TexasLast checked: October 28, 2026
The school district tax limit for homeowners 65 or older or disabled
Tax Code 11.26 says a school district may not increase the total annual amount of ad valorem tax it imposes on the residence homestead of an individual 65 or older, or disabled, above the amount it imposed in the first tax year the individual was eligible for the exemption in 11.13(c). Article VIII, section 1-b(d) of the Texas Constitution states a corresponding limit, with exceptions. This page describes the rule, not the tax on any one property.
This page describes what the Texas Constitution and Tax Code 11.26 say about the school district tax limit for the residence homestead of an individual who is 65 or older or disabled, and where the notice of appraised value indicates it. It does not say whether a property is eligible or what any tax will be. Who provides this service is on the about page. How pages are made is in the editorial policy. Last checked: October 28, 2026.
What does the Texas Constitution say?
Article VIII, section 1-b of the Texas Constitution is titled Residence Homestead Tax Exemptions and Limitations.
Subsection (d) says that, except as that subsection otherwise provides, if a person receives the residence homestead exemption in subsection (c) for homesteads of persons who are 65 or older or who are disabled, the total amount of ad valorem taxes imposed on that homestead for general elementary and secondary public school purposes may not be increased while it remains the residence homestead of that person or that person's spouse who receives the exemption.
If such a person dies in a year in which the person received the exemption, the same total may not be increased while the property remains the residence homestead of the person's surviving spouse, if the spouse is 55 or older when the person dies, subject to any exceptions provided by general law.
- The legislature, by general law, may provide for the transfer of all or a proportionate amount of the limit for a person who is eligible for it and establishes a different residence homestead.
- Taxes otherwise limited by the subsection may be increased to the extent the value of the homestead is increased by improvements other than repairs or improvements made to comply with governmental requirements, and except as may be consistent with the transfer of a limit.
- Subsection (d) also contains directions to the legislature on adjusting the amount of the limit for certain tax years and when the amount of the subsection (c) exemption increases, and subsections (d-1) and (d-2) authorize the legislature to provide by general law for adjusting the limit to reflect changes in certain school tax rates.
Those adjustment provisions are not described further on this page. The full text of section 1-b is linked under Sources.
Which exemption is the limit tied to?
The limit in Tax Code 11.26(a) follows the exemption in Tax Code 11.13(c), which adds a school district exemption of 60,000 dollars of the appraised value of the residence homestead of an adult who is disabled or 65 or older.
Section 11.13(m)(1) defines disabled as under a disability for purposes of payment of disability insurance benefits under Federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance.
Under the same section, an eligible disabled person who is 65 or older may not receive both a disabled and an elderly residence homestead exemption from the same taxing unit in the same year, but may choose either if the taxing unit has adopted both.
The Comptroller's exemptions page says that, for the age 65 or older residence homestead exemption, the individual must be 65 or older, have an ownership interest in the property and live in the home as a principal residence.
It adds that a surviving spouse who is 55 or older may be eligible for the deceased spouse's age 65 or older exemption if the deceased spouse died in a year in which the spouse was eligible and the surviving spouse lives in the home as a primary residence.
For the disabled exemption, the page says disability benefits from any other program do not automatically make a person eligible, that proof of eligibility may call for supporting documents about the disability, and that the local appraisal district can provide information about the documents required.
The page also says a property owner must apply for an exemption in most circumstances, that applications are filed with the appraisal district in the county where the property is located, and that the general deadline for filing is before May 1.
What does Tax Code 11.26(a) say?
Tax Code 11.26 is titled Limitation of School Tax on Homesteads of Elderly or Disabled.
Subsection (a) says the tax officials appraise the property and calculate taxes as on other property, but if the tax so calculated exceeds the limit the section imposes, the tax imposed is the amount as limited by the section, except as the section otherwise provides.
A school district may not increase the total annual amount of ad valorem tax it imposes on the residence homestead of an individual 65 or older, or of an individual who is disabled as defined by Tax Code 11.13, above the amount of the tax it imposed in the first tax year in which the individual was eligible for the exemption in 11.13(c) for that residence homestead.
A further rule applies if the individual became eligible after the beginning of that first year, the homestead remains eligible for the same exemption the next year, and the school district taxes imposed on the homestead in the next year are less than the first-year amount.
In that case a school district may not later increase the total annual amount of ad valorem taxes it imposes on the homestead above the amount it imposed in the year immediately following the first year, except as subsection (b) provides.
How does 11.26(a-10) set the amount from 2024 on?
Subsection (a-10) says that, if in the 2024 or a later tax year an individual is eligible for the limit on tax increases the section provides, the amount of the limit on the homestead is the amount computed in five steps.
Subsection (a-4) defines maximum compressed rate as the maximum compressed rate of a school district as calculated under Section 48.2551 of the Education Code.
| Step | What subsection (a-10) says |
|---|---|
| Step 1 | Multiply the taxable value of the homestead in the preceding tax year by a tax rate equal to the difference between the school district's maximum compressed rate for the preceding tax year and its maximum compressed rate for the current tax year. |
| Step 2 | Subtract the Step 1 amount from the amount of tax the district imposed on the homestead in the preceding tax year. |
| Step 3 | Add to the Step 2 amount any tax imposed in the current tax year that is attributable to improvements made in the preceding tax year, as provided by subsection (b). |
| Step 4 | Multiply the amount of any increase in the current tax year, compared with the preceding tax year, in the aggregate amount of the exemptions the individual is entitled to under Tax Code 11.13(b) and (c) by the school district's tax rate for the current tax year. |
| Step 5 | Subtract the Step 4 amount from the Step 3 amount. |
Subsection (a-11) applies only in the tax year immediately after the first tax year in which an individual became eligible for the 11.13(c) exemption after the beginning of that first year, if the homestead remains eligible for the same exemption in that following year.
For that year the limit is the lesser of the amount computed under subsection (a-10) or the amount of tax the school district imposed on the homestead that year, calculated without regard to the limit on tax increases.
The statute states these steps as text. This page does not carry them out for any property.
What happens when improvements are made?
Under subsection (b), if an individual makes improvements to the residence homestead, other than improvements required to comply with governmental requirements or repairs, the school district may increase the tax on the homestead in the first year the value of the homestead is increased on the appraisal roll because of the enhancement of value by the improvements.
The amount of the tax increase is determined by applying the current tax rate to the difference between the homestead's value with the improvements and the value it would have had without them.
The limit then applies to the increased amount of tax until more improvements, if any, are made.
Subsection (o) says a replacement structure for a structure rendered uninhabitable or unusable by a casualty or by wind or water damage is not treated as an improvement under subsection (b), except that, for appraising the property in the tax year in which it would have been an improvement, it is considered one only if its square footage exceeds that of the replaced structure before the casualty or damage, or its exterior is of higher quality construction and composition.
When does the limit end?
Subsection (c) says the limit expires if, on January 1, none of the owners of the structure who are eligible for the exemption and who owned the structure when the limit first took effect is using the structure as a residence homestead, or none of the owners of the structure is eligible for the exemption.
- Under subsection (f), the limit does not expire because the owner of an interest in the structure conveys the interest to a trust of the kind defined in Tax Code 11.13(j), if the owner or the owner's spouse is a trustor of the trust and is entitled to occupy the structure.
- Under subsection (n), the limit does not expire if the owner of the structure is eligible for an exemption under Tax Code 11.13 in the circumstances described by Tax Code 11.135(a).
Tax Code 11.135(a) describes a residential structure for which the owner receives an exemption under Tax Code 11.13 that is rendered uninhabitable or unusable by a casualty or by wind or water damage, where the owner continues to receive the exemption while constructing a replacement and does not establish a different principal residence for which the owner receives an exemption.
What about moving, surviving spouses and heir property?
Subsection (g) covers an individual who has the limit and later becomes eligible for the same exemption on a different residence homestead.
Except as subsection (b) provides, a school district may not then impose taxes on the new homestead in a year in an amount that exceeds what it would have imposed on the new homestead in the first year of the same exemption without the limit, multiplied by a fraction.
The numerator of the fraction is the total school district taxes imposed on the former homestead in the last year the individual received the same exemption for it, and the denominator is the total school district taxes that would have been imposed on the former homestead that year without the limit.
Under subsection (h), the individual or the individual's agent is entitled to receive from the chief appraiser of the appraisal district where the former homestead was located a written certificate with the information needed to determine whether the limit applies to the new homestead and to calculate the taxes the school district may impose.
Subsection (i) says that if an individual who is eligible for the exemption in 11.13(c) dies, the surviving spouse is entitled to the limit applicable to the individual's residence homestead if the surviving spouse is 55 or older when the individual dies and the homestead is the surviving spouse's residence homestead on that date and remains so.
Under subsection (p), an heir property owner who has heir property treated as the owner's residence homestead under Chapter 11 is considered the sole owner of the property for purposes of the section.
Where does the notice of appraised value indicate it?
Under Tax Code 25.19(c), for the residence homestead of a person 65 or older or disabled that is subject to the limit on a tax increase over the preceding year for school tax purposes, the chief appraiser indicates on the notice that the preceding year's taxes may not be increased.
The other required parts of the notice are described on the page on reading a notice of appraised value.
Is this the same as the homestead appraisal cap?
No. Tax Code 11.26 limits the total annual amount of tax a school district imposes on the homestead, while Tax Code 23.23 limits how far an appraisal office may increase a residence homestead's appraised value.
The appraisal limit is described on the Texas homestead cap page.
Sources
- Texas Constitution. Article VIII, Section 1-b, Residence Homestead Tax Exemptions and Limitations Read: October 28, 2026.
- Texas Tax Code. Section 11.13, Residence Homestead Section 11.135, Continuation of Residence Homestead Exemption While Replacement Structure Is Constructed Section 11.26, Limitation of School Tax on Homesteads of Elderly or Disabled Section 23.23, Limitation on Appraised Value of Residence Homestead Section 25.19, Notice of Appraised Value Read: October 28, 2026.
- Texas Comptroller. Property tax exemptions Read: October 28, 2026.
Questions
Which part of the Constitution covers the limit?
Article VIII, section 1-b(d) of the Texas Constitution says the total amount of ad valorem taxes imposed for general elementary and secondary public school purposes on the homestead of a person who receives the 65 or older or disabled exemption may not be increased while it remains that person's, or that person's spouse's, residence homestead, with the exceptions that subsection states.
Does the limit apply to taxes of other taxing units?
Tax Code 11.26(a) is written about the tax a school district imposes, and the constitutional text in subsection (d) refers to taxes imposed for general elementary and secondary public school purposes.
Can improvements change the amount?
Under Tax Code 11.26(b), a school district may increase the tax on the homestead in the first year the value of the homestead is increased on the appraisal roll because of improvements other than repairs or improvements required to comply with governmental requirements, and the limit then applies to the increased amount.
Does a surviving spouse keep the limit?
Under Tax Code 11.26(i), the surviving spouse of an individual who was eligible for the 11.13(c) exemption is entitled to the limit applicable to the individual's residence homestead if the surviving spouse is 55 or older when the individual dies and the homestead is, and remains, the surviving spouse's residence homestead.
Does this page say what a school tax bill will be?
No. It describes the text of the Constitution and the Tax Code and does not say whether a property is eligible or what any tax will be.
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