Texas Over-65 Property Tax Exemption: 2025 Guide

Texas homeowners who are age 65 or older qualify for additional property tax benefits beyond the standard homestead exemption. These benefits include a larger school district exemption and a school tax ceiling that can freeze your school district taxes for as long as you remain in your home.

What Is the Texas Over-65 Exemption?

The Texas over-65 exemption (formally called the Person Age 65 or Older exemption) provides qualifying senior homeowners with two distinct benefits:

• An additional school district exemption that further reduces the taxable value of your home for school tax purposes
• A school district tax ceiling that limits how much you pay in school taxes each year

These benefits are in addition to the standard homestead exemption that all qualifying Texas homeowners receive.

2025 Over-65 Exemption Amounts

In 2025, Texas Senate Bill 23 (SB 23) increased the school district exemption for seniors and disabled homeowners significantly. The current 2025 figures are:

• General homestead exemption: $140,000 off school district taxable value (applies to all qualifying homeowners)
• Additional over-65 exemption: $60,000 off school district taxable value (increased from $10,000 under SB 23)
• Combined school district reduction: $200,000 off appraised value for qualifying seniors

The School District Tax Ceiling

The school district tax ceiling is one of the most valuable features of the over-65 exemption. Once the ceiling is established in the year you first qualify, your school district taxes are frozen at that dollar amount.

Even if your home’s appraised value increases, or if school district tax rates rise, your school district tax bill cannot exceed the ceiling amount. The ceiling remains in place for as long as you continue to live in the home and qualify for the exemption.

Important things to know about the ceiling:

• The ceiling is set in the year you first qualify for the over-65 exemption
• If you make improvements to your home, the ceiling may be adjusted upward to reflect those improvements
• If your tax bill would otherwise be lower than the ceiling amount (because of rate compression or other changes), you pay the lower amount
• A surviving spouse age 55 or older may be eligible to maintain the ceiling after the qualifying spouse’s death

Who Qualifies for the Over-65 Exemption?

To qualify for the Texas over-65 property tax exemption, you must:

• Be age 65 or older
• Own the property and use it as your principal residence
• Have an active homestead exemption on the property

You may apply for the over-65 exemption at any time during the year you turn 65. The exemption can be prorated for the portion of the year after you qualify.

How to Apply

You apply for the over-65 exemption through your county appraisal district using Form 50-114 (Application for Residence Homestead Exemption). This is the same form used for the general homestead exemption – you simply indicate that you are applying for the over-65 benefit as well.

The general deadline is April 30 of the tax year. Late applications may be accepted up to one year after the delinquency date of the tax year for which you are applying.

Once approved, you do not need to reapply each year unless your eligibility changes.

Optional Local Exemptions for Seniors

In addition to the school district benefits, cities, counties, and other taxing units have the option to offer their own additional exemptions for homeowners age 65 or older. These vary widely by location.

Some taxing units also offer a local tax ceiling for seniors, similar to the school district ceiling, that freezes local taxes at a set amount. Whether these are available depends on the specific taxing units that apply to your property.

Contact your county appraisal district or local taxing units to ask about optional senior exemptions in your area.