What you need to know
Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1801 in the 88th legislative session, with the law going into effect Sept. 1, 2023, for the most recent 2024 tax season. The law requires appraisal districts to review every homestead exemption eligibility at least once every five years, according to bill language.
Homestead exemptions subtract a percentage or fixed-dollar amount from a property's appraised value, resulting in a cut to property tax bills, according to the Texas Comptroller's Office website.
But the law allows a county's chief appraiser to develop a county program to meet the law’s requirements, which has some Fort Bend County property owners unsure of the reapplication process, said Rex Wogan, deputy chief appraiser for the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District.
Some Central and North Texas appraisal districts took the approach of requiring all or tens of thousands of property owners to verify their homestead exemptions, other news publications reported. The FBCAD, however, is taking what Wogan called a more “property owner-friendly approach,” instead opting to consistently audit exemptions and notify individual property owners whose eligibility may have lapsed.
“We've adopted an approach that's very similar to what we were doing before the legislation passed, and we're continuing to do audits just like we've done in years past,” he said.
Put in perspective
County appraisal districts were already conducting audits on homestead exemptions, but the law created the five-year time frame in which all exemptions must be verified at least once, Wogan said.
After the law’s passage in 2023, FBCAD hired a third-party company to conduct more robust audits year round and ask property owners to reapply if their eligibility may have lapsed, Wogan said. The district won’t require all property owners to reapply.
“We certainly don't want to remove exemptions that people are eligible for, so we send out these letters to help property owners maintain their eligibility if they still are eligible,” he said. “But of course, we do have the responsibility to make sure that people who are not eligible are also not claiming the exemption.”
Digging deeper
There are no expiration dates on homestead exemptions as long as eligibility is maintained by the property owner owning and occupying the home as their primary residence, Wogan said.
According to the comptroller’s office, any local taxing unit can provide property owners exemptions, but Senate Bill 2 passed last session requires school districts to offer the following exemptions for qualifying property owners:
- $100,000 tax exemption on their primary home
- $110,000 exemption for people age 65 or older and people with disabilities
Looking ahead
April 30 is the last day for Texas property owners to apply for a homestead exemption that will appear on the 2025 tax bills this fall. However, the state allows property owners to apply for exemptions up to two years after the bill is delinquent, which is usually Feb. 1 after the bill is issued, according to the comptroller’s office.
“[This] is a pretty decent benefit because a lot of property owners are not terribly familiar with the property tax process, and some don't realize that they're eligible for certain exemptions,” Wogan said.
Property owners in Fort Bend County should contact the FBCAD customer service team at 281-344-8623 if they have questions or need assistance with a homestead exemption application, Wogan said.
Additionally, the FBCAB began mailing notices of appraised value to property owners in early April. Most homeowners have until May 15 to protest their property appraisals if they disagree with the value the appraisal district placed on their property, Wogan said.
Homeowners can protest an appraisal through the online appeal system at www.fbcad.org/appeals.
