McKinney City Council approved a homestead exemption for people over age 65 and disabled people at its June 20 meeting.
The council voted unanimously to approve the $85,000 exemption. The exemption will go into effect for the 2023 tax year beginning Oct. 1. This is a $5,000 increase from the amount currently used by the city.
The context
A homestead exemption reduces the amount of taxable value of a property eligible homeowners pay and can be either a percentage or a flat amount. McKinney does not have a homestead exemption, but nearby cities Plano, Frisco and Wylie do.
The city has a tax exemption of $80,000 for this group, which is re-evaluated each year. At the current tax rate, those eligible for the exemption save $366 in reduced taxes, and noneligible taxpayers pay $51 more per year. For every $5,000 the exemption increases by, members of this group pays $23 less in taxes, while the rest of the population sees a $3.34 increase.
Quote of note
“This is not a tax break; it’s a tax transfer,” Council Member Patrick Cloutier said. “The city is going to get the money it needs to operate; it’s just a question of where do we get it. ... I would make the case humbly that the best way to get taxes is the sales taxes, right? We love to have everybody from Plano drive up here and buy everything they can. For years, I drove over to Plano to Costco and helped them.”
