Tens of Thousands of Texas Homeowners Leave Homestead Tax Savings Unclaimed

Tens of thousands of Texas homeowners are paying property taxes on a home they live in without the homestead exemption that would lower the bill, and many can still claim it for the past two years.

In Dallas County alone, about 57,000 properties appear eligible for a homestead exemption they do not have, worth an estimated $310 million in tax savings including refunds, according to an analysis of the appraisal district’s 2025 certified tax roll by the Child Poverty Action Lab, a Dallas nonprofit. The Texas Tribune reported similar gaps of about 113,000 homes in Harris County and about 60,000 each in Travis and Bexar counties.

What the exemption is worth

State law requires every school district to exempt $140,000 of a homestead’s value from school property taxes, under Section 11.13 of the Tax Code, according to the Texas Comptroller. Homeowners 65 and older or with a disability get an additional $60,000. Cities, counties and other taxing units may offer their own exemptions on top of that.

In Travis County, the homestead exemption saved the average property owner $3,663, the Travis Central Appraisal District said in January.

How to claim it, and claim it late

Homeowners apply with their county appraisal district using the comptroller’s Form 50-114. There is no fee. The form asks for a copy of a Texas driver’s license or state ID showing the home’s address.

The deadline to apply for a given year is April 30, but the law allows a late application up to two years after that deadline, under Section 11.431 of the Tax Code, which means a homeowner who missed it can recover savings for earlier years. Disabled veterans can apply up to five years late.

Checking a home

Homeowners who are not sure whether their home has the exemption can look up their property on their county appraisal district’s website, where the exemptions on file are listed.