A Guide to Filing Your Homestead Exemption
One of the easiest ways you can lower your property taxes as a homeowner is to file a homestead exemption. Homestead tax exemptions shelter a certain dollar amount or percentage of home value from property taxes. You only need to file for a homestead exemption once, as long as the property remains your primary residence.
A new law effective January 1, 2022 will provide property tax relief by allowing homebuyers to file for homestead exemptions in the year when they purchase the property. Currently, new homeowners must wait until the following year to file for the exemption.
How to Qualify:
1. Exemption must be applied for your principal residence.
To qualify, a home must meet the definition of a residence homestead. A homestead can be a separate structure, condominium, or a manufactured home located on owned or leased land, as long as the individual living in the home owns it. A homestead can include up to 20 acres, if the land is owned by the homeowner and used for a purpose related to the residential use of the homestead. Further, the home's owner must be an individual, not a corporation or other business entity.
2. You must use the property as your principal residence
For the calendar year of 2021, for anyone over the age of 65 or disabled exemption is effective as of Jan 1 of the tax year the applicant qualifies for the homestead and applies to the entire tax year.
Starting in January of 2022, new Texas homeowners who qualify for a homestead exemption will become immediately eligible to receive a property tax reduction when they purchase their property. Those buyers will receive the exemption allocated proportionately from the time they purchase their property.
3. Exemption must be filed between January 1 and April 30, 2022.
Many different exemptions exist. For more information on exemptions types and their exceptions, visit the Texas Comptroller's Homestead Exemption FAQ site.
Contact a Mortgage Professional near you for more information.
Information provided by the Texas Comptroller Website. Click here for a full range of property tax assistance.