General Residence Homestead: How To and Benefits

General Residence Homestead: How To and Benefits

Homestead Application: Form 50-114

  1. Property owners may qualify for a general residence homestead exemption, for the applicable portion of that tax year, immediately upon owning and occupying the property as their principal residence, if the preceding owner did not receive the exemption that tax year.
  2. Need copy of Texas Driver License or Texas ID which MUST match situs
  3. If Mailing Address is PO Box, the Texas Driver License or Texas ID still has to match the situs (both PO box and situs can be listed on the license/id's). The mailing address does not necessarily need to be listed on any form of ID
***If you cannot get an appointment to update your address on your driver's license, please be advised we can backdate the application for up to two years
  1. If confidential owner, Texas Driver License or Texas ID does not have to match the situs
  2. If active military, need utility bill and ID does not have to match situs
  3. You can go back two years when determining tax year. You can only do this if they have owned and occupied the home for the last two years.

Homestead Cap

  1. The cap applies to your homestead exemption beginning in the second year you have the exemption.
  2. The homestead cap adjustment is calculated on a year to year basis. If in the current year, the property reflects no cap adjustment, then the current value is not higher than 10% of last year’s value.
  3. An owner who receives a prorated homestead exemption is considered to have qualified for the homestead exemption as of January 1st of the following year.  Homestead cap adjustment will only apply after the exemption is on the property 1 full year.

Other Benefits

  1. Reduces taxable value for the school district and the road district.
  2. School district subtracts $140,000 from the value before taxing your property.
  3. The road district subtracts $3,000 from the value before taxing your property.

Late Filing

· When filing for the residence homestead exemptions, you must file an application no later than two years after the delinquency date. The delinquency date is January 31st.

How To File Application

· On our website www.wcad.org within the property search. Enter name, address, or REF ID to pull up property. Click HS exemption icon.

· On comptroller’s website https://comptroller.texas.gov/ Enter 50-114 into search.




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