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Beyond the general homestead exemption, Texas offers additional property tax relief for homeowners who are age 65 or older or who are disabled. These exemptions can significantly lower what an older or disabled homeowner pays, and they often come up when heirs are sorting out a property that belonged to an elderly parent.
These exemptions generally provide an extra reduction in taxable value on top of the regular homestead exemption, further lowering the tax bill. They can also come with a tax ceiling, sometimes called a freeze, on certain taxes like school district taxes, which limits how much that portion of the bill can rise while the qualifying owner lives there. There’s also a provision that can allow an over-65 or disabled homeowner to defer, or postpone, paying property taxes on their homestead, though deferred taxes still accrue and come due later. As always, the specifics are handled through the county appraisal district.
For heirs, these exemptions explain a common surprise. A parent who was 65 or older may have been paying very low property taxes for years thanks to these benefits. When that parent passes away, the exemptions tied to them can end, and the taxes can rise notably for the heirs, sometimes after a period of deferral that then becomes due. A bill that seemed small while the parent was alive can look very different afterward.
The practical point is to understand what was in place and what changes. If you’ve inherited a home that belonged to an elderly or disabled relative, it’s worth asking the appraisal district what exemptions applied, whether any taxes were deferred, and what the situation is now. Knowing this helps explain the current bill and informs whether keeping or selling the property makes the most sense.
A couple of quick questions:
Do a parent’s over-65 tax benefits pass to me when I inherit? Generally no, those benefits are tied to the qualifying owner and can end when they pass away. The taxes may rise for heirs as a result, which catches many families off guard.
What happens to taxes my elderly parent deferred? Deferred property taxes are postponed, not erased; they accrue and generally become due later. It’s worth asking the appraisal district whether any deferral was in place on an inherited home.
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