Ever wondered about how the Texas Homestead Exemption works?

If you own a new home by January 1^st,  you will want to add a homestead exemption to your property.  You are allowed to have one property identified as your homestead.  There is no fee to declare a homestead for tax purposes. 

Upon purchasing a new home, you will likely receive a number of mailouts and phone calls from companies requesting to do this service for you but it is a simple process that you can do yourself with no fee.  If you live in Tarrant County, go to tad.org and click on the “New Homestead Application” form.  You can print off the form, fill it out and mail it in.  You will need your closing date and legal address of the property as well as a copy of your updated drivers license that shows the new address. If you are in another county, simply go to that county’s appraisal district website and request the same form.   

How much does this help you with taxes?  (Show me the money)

School districts grant 15k off the value of your home to be assessed school taxes.  Any taxing unit can grant up to a 20% decrease in taxed value, but not less than 5k in decreased taxed value. 

For example, a home appraised at 100k, would be allowed a 20,000 decrease in tax value – so you would be taxed on an 80k amount.  The school taxes would be 100k minus 15k which equals an 85k taxed value.  It is definitely worth your time and energy to file for a homestead exemption.  If you purchased a home in 2013 with our Real Estate team you will receive a reminder this month to file your homestead exemption.  The deadline for filing is April 30^th.  Happy Tax Savings!