Sheet TX · 2026 rules
Texas Property Tax Calculator
Texas taxes 100% of appraised value with no state property tax, but school districts must exempt $140,000 of a homestead’s value (another $60,000 at 65 or disabled), and a homestead’s appraised value may rise at most 10% a year.
Rules verified 6 primary sources Editorial policy
Estimate your 2026 Texas bill
- Tax — School district —
- Tax — County, city and districts —
- Credits subtracted —
- Fixed charges added —
Different allowances for different levies need separately approved taxable bases in the prepared levy worksheet. The extra exemption above subtracts the same assessed-dollar amount from every modeled levy.
How Texas turns value into a tax bill
| Step | Texas rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Value | The county appraisal district sets market value each January 1; a homestead is taxed on its capped appraised value. | [1] |
| Assessment | 100% of appraised value | [1][3] |
| Annual limit | A homestead’s appraised value may rise at most 10% a year (plus new improvements). Through December 31, 2026, other real property valued at $5,320,000 or less is limited to 20%.The homestead cap starts the year after the owner first qualifies; the 20% limit expires at the end of 2026 unless extended and covers only property at or below the 2026 threshold. | [3][4] |
| Exemption | School district homestead exemption: $140,000 off appraised value; School district.Owner's principal residence (Tax Code 11.13(b)); raised to $140,000 by SB 4 (2025), approved by voters Nov. 4, 2025. | [1][2][5] |
| Exemption | Age 65+ or disabled school exemption: $60,000 off appraised value; School district.Homestead owner age 65 or older, or disabled under the federal Social Security disability definition (only one of the two may be claimed); Tax Code 11.13(c), raised to $60,000 by SB 23 (2025), approved Nov. 4, 2025. | [1][2][5] |
| Exemption | 100% disabled veteran exemption: 100% off appraised value; all levies.Veteran awarded 100% disability compensation for a service-connected disability and rated 100% disabled or individually unemployable by the VA (Tax Code 11.131); extends to the unremarried surviving spouse. | [1][2] |
| Rate | School district: local rate — you enter it.School district maintenance-and-operations and debt rates; the only levies the state-mandated exemptions reduce. | |
| Rate | County, city and districts: local rate — you enter it.Counties, cities, hospital, college and other districts; their optional percentage homestead exemptions are local choices (enter under optional local exemptions). |
Texas property tax rules in brief
Appraisal districts value property at market value, and every taxing unit (school district, county, city, special district) sets its own rate per $100 of taxable value.36
School districts must exempt $140,000 of a residence homestead's appraised value, plus another $60,000 for owners 65+ or disabled; these mandatory exemptions apply only to school taxes.12
Texas voters approved the larger $140,000 and $60,000 school exemptions on Nov. 4, 2025.5
A homestead's appraised value can rise no more than 10% a year over the prior year's appraised value plus new improvements, starting the year after the owner first qualifies.3
Non-homestead real property valued at $5,320,000 or less in 2026 gets a 20% annual limit, and that circuit breaker expires December 31, 2026.4
Veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating (or individual unemployability) are fully exempt on their residence homestead.12
School taxes on a 65+ or disabled owner's homestead are frozen at the amount from the year the owner first qualified.6
Worked example
Illustrative rates: school $1.00 and other units $1.20 per $100. First homestead year, so appraised value is 300,000. School taxable 300,000 − 140,000 = 160,000 → 1,600.00; other units 300,000 → 3,600.00. Total 5,200.00.
| Line | Taxable value | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| School district at $1.00 per $100 | $160,000.00 | $1,600.00 |
| County, city and districts at $1.20 per $100 | $300,000.00 | $3,600.00 |
| Annual total | $5,200.00 |
Left to your local bill
- School tax ceiling (freeze) for 65+/disabled homesteads (Tax Code 11.26): school tax cannot exceed the amount in the first year the owner qualified; needs the ceiling amount from the tax bill
- Local-option homestead exemption of up to 20% of appraised value (minimum $5,000) adopted by any taxing unit (Tax Code 11.13(n))
- Local-option 65+/disabled exemption of at least $3,000 adopted by a taxing unit (Tax Code 11.13(d)); county/city tax ceilings for 65+/disabled where adopted
- $3,000 county homestead exemption for farm-to-market road / flood control levies (Tax Code 11.13(a))
- Partial disabled-veteran exemptions under Tax Code 11.22 by VA rating: $5,000 (10-29%), $7,500 (30-49%), $10,000 (50-69%), $12,000 (70%+), or $12,000 if 65+ with 10%+ rating; apply to any one property and all taxing units
- Surviving spouse exemptions (first responders, service members killed in action, veterans dying of presumed service-connected conditions)
- Special appraisal (agricultural/timber), disaster temporary exemptions, and voter-approval rate elections
Census context, not a rate
American Community Survey 2020–2024: median owner-occupied value $283,800 (±$738), median real-estate taxes $4,232 (±$19). Dividing one by the other gives 1.49% for Texas. Tables B25077 and B25103; why it is only context.
Sources
- tcss.legis.texas.govTex. Tax Code 11.13(b), (c) (file server behind statutes.capitol.texas.gov), read .
“(b) An adult is entitled to exemption from taxation by a school district of $140,000 of the appraised value of the adult's residence homestead ... (c) ... an adult who is disabled or is 65 or older is entitled to an exemption from taxation by a school district of $60,000 of the appraised value”
- comptroller.texas.govTexas Comptroller, Property Tax Exemptions, read .
“Tax Code Section 11.13(b) requires school districts to provide a $140,000 exemption on a residence homestead and Tax Code Section 11.13(n) allows any taxing unit to adopt a local option residence homestead exemption of up to 20 percent of a property's appraised value.”
- tcss.legis.texas.govTex. Tax Code 23.23(a) and 23.231(k), read .
“the sum of: (A) 10 percent of the appraised value of the property for the preceding tax year; (B) the appraised value of the property for the preceding tax year; and (C) the market value of all new improvements to the property. ... (k) This section expires December 31, 2026.”
- comptroller.texas.govTexas Comptroller, Valuing Property (circuit breaker limitation, Tax Code 23.231), read .
“The circuit breaker limitation applies only to real property that is not a residence homestead and is: valued at $5,320,000 or less”
- comptroller.texas.govTexas Comptroller, Property Tax Today, Vol. 35 (Jan. 2026), Constitutional Amendments, read .
“On Nov. 4, 2025, Texas voters approved ... An increase to the additional residence homestead exemption amount provided by a school district for persons age 65 or older or disabled to $60,000. An increase to the general residence homestead exemption amount provided by a school district to $140,000”
- tcss.legis.texas.govTex. Tax Code 11.26(a), read .
“A school district may not increase the total annual amount of ad valorem tax it imposes on the residence homestead of an individual 65 years of age or older or on the residence homestead of an individual who is disabled”
Bordering jurisdictions
Rules verified by the Property Tax Calculator Editorial Team. Report a correction