Texas Homestead Property Tax Cap Calculator

How this calculator works

Texas property tax is among the highest in the United States — an effective rate near 1.8% of market value across the state average — and the structure surprises new Texas homeowners every year. Texas has no state income tax: Texas Constitution Art. VIII § 24 caps the state's ability to impose one without statewide voter approval. State and local government in Texas runs on property tax and sales tax. The result is that the property-tax bill carries real weight, and the protections built into the Texas Tax Code — the homestead exemption, the 10% appraisal cap, the age-65/disabled freeze — are the homeowner's primary line of defense.

This calculator computes a Texas residence homestead's property-tax bill under the post-Proposition 4 (constitutional amendment ratified November 7, 2023) framework, effective for the 2023 tax year and forward. Prop 4 was the largest single increase in Texas property-tax history.

The Texas property-tax structure

A Texas homeowner's tax bill is the sum of separate levies from each taxing unit that overlaps the parcel. Typical units:

1. School district — usually the largest single component. Texas school-district tax rate splits into M&O (maintenance and operations, day-to-day school operations) and I&S (interest and sinking, voter-approved bond debt service). Combined school-district rates typically run $1.00–$1.30 per $100 of taxable value.
2. County — county general fund plus permanent improvement and road-and-bridge funds. Combined county rates typically run $0.30–$0.50 per $100.
3. City / municipality — when the property is inside an incorporated city. Rates vary widely; major-metro city rates run $0.40–$0.70 per $100.
4. Special districts — hospital district, community college, MUD (municipal utility district, common in suburban Houston and Austin), water control, fire, library. Combined special-district rates vary; suburban MUD-heavy parcels can add $0.30–$0.80 per $100 on top of county and city.

A typical Texas urban / suburban combined rate runs $1.80–$2.50 per $100 of taxable value, or roughly 1.8%–2.5% of assessed value. The figure on the tax bill depends on which units overlap the parcel — even neighboring properties on opposite sides of a school-district or MUD boundary can pay materially different totals.

The $100,000 school-district homestead exemption

Before Proposition 4, the Texas school-district homestead exemption was $40,000. Prop 4 raised it to $100,000, effective for the 2023 tax year and forward, under Tax Code § 11.13(b). This is the single largest property-tax break available to a Texas primary-residence owner — and it applies only to school-district taxable value, not to county / city / special-district taxable value.

The non-school taxing units apply a separate mandatory $5,000 minimum exemption under Texas Constitution Art. VIII § 1-b(c). Many taxing units have also adopted a local-option percentage exemption of up to 20% of appraised value under Tax Code § 11.13(n) — a property worth $400,000 in a 20%-local-option county would receive an additional $80,000 of non-school exemption. This calculator models only the mandatory $5,000 minimum because local-option percentages vary widely (some counties adopt zero, some adopt the full 20%); pull the locally-adopted amount from the appraisal district website and add it to the exemption stack manually if needed.

Owners 65 or older or disabled receive an additional $10,000 school-district exemption under § 11.13(c). They also qualify for the school-district tax ceiling under § 11.26, discussed below.

The 10% homestead appraisal cap (§ 23.23)

Texas Tax Code § 23.23 caps the year-over-year increase in the APPRAISED value of a qualifying residence homestead at the lesser of (a) market value or (b) prior year's appraised value plus 10% (plus the value of any new improvements). The comparison base is prior-year appraised value, not prior-year market value — this is the single most common error in homeowner property-tax math.

The mechanic compounds. In a fast-rising market, a long-held Texas homestead's appraised value will drift below market value year over year. Over a ten-year hold in a market growing 8% per year, a homestead would see its market value climb roughly 116% while its appraised value climbs only 159% — wait, that comparison is backwards: market value would grow 116% (1.08¹⁰ − 1), appraised value would grow capped to roughly the same since the cap (10%) exceeds the appreciation (8%). In a 15%-per-year market (Austin 2020–2022), the difference is sharp: market grows 305% over ten years, appraised value capped at 159%. The gap is real and durable while the homestead status persists.

Texas's 10% cap is much looser than Florida's Save Our Homes 3% cap. Over a long hold, the Florida differential between market and assessed is much larger. But Texas's headline exemption ($100K school) is materially larger than Florida's ($50K stacked), so the net advantage depends on the appreciation environment and the hold horizon.

The school-district tax ceiling (§ 11.26)

For owners 65 or older or disabled (SSI / SSDI / VA documentation required), Texas Tax Code § 11.26 freezes the school-district M&O dollar tax bill at the dollar amount paid in the FIRST tax year of qualifying. The freeze is on the dollar amount owed, not the appraised value. Rate cuts or exemption increases can lower the bill below the ceiling, but the ceiling can never push it higher — even if market value or rates rise — absent a substantial improvement to the homestead.

Three nuances:

• The freeze covers only the school-district M&O rate. The school I&S rate is not frozen and can rise on a property under the ceiling.
• The freeze covers only school-district tax. County, city, hospital district, MUD, and other non-school levies continue to rise normally.
• The freeze is portable to a replacement homestead under § 11.26(g): the new homestead's school-district tax bill cannot exceed the percentage-of-ceiling that the prior homestead's frozen bill represented of its own normal-year bill. This is meaningful for downsizing seniors who want to move within Texas without losing the freeze.

The non-homestead 20% pilot (§ 23.231)

Texas Proposition 4 also added Tax Code § 23.231, a three-year pilot 20% appraisal cap on real property whose appraised value is under $5,000,000 and that is not a residence homestead. The pilot applies to tax years 2024, 2025, and 2026 — it sunsets December 31, 2026 unless renewed by the legislature.

Property over $5M and (absent renewal) any non-homestead property in tax year 2027 or later receives no cap and is appraised at full market value annually. This is a meaningful but time-limited break for small landlords, mixed-use property owners, and family-held land that doesn't qualify for the residence-homestead cap.

A worked example — homestead

A $450,000 Austin home. Prior-year appraised value $400,000 (the property has been homesteaded for a few years and was capped under § 23.23 last year). Owner is under 65, no disability. School-district rate $1.19 per $100 (0.0119), combined non-school rate $0.80 per $100 (0.008).

• Apply the cap: prior $400,000 × 1.10 = $440,000 ceiling. Market $450,000 > $440,000, so this-year appraised value is capped at $440,000.
• School exemption: $100,000. Taxable school value = $440,000 − $100,000 = $340,000.
• Non-school exemption: $5,000 minimum. Taxable non-school value = $440,000 − $5,000 = $435,000.
• School tax: $340,000 × 0.0119 = $4,046.
• Non-school tax: $435,000 × 0.008 = $3,480.
• Total estimated annual tax: $7,526.

Tax savings from the cap: ($450,000 − $440,000) × (0.0119 + 0.008) = $10,000 × 0.0199 = $199.

Tax savings from the exemption stack: $100,000 × 0.0119 + $5,000 × 0.008 = $1,190 + $40 = $1,230.

The exemption is the bigger break in any given year. The cap's value compounds over hold time.

A worked example — homestead, age 70

Same home, same market value, same prior-year appraised, but the owner turned 65 a few years ago. Add the § 11.13(c) additional $10,000 school exemption AND the § 11.26 school-district ceiling.

• Capped appraised value: $440,000 (unchanged).
• School exemption: $100,000 + $10,000 = $110,000. Taxable school = $330,000.
• Non-school exemption: $5,000. Taxable non-school = $435,000.
• School tax — normal-year estimate: $330,000 × 0.0119 = $3,927.
• Non-school tax: $435,000 × 0.008 = $3,480.
• Total estimated annual tax (normal-year basis): $7,407.

But the § 11.26 ceiling overrides the school-district M&O portion: if the owner first qualified at age 65 in 2020 and paid (say) $2,900 of school-district M&O that year, the school M&O bill is capped at $2,900 going forward — even if rates rise or appraisals grow. The school I&S portion (typically $0.20–$0.30 of the $1.19 total, or roughly $660–$990 here) is not frozen. The non-school portion is not frozen. The actual freeze amount must come from the appraisal district's records — this calculator surfaces eligibility but does not store the historical first-year figure.

A worked example — rental property under the § 23.231 pilot

Same $450,000 Austin home, but it's a rental — not a residence homestead. Prior-year appraised value $400,000, current market value $450,000, tax year 2026 (the final year of the § 23.231 pilot, before sunset).

• Apply the non-homestead 20% cap: prior $400,000 × 1.20 = $480,000 ceiling. Market $450,000 < $480,000, so the cap is not binding — the appraised value tracks market value of $450,000.
• No homestead exemption — non-homestead property does not qualify for § 11.13.
• Taxable value: $450,000 (no cap-reduction, no exemption).
• School tax: $450,000 × 0.0119 = $5,355.
• Non-school tax: $450,000 × 0.008 = $3,600.
• Total estimated annual tax: $8,955.

The contrast is sharp: the same property pays $7,526 as a homestead but $8,955 as a rental. The difference — about $1,429 per year in this scenario — is the value of the § 11.13 exemption stack and the § 23.23 cap (where binding). On a property that has appreciated faster than 20% year-over-year, the § 23.231 pilot would also bind and add to the differential — until December 31, 2026, after which the pilot sunsets unless renewed.

The May 15 protest deadline

Texas Tax Code § 41.44 gives the homeowner until May 15 OR 30 days after the appraisal-district notice was mailed (whichever is LATER) to file a Notice of Protest (Form 50-132). The two-track deadline matters because some districts mail notices late — the 30-day window then governs.

The appraisal review board (ARB) sets a hearing; the property owner presents evidence (comparable sales, condition photos, equity arguments under § 41.43(b)(3)) and the ARB issues an order. From an unfavorable ARB order, the owner can appeal to district court under § 42.21 or pursue binding arbitration under § 41A.01 if the property qualifies. Protesting the appraisal does not delay the tax bill — the tax is owed in October based on the appraised value as finally determined.

The protest is the homeowner's primary tool for challenging an over-appraisal. Texas appraisal districts re-value every parcel every year and frequently produce values above market — particularly in fast-moving markets — because the district's incentive structure rewards revenue. A well-supported protest with three to five comparable sales and condition documentation routinely reduces appraised value by 5%–15%, which compounds annually under the cap if the homeowner stays homesteaded.

Common errors

Four mistakes turn up routinely in Texas property-tax math:

1. Computing the 10% cap against last year's market value instead of last year's appraised value. The statutory comparison base is appraised, not market. A homeowner whose market value jumped from $400K to $500K but whose prior-year appraised value was $400K sees this-year appraised value capped at $440K — not $500K and not $450K.
2. Forgetting the § 11.26 school-district tax ceiling when modeling a 65+ owner. The ceiling can override the normal computation entirely; the dollar tax bill is the lower of the normal computation and the historical frozen amount.
3. Expecting Florida-style 3% cap mechanics. Texas's cap is 10%, much looser, and the comparison base differs (Texas measures against appraised, Florida against assessed — different terminology, similar spirit, but the 10% vs 3% gap is the headline difference). Texas homeowners moving from Florida frequently underestimate their first-year-of-rapid-appreciation tax exposure.
4. Missing that the $100K school exemption applies only to school-district taxable value. A homeowner who computes "$450K market − $100K exemption = $350K taxable" and then multiplies by the combined 0.0199 rate is over-counting the exemption against the non-school portion. The non-school portion gets the $5,000 minimum, not the $100,000 school figure.

What this calculator does not do

This is a planning and screening tool. It does not:

• Substitute for the homestead application. A new Texas homeowner files Form 50-114 with the county appraisal district; under § 11.43(c), late applications are accepted for up to two years after the delinquency date with retroactive refund.
• Compute local-option percentage exemptions. Tax Code § 11.13(n) lets non-school taxing units adopt an additional percentage exemption of up to 20%. We model only the mandatory $5,000 minimum because the locally-adopted amount varies; add the local-option exemption to the stack manually if your county or city has adopted one.
• Apply the § 11.26 freeze to the school-district output. The freeze requires the first-year-of-65 dollar amount from the appraisal district's records, which is per-property historical data not present in this calculator.
• Compute the § 11.26 ceiling transfer percentage. The transfer math for a 65+ owner moving to a replacement homestead requires the full normal-year school-district bill at the new property; that is a separate, multi-step calculation not modeled here.
• Handle agricultural, timber, wildlife, or open-space special-use valuations. Tax Code § 23.41 et seq. provide productivity-value rather than market-value appraisal for qualifying land; that is a different regime entirely.

How this page is maintained

The Texas residence-homestead framework was substantially restructured by Proposition 4 in November 2023, effective for the 2023 tax year and forward. The next material event is the December 31, 2026 sunset of § 23.231 (the non-homestead 20% pilot cap) — the Texas legislature will decide in the 2025 or 2027 session whether to renew, expand, or let it expire. We monitor each Texas legislative session for changes to Chapters 11, 23, 41, and 42 of the Tax Code and refresh the affected calculators within 30 days of any enacted amendment.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-15 against Texas Tax Code § 11.13, § 11.26, § 23.23, § 23.231, Texas Constitution Art. VIII § 1-b, and Texas Proposition 4 (November 2023).