Property Owners in Texas May See Further Relief if Bill Passes

One thing you can count on when owning a home in Texas is property taxes. For some of us, those taxes are the biggest reason (along with insurance) many people are being priced out of their homes.

It seems that the property taxes continuously rise, and if you don't vote for props that would make the property taxes rise, the valuation of a home through the appraisal district goes up, so you're still paying higher property taxes. Texas doesn't have a state property tax, property taxes are determined by the city and county you live in. However, there is something that the state of Texas does to somewhat help with those property taxes and that is homestead exemptions.

What is a Homestead Exemption in Texas?

According to the Texas Comptroller, a homestead exemption exempts a portion of your residence homestead's value from taxation.

Back in 2023, the Homestead exemption for school districts was raised from 40,000 to 100,000.  This means that if your home is valued at 400,000 you would only pay school taxes based on 300,000.

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This may all be changing again, and you might see even lower property taxes if a new bill passes in Texas.  On Thursday, February 7th, a Senate bill was filed by State Senator Paul Bettencourt.  He filed SB 4, this bill if passed would increase the homestead exemption yet again.  The homestead exemption would be $140,000 and for those homeowners over 65 or disabled would see an exemption of $150,000.

What has to happen for a Senate Bill to Pass in Texas?

This is the early stages of the bill, now that it has been introduced, it will move to the committee for consideration, then it will need to be voted on by the Senate chamber, if it passes the Senate chamber, it will then move to the House and it will have to move through the same process.  If passed by the House, it will then move to the Governor for approval and signature.

The bill currently has 29 sponsors in the Senate, and that's a lot seeing that the Texas Senate is comprised of 31 senators.