What is a Homestead Exemption, and why should I care?
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Circle C Austin Business: Austin Real Estate Partners
What is a Homestead Exemption, and why should I care?
A Homestead exemption is one of several partial or absolute ‘exemptions’ that removes part of the value of your property from taxation and lowers your tax bill.
In addition to the state-mandated exemption amounts for school taxes ($25,000), each taxing unit decides whether to offer the optional exemption and at what percentage.
A Simple Example
Let’s walk through an example, according to TRAVISCAD.ORG, Travis County offers a 20 percent exemption for the Homestead exemption, however, Travis County is only one of several taxing units – the others are Austin ISD, City of Austin, and Austin Community College District.
If your property were valued at $400,000 and you qualify for the 20 percent Homestead exemption from the county, you would pay Travis County taxes on your home as if it were worth only $320,000. The amount of actual savings depends on the exemption and the amount of exemption allowed by each taxing unit.
Difference between TAX Code and Property Code
Texas has two distinct laws for designating a homestead. The Texas Tax Code offers homeowners a way to apply for homestead exemptions to reduce local property taxes. The Texas Property Code allows homeowners to designate their homesteads to protect them from a forced sale to satisfy creditors. This law does not, however, protect the homeowner from tax foreclosure sales of their homes for delinquent taxes.
Fees and filing deadlines
There is no fee for filing your exemption but you must be the homeowner of record on the 1st day of the year of your application. If you sent in an exemption request last year and you were not the homeowner of record on Jan 1 last year, the exemption will not be filed. You will need to file a new request between Jan 1, 2017 and April 30, 2017.
How do I apply for an exemption?
Travis County exemption applications are available from the Customer Service department during normal business hours. You may email a request to have an application sent to you or call our Customer Service department at (512) 834-9138. You may download the application from the Forms page of the Travis County Appraisal District’s website or right click TravisCAD Homestead Form.
Filing
After completing and signing the form, you may mail a physical to:
Travis County Appraisal District
P.0. Box 149012
Austin, TX 78714-9012
or scan the completed and signed form and email to Travis CAD, tax_info@tcadcentral.org.
Circle C Austin Business Featured in this Post
Austin Real Estate Partners
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Bob McKenna
As managing broker of Austin Real Estate Partners, Bob is a strong believer in the importance of teamwork to create a collaborative environment among agents and support staff. Bob also believes in partnering with clients to provide the objective support they need and deserve on every real estate transaction. Bob founded Austin Real Estate Partners with his wife Melinda in 2003 after a successful 15-year career in finance, marketing and corporate strategy for such noted technology companies as Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Compaq Computer (now HP), and Vignette (now OPEN TEXT).
When not serving his clients directly, Bob serves on the Texas Association of REALTORS® - Professional Standards Committee and serves as a Director at the Austin Board of REALTORS®.
In 2013, Bob was recognized as a Platinum Top 50 Realtor in Austin. PT50 was designed to recognize the most successful and well-rounded REALTORS who demonstrate leadership in community support/volunteering, advanced education and certifications as well as an above average sales history.
He is an avid football fan and an average golfer.
Contact: 512.288.8088, ext 7704
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