SENATE SENDS PROPERTY TAX CUTS TO GOVERNOR
(AUSTIN) — The Senate concurred in House amendments to two property tax bills whose author says will reduce the property tax bill of Texas homeowners by hundreds of dollars each year, sending those measures to Governor Greg Abbott for his signature. SB 4 and SB 23, both by Houston Senator Paul Bettencourt, would raise the homestead exemption, allowing homeowners to write off $140,000 of their property value before assessment. It’s even more for homeowners with disabilities or who are older than 65, who will see their homestead exemption raised to $200,000. “It’s a fantastic day for Texas taxpayers,” Bettencourt told reporters gathered for a press conference on the property tax cuts. Between property tax bills and budget provisions, lawmakers approved more than $51 billion in property tax cuts this session. The average Texas homeowner, Bettencourt said, will see a reduction in their property tax bill this year of nearly $500. For senior and disabled homeowners, that number will be close to $1,000.
Houston Senator Paul Bettencourt was joined by a majority of colleagues as they touted the billions in property tax relief unanimously passed by the Senate this session.
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who has been stalwart in pushing the homestead exemption up every session since 2017, reflected on the Senate’s commitment as a body to deliver meaningful property tax relief over the years. “Just five sessions ago it was $15,000,” he said. “About one out of every four dollars in this budget are going towards tax relief.”
Patrick also had kind words for House Speaker Dustin Burrows, who he said was on the same page from the beginning. “The Speaker and I came to an agreement on this bill, on this amount pretty much in about 15 minutes of conversation and a handshake,” said Patrick. While the Senate bills focused on tax relief for homeowners, the House would contribute billions in property tax cuts for businesses with a proposal to raise the exemption on business personal property to $125,000, which will save the average business $2,500 a year.
Members also spoke to housing affordability in a world where the cost of living is going up and those on fixed incomes find themselves squeezed by tax and insurance bills. “If you crank up the homestead exemptions on over-65 and disabled [homeowners], it lets them stay in their homes when they have the least amount of income in their lifetimes,” said Bettencourt. It’s a problem for young people looking to buy their first home as well. “I’ve got two kids out in California, you think they’re ever going to buy a home out there? Probably not,” said McKinney Senator Angela Paxton. “My kids in Texas, because of things like this, they can own a home.” Data bears that out; according to the National Association of Realtors the median price of a home in Los Angeles County is $874,000. In Harris County, it’s $297,000.
All members of the Senate, 20 Republicans and 11 Democrats, voted in favor of this session’s tax cuts. “Property tax relief isn’t red, it isn’t blue – in fact, it’s green,” said Houston Senator Carol Alvarado. “Democrats, Republicans, rural, urban: we have been united on this from day one.” Dallas Senator Royce West said the way the Senate works together on tax relief is a model for bipartisan governance. “When we have common interests, when everyone is on-board up front and has input into the decision making process then we can work together and come up with these kinds of products,” he said. “Every Texan will benefit from this.”
Because these changes require amendments to the state constitution, voters will have to vote on the proposed increases to the homestead exemption on the November ballot. If history is any guide, Texans will overwhelmingly approve . Questions regarding raising the homestead exemption have received no less than 80 percent support in previous years.
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