FILE FOR A HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION TO SAVE ON YOUR PROPERTY TAXES
As a courtesy to our real estate clients, there are links to applications for filing Homestead Exemptions in
Harris and surrounding counties below. The deadline to file is April 30, 2021, for homeowners who purchased their homes on or before December 31, 2020.
Brazoria County Appraisal District
Fort Bend County Appraisal District
Galveston County Appraisal District
Harris County Appraisal District
Montgomery County Appraisal District
Waller County Appraisal District
How to File an Application for Homestead Exemption
1. Obtain application form(s) at the local appraisal district office
(or download them from your county site above).
2. Return the form(s) to the appraisal district office after Jan. 1st,
but no later than April 30 and include other information as
indicated on the application form.
3. Provide all the information and documentation requested.
For example, if a property owner is claiming an age 65 or older or
disabled exemption, he or she may need to show proof of age or disability.
Remember that making false statements on the exemption
application is a criminal offense.
4. If the chief appraiser mails a written request for more information,
the property owner has 30 days from the postmark date to reply.
5. The chief appraiser must notify a property owner in writing within five days
if he or she denies or modifies an exemption.
This notice must explain how the property owner can protest m\before the ARB.
Additional notice requirements exist before a chief appraiser can cancel
an exemption for an owner who is age 65 or older.
Residence Homestead Exemption - Texas Comptroller
To qualify for residence homestead exemptions, the property owner generally
must own and occupy the home as his or her principal residence on January 1st.
Typically, the exemption is applicable as of January 1 of the tax year in which it is approved.
The residence itself can be a house, a condominium, or a manufactured home, as long as the property
owner owns the improvement. A residence homestead generally includes the land as well, not to exceed 20 acres, so long as the owner
of the residence holds an ownership interest in the land upon which it sits. Generally, a property owner may not
receive a residence homestead exemption for more than one property in the same year.
If a property owner temporarily moves away, he or she can still receive an exemption as long he or she intends to return
and does not establish another principal residence. Temporarily generally means an absence of less than two years.
An absence for military service inside or outside the U.S. or a stay in a facility providing services related to health, infirmity, or aging might be longer.
