From the Blog
The Texas Over-65 Property Tax Freeze: What Retirees Moving to San Antonio Should Know
Texas voters approved Proposition 11 in November 2025, doubling the over-65 and disabled school district exemption from $10,000 to $60,000 for tax year 2026. It stacks on top of the $140,000 general homestead exemption, which means a homeowner 65 or older can take $200,000 off the school district taxable value of their home, and the school portion of the bill then freezes at the amount owed the year they first qualify. Here is how the over-65 rules work, and why they change the math for retirees moving to San Antonio and the Hill Country.
Texas voters approved Proposition 11 in November 2025, doubling the over-65 and disabled school district exemption from $10,000 to $60,000 for tax year 2026. It stacks on top of the $140,000 general homestead exemption, which means a homeowner 65 or older can take $200,000 off the school district taxable value of their home, and the school portion of the bill then freezes at the amount owed the year they first qualify. Here is how the over-65 rules work, and why they change the math for retirees moving to San Antonio and the Hill Country.
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The $60,000 exemption that just went up
Proposition 11, approved by Texas voters on November 4, 2025, raised the additional residence homestead exemption for homeowners 65 and older, and homeowners with disabilities, from $10,000 to $60,000, effective for tax year 2026. It applies to school district taxes and stacks on top of the general residence homestead exemption of $140,000. Combined, that is $200,000 of market value removed from the school district's taxable value for an owner-occupant who is 65 or older. Cities, counties, and special districts can add their own optional over-65 exemptions on top of that, so the total varies by where you live.
The school tax freeze, explained
Separate from the exemption, Texas Tax Code Section 11.26 freezes the school district portion of your property tax at the dollar amount owed in the year you first qualify for the over-65 exemption. That frozen ceiling applies only to school district taxes: city, county, and special district taxes can still rise. If the school district tax rate later drops, the frozen bill is recalculated downward but never exceeds the ceiling. Substantial improvements to the home can raise the ceiling by the value added, and a surviving spouse age 55 or older can keep the exemption and the ceiling on the same home.
What it looks like on a San Antonio home
Run the numbers on a $400,000 home and the exemption does the heavy lifting before the freeze ever matters. With the combined $200,000 exemption, the school district taxable value drops to $200,000, and at a typical school district rate around $1.00 per $100 of value, the school portion of the bill starts near $2,000 a year, then freezes at roughly that level the year you qualify. The county, city, and special district layers still apply at their own rates and can rise over time, which is why the total bill is not frozen, only the school slice. These are example figures; the exact numbers depend on the school district and the year you first qualify.
The rules that trip people up
The freeze is not automatic. You must file the over-65 exemption application with your county appraisal district, typically by April 30 of the tax year. If you buy a home from a seller who had the over-65 exemption, you do not inherit their frozen bill: the exemption and ceiling belong to the person, not the property, and you apply fresh in the year you qualify at your new home, which sets a new ceiling. And if you move to a different home after 65, you re-apply and a new ceiling is set in the year you qualify at the new address.
Why this matters before you buy
For a buyer over 65, the tax picture is genuinely different from a 40-year-old's, and it should be part of the community comparison, not an afterthought. A home in a district with higher school rates matters less to you than to a younger buyer, because your school portion freezes. What still moves is the city and county layers, so the effective total in Kendall versus Bexar versus Comal counties is worth modeling for your specific situation. Ask for the current owner's tax bill, confirm whether they hold the over-65 exemption, and remember their frozen number is not the number you will pay.
Written by Phyllis Domingo
REALTOR® · TX License 745926 · 100+ homes sold · Helping families move well in San Antonio and the Hill Country since long before the hard part became normal.
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