Texas senators file bill for more property tax relief
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, is making another move to lower property taxes. On Friday, he filed Senate Bill 4, alongside 28 other senators, to increase the residence homestead exemption to $140,000, which would be the largest exemption in Texas history.
In 2023, the Texas Legislature passed a record $18.1 billion property tax cut for all Texas homeowners. SB 2, also filed by Bettencourt, raised the general school district homestead exemption – the amount of a home’s value that taxpayers can write off from their tax bill – to $100,000. Texans voted to approve the proposition with an 83% majority in November 2023. Now, the legislature is looking to increase the amount even further if SB 4 is passed and approved by the voters.
SB 4 is a priority bill of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick who plays a pivotal role in deciding which legislation is considered in the Senate. Last session, all 30 of Patrick’s priority bills passed in the Senate.
To ensure that local taxpayers and school districts don’t have to pay for this homestead exemption, SB 4 includes a hold-harmless provision which guarantees that any lack in funding will be fully covered by the state.
“SB 4 will not only cut ISD property taxes, but the state pays the bill, guaranteeing that no school district loses out on critical funding,” Bettencourt said in a release Friday. “This measure is a win-win for taxpayers and everyone alike.”
In conjunction with SB 1, the General Appropriations Act, SB 4 will reduce the statewide average ISD tax rate from $0.9766 to $0.9086, which is expected to save homestead property owners an additional $133.13.
“When combined with the savings from Senate Bill 4, the total estimated annual tax reduction for Texas homeowners amounts to $496.57,” Bettencourt said in the release.
Bettencourt is joined by Senators Alvarado, Birdwell, Blanco, Campbell, Cook, Creighton, Eckhardt, Flores, Gutierrez, Hagenbuch, Hall, Hancock, A. Hinojosa, J. Hinojosa, Huffman, Hughes, King, Kolkhorst, Menendez, Middleton, Nichols, Parker, Paxton, Perry, Schwertner, Sparks, West, Zaffirini as joint authors of SB 4.
