The Denton County homestead exemption lowers the property tax bill on your primary residence by removing a chunk of the home’s appraised value before taxes are calculated. The biggest single cut is the state-mandated school district exemption of $140,000.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions On top of that, Denton County adds its own local exemption, and homeowners who are 65 or older, disabled, or disabled veterans qualify for further reductions worth thousands more each year.
Who Qualifies
You have to be an individual owner, not a business or corporation, and the property has to be your primary residence. You also need a Texas driver’s license or state-issued ID with an address that matches the property.2Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Residence Homestead Exemption Application You can’t hold a homestead exemption on any other property in Texas or anywhere else at the same time.
The homestead covers the house and up to 20 acres of surrounding land used for residential purposes. Anything past 20 acres doesn’t get the exemption.
Eligibility usually turns on your status on January 1 of the tax year. If you owned and occupied the home that day, you qualify for the full exemption for the year. Purchases later in the year are handled separately, described further down.
What Comes Off Your Appraised Value
Texas law requires every school district to subtract $140,000 from your home’s appraised value before calculating school taxes.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11.13 – Residence Homestead That figure was raised from $100,000 after Texas voters approved Proposition 13 in November 2025, effective retroactively to the 2025 tax year.4Ballotpedia. Texas Proposition 13, Increase Homestead Property Tax Exemption Amendment On a home appraised at $400,000, school taxes are calculated on $260,000.
Counties that collect farm-to-market or flood control taxes must also provide a $3,000 exemption on residence homesteads.1Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions It applies automatically alongside the school exemption.
Denton County has adopted its own general homestead exemption of 1% of appraised value or $5,000, whichever is greater.5Denton County. Denton County Homestead Exemption Cities and special districts within the county may add their own optional exemptions. Amounts vary by taxing unit, so check your tax statement or contact the Denton Central Appraisal District to confirm what applies to your address. Local exemptions stack on top of the state school exemption.
Extra Reductions for Seniors, Disabled Homeowners, and Disabled Veterans
If you’re 65 or older or have a qualifying disability, you get an additional $60,000 off your appraised value for school district tax purposes, on top of the $140,000 exemption.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11.13 – Residence Homestead That’s $200,000 of the home’s value shielded from school taxes. You qualify the year you turn 65. A qualifying disability is one that would make you eligible for Social Security disability benefits, whether or not you’re actually receiving them. You can claim the over-65 or the disability exemption, but not both.
Denton County itself offers an over-65 exemption of $55,000 and a disabled person exemption of $15,000 beyond the general county exemption.5Denton County. Denton County Homestead Exemption
The School Tax Ceiling
Once you qualify for the over-65 or disability exemption, your school district taxes are frozen at what you owed that first year. The district can never charge more than that ceiling, even if your home’s value climbs sharply later. Your bill can dip below the ceiling if rates fall, but it will never exceed it.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11.26 – Limitation of School Tax on Homesteads of Elderly or Disabled Denton County adopted its own tax limitation for over-65 and disabled homeowners in 2019.5Denton County. Denton County Homestead Exemption If you move within Texas, the percentage of the discount transfers to your new home; request a Tax Ceiling Certificate from the appraisal district where the old home was located.
Disabled Veterans
Texas gives disabled veterans partial homestead exemptions tied to VA disability rating:
- 10% to 29%: up to $5,000 off appraised value
- 30% to 49%: up to $7,500
- 50% to 69%: up to $10,000
- 70% to 100%: up to $12,000
Veterans rated 100% disabled by the VA, or determined individually unemployable due to a service-connected disability, qualify for a complete exemption from property taxes on their homestead. That means zero property taxes to any taxing unit.7State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent or Totally Disabled Veteran Surviving spouses of 100% disabled veterans can keep the total exemption on the same homestead if they haven’t remarried and the property is still their primary residence.
The 10% Appraisal Cap
The homestead designation also limits how fast your appraised value can rise. Under Texas Tax Code Section 23.23, the appraisal district can’t raise your homestead’s appraised value more than 10% per year, plus the value of any new improvements.8State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 23.23 – Limitation on Appraised Value of Residence Homestead The cap kicks in the second year after you first receive the exemption, so year one you’re appraised at full market value.
The math: take last year’s appraised value, add 10%, add the market value of any new improvements. Compare that to current market value. The appraisal district uses whichever is lower. In a fast-rising Denton County market, the gap between capped value and market value carries forward, and the savings compound.
How to Apply
Use Texas Comptroller Form 50-114, the Residence Homestead Exemption Application.2Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Residence Homestead Exemption Application It’s available through the Denton Central Appraisal District or the Texas Comptroller.9Denton Central Appraisal District. Forms Library You’ll need your property’s account number, which appears on appraisal notices and tax bills, plus a copy of your Texas driver’s license or state ID.
The address on the ID must match the property address. If it doesn’t, update the ID before applying, or request a waiver from the chief appraiser by noting the situation on the form. For over-65, disability, or disabled veteran exemptions, include documentation of age, disability determination, or the VA rating letter.
Submit the application through the Denton Central Appraisal District’s online system, by mail, or in person. Once approved, the exemption appears on your next tax statement and doesn’t need to be reapplied for each year. A 2023 state law does require appraisal districts to verify homestead exemptions at least once every five years, so you may get a letter asking to confirm eligibility.
The Filing Deadline
The standard deadline is April 30 of the tax year for which you want the exemption.10Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Residence Homestead Exemptions The chief appraiser can grant one extension of up to 60 days for good cause. Miss the deadline and you can still file a late application up to two years after that year’s tax delinquency date and receive a retroactive exemption. If you already paid the full tax amount and the late application is approved, the tax collector must refund the overpayment within 60 days of approval.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11.13 – Residence Homestead
If You Bought the Home Mid-Year
Since 2022, Texas allows a prorated general homestead exemption for the rest of the year you purchase and occupy the home. Two conditions: the seller can’t have already claimed a homestead exemption on the property for that year, and you can’t be claiming a homestead exemption on any other property. The prorated exemption starts the date you qualify. The 10% appraisal cap, though, only kicks in after you’ve held the exemption through a full January 1, so the home is appraised at market value until the following year.
Inherited Homes and Trusts
If you inherited the home without a recorded deed, Texas Senate Bill 1943 lets you claim the exemption as an heir property owner. Submit the prior owner’s death certificate, a recent utility bill, and a notarized affidavit on Comptroller Form 50-114-A establishing your ownership interest. Include any related court records, such as a probated will. Co-owners who also live in the home complete a separate affidavit on the same form.2Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Residence Homestead Exemption Application
A home held in trust can qualify, but the trust must give the trustor or a beneficiary the right to live in the home rent-free as a primary residence, either for life or until the trust is revoked, and the trust must have acquired the property through a recorded instrument identifying the property and interest acquired.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11.13 – Residence Homestead If the trust doesn’t include that language, you may need to amend it before the exemption is approved.
Don’t File a False Application
A false statement on a homestead exemption application can be charged under Texas Penal Code Section 37.10 as a Class A misdemeanor or a state jail felony. The Tax Code also lets a court impose a penalty of 50% of the unpaid taxes if fraud or intent to evade is proven. Appraisal districts audit homestead claims to catch properties that aren’t actually primary residences, and the savings from a wrongful exemption don’t come close to covering the exposure.