Bill > HB982

This bill establishes a new provision allowing certain taxing units (excluding school districts, counties, municipalities, and junior college districts) to create a tax limitation for low-income disabled or elderly homeowners and their surviving spouses. An "eligible individual" is defined as someone with a household income at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The bill allows these taxing units to limit property tax increases on qualifying residence homesteads, essentially freezing the tax amount at the level from the first year the homeowner qualified for the exemption. If the homeowner makes substantial improvements to their property, the taxing unit can increase taxes proportionally to the value added by those improvements. The tax limitation continues for the homeowner and can be transferred to a surviving spouse who meets certain age and income criteria. The limitation expires if the original homeowner no longer uses the property as a primary residence or no longer qualifies for the exemption. The bill also provides detailed provisions for how taxes will be calculated, how improvements are handled, and how the limitation transfers if a homeowner moves to a different residence within the same taxing unit. Importantly, this bill is contingent on a constitutional amendment being approved by voters in 2025, which would authorize such tax limitations.

Budget and Finance

https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB982