FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2024
(512) 765-4436
avery.dishaw@senate.texas.gov
Austin, TX – In the 2nd called Special Session of the 88th Legislature in 2023, Senator Bettencourt (R- Houston) passed a Texas-sized record $18.1 billion property tax cut for all Texas homeowners, SB 2. Senator Bettencourt is the author of SB 2, and Senate sponsor of HJR 2, authored by Representative Will Metcalf (R-Conroe), which became Proposition 4 that the public overwhelmingly ratified by 83.44% on the November ballot and went into effect immediately.
“The great news is that we had an average $1266 savings calculated per homestead, but you have to take back local TREs, new bond issues, local option homestead exemption (LOHE) and 2 1⁄2 percent levy growth which means appraised value increases on individual properties,” stated Senator Bettencourt. “In many cases voters approved bond issues or TREs at the same time they approved Prop. 4’s property tax reduction. We have four ISD examples of what this net effect is on the overall average homestead exemption cuts, but not individual property tax bills. The bottom line - these are real property tax cuts and they would not have occurred without the savings being so high initially. One result is many over-65 and disabled ISD property tax bills are now at ZERO!” He added.
Below is a chart of four examples using this preliminary data:
| ISD (County) | 22-23 ISD Tax Reduction (Avg. Homestead) | 22-23 ISD Tax Reduction (Over 65/Disabled Homestead) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin ISD (Travis Co.) | ($814.00) | ($1,475.00) | $898 Million bonds issued - Aug 2023 |
| Fort Worth ISD (Tarrant Co.) | ($674.71) | ($991.66) | $300 Million bonds issued - Jan 2024 |
| Katy ISD (Harris Co.) | ($758.70) | ($721.62) | $800 Million bonds issued - Nov 2023 |
| Round Rock ISD (Williamson Co.) | ($682.88) | ($1,000.72) | 3 Penny TRE - Nov 2023 |
“These ISD property tax reductions are real examples, and my office is constantly receiving ‘Thank you’ phone calls from taxpayers throughout the state. It’s a great feeling to see Texas taxpayers get back their money because of SB 2. It’s also a great realization knowing that all 5.72 million homeowners will receive their $100k homestead exemption every year as Prop. 4 passed the public with a supermajority of 83.44% making it permanent.” Concluded Senator Bettencourt.
SB 2’s property tax reduction is retroactive for 2023 ISD property tax bills. Property tax bills are posted online by counties or in the mail for the vast majority of accounts statewide. The bill should indicate how much savings occurs and if not you can flip the tax bill over to see the year-to-year compression on school taxes. Note: January 31, 2024 is the last day to pay your property tax bill without incurring penalty or interest.
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