, raise most of their money from property. Since 2019 the Texas Constitution has said the Legislature “may not impose a tax on the net incomes of individuals” (Article VIII, section 24-a). The state also levies no property tax of its own (Comptroller).
That leaves schools, cities and counties to rely on property. Whether a Texas household pays more or less in total than it would elsewhere depends on its income, home value and spending. Our state income tax explainer shows where Texas fits among the states without one.
The 2023 and 2025 Texas Property Tax Relief
Texas has cut property taxes in two big rounds: 2023 and 2025. Each paired a larger homestead exemption, approved by voters as a constitutional amendment, with state money to lower school tax rates.
- Homestead exemption is $15,000 The school exemption when Dan Patrick became lieutenant governor.
- Constitution bans a state income tax Article VIII, section 24-a, added November 5, 2019.
- Exemption rises to $100,000 Voters approved Proposition 4 with 83%. The package also cut school rates and created a 20% cap for other property.
- Exemption rises to $140,000, and $200,000 for seniors Voters approved Propositions 13 and 11 on November 4, 2025.
- The 20% cap for other property expires December 31 Unless the Legislature extends it.
Sources: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, February 13, 2025; Sen. Paul Bettencourt, November 5, 2025; Texas Constitution and Tax Code.
: 2015: Homestead exemption is $15,000 (The school exemption when Dan Patrick became lieutenant governor.). 2019: Constitution bans a state income tax (Article VIII, section 24-a, added November 5, 2019.). 2023: Exemption rises to $100,000 (Voters approved Proposition 4 with 83%. The package also cut school rates and created a 20% cap for other property.). 2025: Exemption rises to $140,000, and $200,000 for seniors (Voters approved Propositions 13 and 11 on November 4, 2025.). 2026: The 20% cap for other property expires December 31 (Unless the Legislature extends it.).
2015: The school homestead exemption was $15,000, according to Patrick.
2019: Voters added section 24-a to the Texas Constitution, which bars a state tax on individuals’ net income.
2023: Voters approved Proposition 4 with 83% of the vote, raising the exemption to $100,000 and adding it to the constitution. The same package lowered school tax rates and capped yearly appraisal increases on other real property worth up to $5 million at 20% (Tax Code 23.231). Patrick’s office put the 2023 savings for the average homeowner at $1,266.30.
2025: The Senate passed the exemption increase 30-0. Voters approved Proposition 13, raising the exemption to $140,000, with 79%, and Proposition 11, raising the added amount for seniors and disabled owners to $60,000, with 77% (Sen. Bettencourt). The state also cut the school compression rate from $0.6855 to $0.6322 per $100 of value, including an added 3.31 cents paid for by the state (TEA).
2026: The 20% cap on non-homestead property expires December 31, 2026, under section 23.231(k), unless lawmakers extend it in the 2027 session.
In Patrick’s accounting, the 2023 and 2025 rounds together save the average homeowner $1,762.87 a year. His office also said the average home in 492 school districts, 49% of the state’s districts, is worth less than $140,000, so the average homeowner there owes no school operating tax at all.
Texas School Finance and Robin Hood Recapture
Recapture, called “Robin Hood,” makes property-wealthy school districts send part of their local tax money to the state, which uses it to help districts with less. In 2024-25, 225 districts sent nearly $3 billion, up from a little over $1.4 billion a decade earlier (Texas Tribune, citing TEA).
- 225
- school districts paid recapture in 2024-25
- $3B
- sent to the state, nearly double the $1.4B of a decade earlier
- $770M+
- paid by Austin ISD, about 26% of the total
Recapture is one reason school tax bills and school budgets can move in different directions. In July 2026, the Midland school board voted to sue the state, arguing that changes since 2019 took away local control over school tax rates. Our school vouchers explainer covers the other big 2025 school finance change.
Where Texas Property Tax Stands in 2026
Texas property tax fights to watch
As of September 28, 2026
- $140,000 school homestead exemption Law, Prop 13, 79%
In effect for 2025 taxes and later. Tax Code 11.13(b). (source)
- $60,000 added exemption for 65+ and disabled Law, Prop 11, 77%
Brings their school exemption to $200,000. Tax Code 11.13(c). (source)
- 20% appraisal cap on non-homestead property Law, expires Dec. 31, 2026
Covers real property first appraised at $5 million or less in 2024, indexed after. Ends unless the Legislature extends it. (source)
- Cities barred from tax increases over audits (SB 1851) Agency action, 240+ cities
The attorney general has barred cities that missed state audit requirements from raising taxes above the no-new-revenue rate, which brings in the same revenue as the year before. A second round of letters went out August 17, 2026. (source)
- Midland ISD lawsuit over school tax control Proposal, board voted to sue
The board voted in July 2026 to sue the education commissioner and state leaders over rules set since 2019. (source)
- Abolishing school property taxes Proposal
Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing to abolish school property taxes, backed by some House members and conservative groups. Finance experts quoted by the Texas Tribune call it costly and unrealistic. (source)
- Comptroller calls for local rate cuts Proposal
On August 28, 2026, Comptroller Don Huffines called rising property taxes the biggest threat to Texas growth and urged local governments to lower rates as sales tax revenue climbs. (source)
The Honest Disagreement Over Property Tax Relief
Supporters point to the votes. Every relief amendment since 2023 passed with more than three-quarters of the vote, and Patrick’s office says the higher exemption means the average homeowner in about half of Texas school districts owes no school operating tax.
The limits are built into the design. Homestead exemptions reach only homes their owners live in, so renters and owners of rental property get none, and the 20% cap that covers other property expires at the end of 2026. The rate cuts are paid for out of the state budget, which the Legislature writes every two years. On abolishing school property taxes, finance experts quoted by the Texas Tribune warn it would be costly and appears unrealistic. Rising appraisals and higher city and county rates can also cancel out the school savings on a given bill.
Texas Property Tax Questions
How much is property tax in Texas?
Texas homeowners paid an average effective rate of 1.40% of their home’s value in 2024, about $1,400 a year for every $100,000, according to the Tax Foundation. That ranks Texas 7th highest of the 50 states. Your own bill depends on your appraisal, your exemptions and the rates set by your school district, city, county and other local units.
How much is the homestead exemption in Texas?
$140,000 off your home’s value for school taxes, the largest part of most bills. Homeowners 65 or older or disabled get another $60,000, for $200,000 in all. Cities, counties and school districts may also exempt up to 20% of value.
When are Texas property taxes due?
Bills go out around October, and payment is generally due by January 31 of the following year. Penalty and interest start on February 1.
What is the deadline to protest my Texas property appraisal?
May 15, or 30 days after the appraisal notice was mailed, whichever is later. File Form 50-132 with your county’s appraisal review board.
Do seniors stop paying property taxes in Texas?
No. At 65, your school taxes on your home are frozen at the amount you owed in the first year you qualified, and they can go down but not up except for new improvements. City, county and junior college taxes are frozen only where that local government has adopted a freeze.
Why are property taxes so high in Texas?
Texas has no state income tax, and its constitution has banned one since 2019. The state levies no property tax of its own, so local governments, above all school districts, lean on property taxes to pay for schools, roads and public safety.
What You Can Do
- Check your exemptions now. Look up your property on your county appraisal district’s website. If the homestead exemption is missing, file Form 50-114. If you turned 65, file for the added exemption and the freeze.
- Protest every year your value looks high. Mark May 15 on your calendar. Bring sales of similar homes and photos of any problems.
- Go to the rate hearings. Your school district, city and county hold public hearings in late summer before adopting a rate.
- Vote in local and constitutional amendment elections. Every exemption increase since 2023 went to voters as a constitutional amendment.
- Tell your legislators what you want in 2027. Whether the 20% cap on other property survives, and whether school property taxes are cut further, is up to the Legislature. Find your members with Who Represents Me, and use our letter-writing guide. See why Texas cities have limited power over their own budgets.