Disabled veterans in Texas can reduce or eliminate the property taxes on their home through three separate exemptions tied to a service-connected disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. A rating of 10% or higher takes a fixed dollar amount off the assessed value of one property you own. A rating of 100%, or a VA determination of individual unemployability, wipes out property taxes on your residence homestead entirely. A third exemption covers veterans who received a home donated by a qualifying charity.
All three programs share the same baseline: a VA disability rating, Texas residency, and ownership of the property. Partial exemptions can apply to any one property you designate. The full exemption and the donated-home exemption require the property to be your residence homestead, meaning the home where you actually live.1Texas Comptroller. 100 Percent Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Frequently Asked Questions
Partial Exemption Amounts by Disability Rating
Under Texas Tax Code Section 11.22, a veteran with a rating below 100% gets a fixed reduction in assessed value:2State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11-22 – Disabled Veterans
- 10% to 29%: $5,000 off assessed value
- 30% to 49%: $7,500 off assessed value
- 50% to 69%: $10,000 off assessed value
- 70% or higher: $12,000 off assessed value
The dollar savings depend on your local tax rate. A $12,000 reduction in a district with a combined 2.5% rate saves $300 a year. The exemption attaches to one property you own and designate, and it doesn’t have to be the home you live in.
The $12,000 Tier for Age 65, Blindness, or Loss of a Limb
Section 11.22 also grants the top $12,000 exemption to any disabled veteran, regardless of rating percentage, who is 65 or older with a rating of at least 10%, totally blind in one or both eyes, or has lost the use of one or more limbs.2State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11-22 – Disabled Veterans
This matters most for lower-rated veterans. A veteran rated at 15% who turns 65 moves straight from the $5,000 tier to the $12,000 tier. If you’ve been receiving the smaller exemption for years, contact the appraisal district when you hit 65 to update the amount.
Full Exemption for 100% Disabled or Individually Unemployable Veterans
Section 11.131 exempts the entire appraised value of the residence homestead for a veteran the VA has rated at 100% disabled or determined to be individually unemployable. Every taxing entity on the bill — county, city, school district, special districts — loses the ability to tax that property. There’s no cap on home value. A $350,000 home in a district charging 2.5% saves $8,750 every year; a more expensive home saves proportionally more.1Texas Comptroller. 100 Percent Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Frequently Asked Questions
What “Individually Unemployable” Means
Individual Unemployability, formally TDIU, applies when service-connected disabilities prevent you from holding steady employment even though your combined rating is below 100%. You generally qualify with at least one disability rated 60% or more, or two or more disabilities combining to 70% or more with at least one rated 40%. Texas treats a TDIU determination the same as a 100% schedular rating for the full exemption.3Veterans Affairs. Individual Unemployability If You Can’t Work
If you’re rated below 100% but can’t work because of your service-connected conditions, apply for TDIU with the VA. The Texas property tax outcome is identical to a 100% rating.
Donated Homestead Exemption
Section 11.132 covers a narrower situation: a veteran who received a home from a 501(c)(3) charity at no cost, or at a cost not exceeding 50% of the fair market value. The exemption equals your disability percentage. A veteran rated at 70% who received a donated home has 70% of its appraised value exempt from property tax.4State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Chapter 11 – Taxable Property and Exemptions
This is a separate program from the standard partial exemption, and eligible veterans can benefit from it in addition to whatever they qualify for under Section 11.22 or 11.131.
Surviving Spouses
A surviving spouse can continue the exemption the veteran was receiving, so long as the spouse has not remarried and still owns and occupies the property. This applies across all three programs: the partial exemption under 11.22, the full exemption under 11.131, and the donated homestead exemption under 11.132.5Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran’s or Survivor’s Exemption Application Form 50-135
Transferring to a new home is where it gets complicated for surviving spouses of a 100% disabled veteran or a donated-home veteran. The exemption on the new home is capped at the dollar amount that was exempted on the old home in the last year it applied there. If the old home had $8,000 in taxes exempted and the new home would generate $12,000 in taxes, the surviving spouse owes $4,000 a year on the new home.1Texas Comptroller. 100 Percent Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Frequently Asked Questions
The rules also cover the surviving spouse and minor children of a service member who died on active duty, under the same Section 11.22 framework.
How to Apply
Applications go to the appraisal district in the county where the property sits. Which form you use depends on which exemption you’re claiming:
- Full exemption for a 100% disabled or TDIU veteran: Form 50-114, the Application for Residence Homestead Exemption.6Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Application for Residence Homestead Exemption Form 50-114
- Partial exemption or donated homestead exemption: Form 50-135, the Disabled Veteran’s or Survivor’s Exemption Application.5Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Disabled Veteran’s or Survivor’s Exemption Application Form 50-135
Bring your current VA award letter showing the disability rating and proof of Texas residency such as a driver’s license. Surviving spouses need a marriage certificate and the veteran’s death certificate. Once approved, the exemption stays in place year after year without reapplication as long as ownership, occupancy, and disability status stay the same. If your rating goes up, file again to move into the higher tier — the difference between $12,000 off assessed value and a full exemption is substantial.
Deadlines and Late Filing
The standard deadline is April 30 of the tax year for which you’re claiming the exemption.7Texas Comptroller. Property Tax Exemptions
Miss it and you still have time. Section 11.439 lets veterans file a late application under Sections 11.131, 11.132, or 11.22 up to five years after the delinquency date, which is typically February 1 of the following year. That gives you close to six years from the original tax year to claim. If an approved late application covers taxes you already paid, the collector refunds the money, along with any penalties and interest you paid on the exempted portion.4State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Chapter 11 – Taxable Property and Exemptions
Surviving spouses filing for the full or donated-home exemption have a shorter window: two years after the standard deadline.8Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Residential Homestead Exemptions
Selling and Moving Within Texas
A 100% disabled veteran who sells one Texas homestead and buys another can carry the full exemption to the new home. Taxes for the year of the move are prorated: you owe on the old home only for the portion of the year after the exemption ended there, and on the new home only for the portion before the exemption started. The new exemption begins as soon as the new home qualifies as your residence homestead.1Texas Comptroller. 100 Percent Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Frequently Asked Questions
Telling Your Mortgage Lender
If your mortgage payment includes escrow for property taxes, the lender won’t automatically know your tax bill dropped. Federal law requires an escrow analysis once per computation year, and a surplus of $50 or more must be refunded within 30 days of that analysis. Smaller surpluses can be credited forward.9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 1024.17 Escrow Accounts
Send your servicer a copy of the exemption approval as soon as you get it and ask for an escrow reanalysis. Otherwise you can overpay for months before the annual analysis catches up.
If Your Application Is Denied
You can protest a denial to the appraisal review board. The written notice of protest is due by May 15 or within 30 days of the notice of denial, whichever is later.10State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Chapter 41 – Local Review
Most denials trace to documentation problems: an expired VA award letter, a name mismatch between the deed and the application, or a homestead claim on a property that isn’t the primary residence. Check whether resubmitting with corrected documents fixes it before you formally protest. If the appraisal district disputes your eligibility on the merits, the protest hearing lets you present VA documentation directly to the review board. The Texas Veterans Commission also assists veterans through the process.