Like Governor Greg Abbott, I have been wanting to cut property taxes for some time. Almost five years ago, on June 30, 2020, the Denton County Commissioners Court approved a residence homestead exemption of up to 1 percent or $5,000, whichever is greater, to all homeowners of the county. This applied to the county’s tax, which is only about 10% of your property tax bill.
Earlier in 2019, Denton County approved a tax limitation for properties receiving an over 65 or disabled person exemption. The County’s Over 65 Exemption is $55,000 and the Disabled Person Exemption is $15,000. Homesteaded homeowners are eligible for one or the other. Both measures were property tax exemptions I personally advocated for on the Court to bring tax relief to our residents.
These were small steps, but they were heading in the right direction – lowering your property taxes. However, the really big tax relief came on June 16 as the Governor signed three bills at Robson Ranch, right here in Denton County. I was honored to be asked to assist with the Governor’s Bill Signing Event, and a packed room of people applauded as he signed three landmark property tax relief bills.
We were joined by many officials including our Congressman Brandon Gill; Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Dustin Burrows; our State Senators Brent Hagenbuch and Tan Parker; our State Representatives Ben Bumgarner, Andy Hopper, and Jared Patterson; Denton County Judge Andy Eads; Denton Tax Assessor/Collector Dawn Waye; and the Chief Appraiser for the Denton Central Appraisal District, Don Spencer, among many other local officials, business leaders and legislators from across Texas.
These laws increase the homestead exemption for every homesteaded homeowner to $140,000 and provide state aid to school districts to help offset that lost revenue. The bill additionally increased to $200,000 the homestead exemption for the majority of seniors and disabled homeowners. These actions will lower their property taxes. But there are many new Texans – maybe even some longtime Texans – who don’t really understand what this huge homestead exemption will mean for their property tax bill.
Here’s a quick illustration: Let’s say your homestead is appraised at $400,000 and with no exemptions, you will pay taxes on the full appraised amount, probably in the thousands of dollars. But with the new law, that $400,000 appraisal will be drastically cut! You will only pay taxes on the appraised amount over $140,000 – likely hundreds of dollars less. (SB Bill 4) But wait – it you are a senior (over 65), your exemption has been raised to $200,000 so you will save thousands of tax dollars (SB 23). This is especially valuable for your school district taxes, which are normally about 75% of your tax bill.
HB 9, the third bill, will help many small business owners as it raises the limit on personal property exemption for small business owners to $125,000.
However, to go into effect, these bills will have to be approved by the voters in the November Constitutional Election so that these tax breaks will become part of the Texas Constitution and cannot be undone in the future legislatively.
It’s so encouraging also to see state legislation that directly impacts the lives of so many here in Denton County. Please thank Governor Abbott and our legislators by voting YES on the upcoming November 4, 2025, Election.
Contact Commissioner Dianne Edmondson by email at Dianne.Edmondson@dentoncounty.gov or phone her at 972-434-3960. You can also stop by her office in the Southwest Courthouse, 6200 Canyon Falls Drive, Suite 900, in Flower Mound.
