Homestead Exemption

Congratulations on recently purchasing your home! 

Buying a new home is a huge milestone in one's life. With that comes several new responsibilities including the need to apply for a Homestead Exemption on your property taxes. Homestead Exemptions remove part of your home's value from taxation which lowers your county and school district property taxes. Most Houston area counties have the same requirements and, as with any tax exemption, there are rules to follow.

• To apply for a Homestead Exemption, you must be occupying the property as your primary residence on January 1st of this tax year.
• You must have no other residence that you are currently claiming as your Homestead.
• You must apply for it between January 1st and April 15th.

The short amount of time you spend filing for a Homestead Exemption pales in comparison to the amount of money you can save!  

To file for a Homestead Exemption in Harris County, you can file your Homestead Exemption electronically by using the county’s App.

Be sure to have these items on hand when  you’re ready to apply:

• The date of occupancy on your residence.
• Your TX drivers license
• An iPhone or Android phone
• The HCAD Info and Exemptions app (found in the App Store or Google Play) OR manually fill in the Harris County Homestead Exemption FORM HERE  

Download the apps here:

To file your Homestead Exemption in Montgomery County, Fort Bend County, Brazoria County, or Waller County, you must complete the Residence Homestead Exemption Application and mail it into your County Appraisal District at the addresses below:

If you have questions or need more information, call your county appraisal district.

Harris County | 713-957-7800 | www.hcad.org or download the HCAD app

Montgomery County | 936-441-2186 | www.mcad-tx.org

Waller County | 979-921-0060 | http://www.waller-cad.org/

Liberty County | 936-336-5722 | http://www.libertycad.com  

Fort Bend County | 281-344-8623 | https://fbcad.org/