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TAD clears up homestead exemption change confusion
Rather than have all homestead exemption holders re-apply every five years, Tarrant appraisal officials are using an outside contractor to identify owners with questionable statuses.
FORT WORTH, Texas - The clerks have been busy at the Tarrant Appraisal District Office.
That’s because a recently adopted state law now requires counties to audit those who have a homestead exemption every five years.
FOX 4 reported on the relatively unknown law last week.
Now, many property owners are seeking clarity.
TAD is also trying to clear up confusion, at least for Tarrant County homeowners.
Texas homeowners must now verify homestead exemptions every 5 years — or risk losing it
If you get a letter from your appraisal district asking you to verify your homestead exemption, don't ignore it. Those who don't respond could end up losing their exemption and paying more in taxes. Here's what you need to do.
What is a homestead exemption?
Homeowners in Texas get a break with what's called the homestead exemption. It allows your taxes to be calculated at a rate lower than your appraised or market value.
Until recently, it was ‘set it and forget it’ for most.
However, state legislators passed a law in 2023 that requires the appraisal district in Texas counties to determine if you are still eligible for that exemption at least once every five years.
Tarrant County taking a different approach
The reality according to TAD is that some homeowners who claim the exemption are not entitled to it.
"Right now, there’s about 30,000 that have hit on radar that may not qualify that we have to look into," said Tarrant Chief Appraiser Joe Don Bobbit. "Usually about ¾ of 1% are actually erroneous. That doesn’t sound like much. But it usually ends up being multi-million dollars to the entities."
Rather than have all homestead exemption holders re-apply every five years, Tarrant appraisal officials are using an outside contractor to identify owners with questionable statuses.
"Right now, most of it is confusion between Dallas County and Tarrant County. They heard everybody has to re-apply. That’s what the law basically says: that you have to validate your homestead once every five years. What we’re trying to do is alleviate that burden or minimize it as much as possible for Tarrant County residents and only have them re-apply if there’s a reason why we think they are no longer eligible," Bobbitt said.
What they're saying:
David Lube visited TAD on Monday to double-check his status.
"It’s confusing. But anyway, I’ve got my little letter, so I’m okay," he said.
Tarrant County property owners who receive a letter like Lube may simply need to validate that they actually live at the exempted property.
If two mailings are ignored, the homestead exemption could be revoked.
"They can find if people live in other places or if people have passed away. They can also look at voter registration, vehicle registration, mailing address. So if it looks like somebody lives in another place besides the home that we have, then we can research that more to find out where they actually live," Bobbitt said.
How to check the status of your homestead exemption
What you can do:
Homeowners can check on the status of their homestead exemption by going to their county’s appraisal district website.
For a list of all county appraisal district websites, visit https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/county-directory/.
A quick property search should reveal which exemptions are valid.
If your status is revoked, you’ll likely have to pay taxes on the higher assessed value. But you can contact your county’s appraisal district and apply for a refund of the difference if you’re eligible.
The Source: The information in this story comes from interviews at the Tarrant Appraisal District Office and past news coverage.