Texas Senate proposes property tax cut bills, what homeowners should know

Breaking down property tax relief plans being discussed at the Texas State Capitol

FOX 26 Consumer Reporter Heather Sullivan has some smart sense about the property tax relief plans that are under discussion in Austin.

HOUSTON - Proposed property tax cuts are working their way through the Texas state capitol.

But what could these cuts mean for homeowners? Here's a breakdown.

The Senate unanimously approved Lt. Governor Dan Patrick's agenda to use some of the state's $33 billion surplus to cut home and business property taxes, and pump billions of dollars into schools.

In Senate Bill 3, Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) proposes increasing the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000, plus another $30,000 for seniors and disabled Texans.

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He writes in a press release that on a $300,000 home, the first $70,000 would not be taxed, saving homeowners $798 a year. Seniors and disabled homeowners would save $1,062 a year.

Senate Bill 4 would allocate an additional $5.38 billion for public schools and would lower the payments from property-wealthy districts to make up for property-poor districts.

Largest increase to property tax Homestead exemption in state history

The panel discusses how every member of the Texas Senate has signed in agreeance, Senator Paul Bettencourt's plan to raise the Homestead exemption from $40,000 to $70,000 permanently.

It would cut school property tax rates by $0.07 per every $100 of assessed value.

For that $300,000 dollar home, it would shave $210 off the property tax.

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And Senate Bill 5, proposed by Senator Tan Parker (R-Flower Mound), would create an Inventory Tax Credit by raising the business property exemption from $2,500 to $25,000, reducing inventory tax bills by about 20%.

Property tax forgiveness awarded to developers

Greg Groogan sits down with Investigative Consultant Wayne Dolcefino to discuss the billions of property tax forgiveness awarded to developers in exchange for a portion of units to be set aside for low-income Houstonians.

The Senate also passed a joint resolution that would send these bills to voters on the November 2023 ballot.

Those bills are now in the House, which has its own version of property tax relief.

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The House bill would reduce the maximum that home appraisals can go up each year from 10% to 5% and would extend the limit to business properties, too.

A $300,000 home could be appraised at a maximum of $315,000 the next year, instead of $330,000.

There is still much debate over these bills, but we'll continue to keep you posted on what happens.