For most of Texas history, property taxes only went up. Since 2019, the state has mounted a sustained, expensive campaign to push them back down — capping how fast local governments can grow their revenue, raising homestead exemptions, and spending billions of state dollars to “buy down” school taxes. If you’ve seen your homestead exemption jump in the last few years, this is why.
This deep dive walks through the 2019–2025 reforms and what they actually do. For how the system got here, see The History of Texas Property Taxes and the school-finance fight in Robin Hood: How Texas Redistributes School Property Taxes.
Why the reform push started
Beginning around 2013, rising home values pushed Texas property tax bills up fast — often faster than incomes. Because there’s no state income tax and the bills are set locally, the political pressure landed on the Legislature to do something. The result has been three major waves of reform.
2019 — Senate Bill 2: slowing the growth
The first wave attacked the rate of increase. Senate Bill 2 (2019) limited how much property-tax revenue cities, counties, and many special districts can collect year over year without asking voters: if a local government wants to raise revenue more than 3.5% (excluding new construction), it must hold an automatic election. School districts were placed under a separate, tighter framework tied to state funding formulas.
SB 2 didn’t cut bills directly — it put a speed limit on growth and handed voters the keys, through what’s now called the “voter-approval tax rate.”
2023 — Proposition 4: the big exemption jump
The second wave cut bills outright. In 2023, lawmakers passed a roughly $12.7 billion package, approved by voters as Proposition 4. Its centerpiece: the school-district homestead exemption leapt from $40,000 to $100,000, meaning that much more of a home’s value is shielded from school taxes. The package also “compressed” school M&O tax rates — the state spending its own money to lower the local rate — continuing the buy-down pattern that began after the 2006 school-finance rulings.
2025 — Proposition 13: $140,000, and $200,000 for seniors
The third wave went further. In 2025 the Legislature passed Senate Bill 4 (signed in June), and in November 2025 voters approved the enabling amendment, Proposition 13. It raised the school-district homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000. Homeowners who are 65-or-older or disabled saw their additional exemption rise as well, bringing their combined school-tax exemption to as much as $200,000. The changes apply to the 2025 tax year.
For a typical homestead, that means a meaningful chunk of value comes off the school-tax rolls — the largest single piece of most Texans’ tax bill.
The catch: who pays for the cuts?
Exemptions and rate compression don’t make a school’s costs disappear — they shift them. When the homestead exemption rises or rates are compressed, the state backfills the lost local revenue so schools stay funded. Texas has committed tens of billions of dollars to do this, and the obligation grows each cycle. Critics across the spectrum question whether the state can keep buying down local taxes indefinitely, especially if a future budget tightens. It’s a real and unresolved risk baked into the current approach.
What it means for your bill
- Your homestead exemption matters more than ever. Make sure your homestead exemption is actually on file with your appraisal district — it’s the single biggest lever on your school taxes, and the 2023 and 2025 increases only help if you’ve claimed it.
- 65-or-older / disabled homeowners qualify for substantially larger exemptions — confirm yours is applied.
- Local revenue caps mean big city and county increases now generally require voter approval — watch your local ballot.
Check the numbers for your county
Reforms set the statewide rules, but your actual bill still depends on your local taxing units. See the breakdown where you live, then confirm your exemptions with your county appraisal district:
- Harris County property taxes
- Dallas County property taxes
- Tarrant County property taxes
- Travis County property taxes
Sources
- The Texas Tribune — Abbott signs SB 2 (2019)
- Texas Comptroller — Property Tax Cuts as Large as Texas (2023 package)
- The Texas Tribune — Voters approve 2025 property tax breaks
- Ballotpedia — Texas Proposition 13 (2025)
About these sources: the figures, dates, and legal references above are drawn from the authoritative sources listed and from official Texas records. Tax rates, exemptions, and laws change frequently — always verify the current figures for your property with your county appraisal district or the Texas Comptroller before making financial or legal decisions.