Real Estate / Homestead Tax Exemption Help

[NannySlayer]

Howdy yall.

I bought a house in Oct 2019.
My realtor failed to inform me of the Homestead Tax Exemption opportunity with the county and this year my taxes jumped over $300 PER MONTH. That is almost 40%. I purchased my house within a very specific price range to make sure I wouldn't be treading water to make ends meet.... Well that was wishful thinking.

My elevator doesn't always go to the top floor so maybe some of yall are willing to climb the stairs with me.

2 weeks ago I found out about the "Homestead Tax Exemption" with the county (apparently this keeps your taxes from increasing over 10% annually, that would have been nice..) and I filed. Is there any way to make this exemption retro to the date I purchase the house?

Someone mentioned that a Realtor that knows what they're doing could inform me of what to do going forward. Is there an option to appeal this increase with the Tax Assessor? I looked on the county website for forms and it's hard to navigate or understand (operating on stairs here, yall).
If a realtor isn't the right route to go, who else could I turn to?

My goal is to see about getting these taxes back down to where they were or even the 10%.

Is anyone able to dumb this stuff down for an ole country bumpkin to help me figure out what to do?

Thanks is advance!

[TxBowHntr]

Obviously check with the experts, but my understanding is it will automatically work retroactively once filed, however, you will have to wait until the next tax season for the refund/adjusted payments. That's what happened to me when I bought my first house.

[Bullseye07]

Real Estate / Homestead Tax Exemption Help

I’m sorry you’re finding out the hard way, but Realtor has nothing to do with your taxes.

After we purchased out home the county sent a form/survey asking if we’d tell them what we paid, etc for tax purposes. I declined, but it was a good reminder to go ahead and get my homestead exemption filed with them.

Should be a form on the county website that you download, fill out, and send back in. Call them and ask about retroactive tax exemptions.

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[JayB]

your only hope is a call to the tax office and plead ignorance of the filing deadline. You should have file in January of 2020.

[DFWPI]

On all homes we help our clients buy, we send out the completed forms to them at the appropriate time so they can file to get exemption.

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[Patton]

You would have been able to file for your exemption starting Jan 1 of 2020 through April 30th. It depends on the county if you can file your homestead exemption retroactively, some counties don’t allow it, others allow you to file retroactively for 1-2 years. Reach out to your county appraisal district.

[justintyme8303]

Was the house new construction or a resale home?

[Bill M]

On all homes we help our clients buy, we send out the completed forms to them at the appropriate time so they can file to get exemption.

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My wife does the same for her clients. Part of the service she believes.

[flywise]

On all homes we help our clients buy, we send out the completed forms to them at the appropriate time so they can file to get exemption.

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👍 well done

[NannySlayer]

Was the house new construction or a resale home?

Resale home.
First time home buyer.
Used a realtor that I “knew”


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[gb22250]

The year after I filed for my homestead exemption I got a check in the mail from my appraisal district. It wasn’t but $300 but it was nice because I wasn’t expecting it. I’m not sure how it works but I know it had to do with filing my homestead. It may not go back all the way to 2019 but you might get credited for the months of this year.

Btw, I bought my home in June of ‘17 and filed the homestead paperwork in Jan. ‘18.

[Monark]

I don't think this mistake can be blamed on the Realtor but you caught the oversight & I think the County will honor the exemption & make it retroactive.

[NannySlayer]

Thanks for the information.

Do I need to file for this every year?


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[NannySlayer]

I don't think this mistake can be blamed on the Realtor but you caught the oversight & I think the County will honor the exemption & make it retroactive.

I understand. I brought it to his attention to say “hey let your future clients know… because I got screwed.” And he said “oh yea… guess I forgot to tell you about that.” So that made it suck even more. Coulda, woulda, shoulda I guess.


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[Texas Grown]

Thanks for the information.

Do I need to file for this every year?


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No. Just file once. It will carry the rest of the time you're there. Some of the taxes recognize it and will discount up a percentage. But I think there is one that doesn't. It might be school tax. Think the city gives a percentage. I'd have to look it up. But got a case of the GOFs right now. And FWIW, mine went up the same for this year. Think they are trying to get me before I freeze them at 65.