Dont Forget Your Homestead Tax Exemption!

Everybody loves to save money and pay fewer taxes. One of quickest and easiest ways to get a tax break on what was probably your largest purchase is to apply for the homestead tax exemption.

How It Works

Homestead exemptions remove part of your home’s value from taxation, so they lower your taxes. For example, if your home is appraised at 100,000, and you qualify for a 25,000 exemption, you will pay taxes on the home as if it were worth only 75,000. Taxing units have the option to offer a separate exemption of up to 20 percent of the total value.

To get this break on your property tax, you must fill out the Application for Residence Homestead Exemption and send it to your local appraisal district.

How You Qualify

As long as the home was your primary residence on January 1, 2016, you can apply for the exemption! There are several types of homestead exemptions (school and county taxes, age 65 or older, disabled). For specific information, you can see the list from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Beware of Scams

If you purchased a home in the last year, you’ll likely get deluged with mail from third party companies who’ll offer to file the exemption for you. DO NOT hire these companies or send them money. The amount of paperwork involved in filing your homestead exemption is easier than selling something on eBay, and it’s 100% FREE. Many of these companies send letters that are deceptively “official” in appearance and are often phishing for your personal information (and your money).

If you purchased a home in the last year or if you’ve never filed for your homestead tax exemption, now is the time! If you need help filling out the forms, contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

Filed under: montgomery county homestead exemption