Inflation is up, but Homestead ISD Tax Bills are Not! Over 3.5 Million should see savings this Fall

Senator Bettencourt calls on Cities and Counties to adopt the No-New-Revenue-Rate this Fall

Taxpayers should visit the State’s New Tax Portal to get their Estimated Property Tax Bill 

Austin, TX – Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) announces that while the current National inflation rate is  8.6%, millions of under-65 Texas Homesteads should see their Independent School District (ISD) tax bills cut this Fall “as we will see nearly $500 of property tax relief on their property tax bill which will yield a real  cut on the average ISD school tax bill for 3.5 Million Texans!”, said Senator Bettencourt. In May of this  year, Texas’ Voters overwhelmingly approved Propositions 1 and 2, which provided direct tax cuts to  homeowners with homestead tax bills in 2022 and 2023. 2.1 Million over-65 or disabled homeowners will  receive the overall benefits of the state’s compressed property tax rate for school maintenance and operations  (M&O) in 2023. Proposition 2 increased the statewide school homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000, meaning that over 3.5 million under-65 homestead homeowners will receive this tax cut this year. My Senate  office calculations indicate an actual cut of $44 on average for an average $301,000 taxable homestead in  Texas despite massive appraised value increases across the state. This average is based upon statewide TEA  data for every school district, and my offices’ analysis of the top 25 ISDs showed a range of cuts from $107 to  $8. These calculated cuts comes before Cities and Counties set their tax rates in the Fall, which could save the  average taxpayer hundreds of more dollars on their tax bills. 

“The Cavalry is coming over the Hill for Texas Homesteads in the Fall, just like in an old John Wayne  movie!” said Senator Paul Bettencourt. “Because of the passage of Prop 1 and 2 in May, 3.5 Million  homesteads will on average pay less on their school tax bills this year than they did last year. Over-65  homeowners are frozen this year, but will get an actual property tax cut in 2023, too.” He added. 

Property Appraisals are rising amidst a booming Texas economy, but taxpayers can be assured that property  tax rates are on the way down to offset these increases. This is attributed to the significant reforms contained in  SB 2 and HB 3 that the legislature passed in 2019, and the additional property tax legislation that was passed in 2021. In fact there are 16 cents of property tax relief, overall a $482 savings compared to last year’s tax rate. 

“Lawmakers have given property owners valuable protections against rising tax bills in this red hot real  estate market, but there is no substitute for vigilance. Taxpayers must be prepared to weigh in with  their local taxing jurisdictions if they believe tax rates are too high,” stated Dale Craymer, President of  Texas Taxpayers and Research Association. Note: TTARA supplied county and city penny rate reduction estimates. 

The no-new-revenue-rate is the rate that provides the same amount of money to a taxing entity this year as last  year. As Texans are having to be extra careful with their dollars due to very high inflation, government entities  should be doing the same thing or go to the voters for adoption. “I am calling on all Cities and Counties to  adopt the no-new-revenue-rate, it will save the taxpayers’ money!” concluded Senator Bettencourt. 

To check on your property tax bill, please visit the Texas property tax database.

Click below:

https://www.texas.gov/living-in-texas/property-tax-directory/