How to file for a homestead exemption

If you bought a home in Spring Texas in 2015, the first year you will be eligible for a homestead exemption is 2016. One of the eligibility requirements for the homestead exemption is you have to own the home on January 1st of the tax year. The beauty of a homestead exemption is it reduces the tax assessed value of your house which in turns reduces your real estate taxes.

Spring Texas property taxesIn addition to the homestead exemption, you may be able to reduce your Spring Texas real estate taxes even further if you qualify for an over 65 or a disability and/or a surviving spouse exemption.

It doesn’t cost anything to file for a homestead exemption. You do not have to pay anyone to file it for you as the process of filing is relatively simple.

How to file for a 2016 Homestead Exemption:

1.  Print out the Harris County Homestead Exemption or Montgomery County Homestead Exemption

2.  Attach a copy of your Texas driver’s license or Texas ID card.  The address on your driver’s license or ID card must match the address of the house you are filing for a homestead exemption.

3.  Attach a copy of your vehicle registration receipt. The address on your vehicle registration receipt must match the address of the house you are filing for a homestead exemption.

4.  Complete the form and file for your exemption between January 1, – April 30, 2016.

The homestead exemption is only available for homeowners who owned and occupied their property on January 1st of the tax year.

Once you file for and receive a homestead exemption, you will continue to  receive it.  You don’t have to refile for the homestead exemption each year. You signed a lot of papers the day you closed on your Spring Texas house but your homestead  exemption was not one of them. If you want to receive the homestead exemption, you have to file for it.

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Jill WenteProperty Taxes