Keeping the Over-65 Property Tax Ceiling After a Spouse Dies in Texas

Texas property tax law gives homeowners 65 and older an extra school tax exemption and a ceiling that freezes the school taxes on their homestead. When the older spouse in a Houston household dies, the younger spouse can lose part of that protection and keep part of it, and which part depends on the survivor’s age and on what the couple’s taxing units had adopted. The difference can show up on the next tax statement as a bill well above the last one.

A surviving spouse who was 55 or older when the qualifying spouse died, and who still lives in the home, keeps the school tax ceiling under Tax Code § 11.26(i). The survivor also keeps any local-option over-65 exemption the deceased spouse had from a city, county, or other taxing unit. What does not carry over is the $60,000 school district exemption, which belongs only to an owner who is 65 or older or disabled. McCulloch & Miller, PLLC addresses these questions with surviving spouses as part of its estate planning and estate administration work.

What an Over-65 Homeowner Receives in Texas

An over-65 homeowner in Texas can hold three separate benefits on the same house, and each has its own surviving-spouse rule. Under Tax Code § 11.13, every adult homeowner receives a $140,000 school district exemption, and an owner who is 65 or older or disabled receives an additional $60,000. A city, county, or other taxing unit may also adopt a local-option exemption for owners 65 or older of at least $3,000.

The third benefit is the school tax ceiling. A school tax ceiling is a limit under Tax Code § 11.26 on the school taxes for an over-65 or disabled owner’s homestead. The school district may not raise the total tax above the amount imposed in the first year the owner qualified, except for new improvements. A county, city, or junior college district may adopt its own ceiling under § 11.261.

What a Surviving Spouse Keeps

The Tax Code sets out the surviving spouse’s position benefit by benefit.

• School tax ceiling: kept under § 11.26(i) if the survivor was 55 or older when the spouse died, and the home was and remains the survivor’s homestead.
• Local-option over-65 exemption: kept under § 11.13(q), from the same taxing unit and in the same amount, if the deceased spouse died in a year in which they qualified, the survivor was 55 or older, and the home was and remains the survivor’s homestead.
• County, city, or junior college ceiling: kept under § 11.261(i) where the unit adopted one, if the survivor was disabled or 55 or older when the spouse died.
• $60,000 school exemption: not continued for a surviving spouse. A survivor receives it only by turning 65 or qualifying as disabled in their own right.

A survivor who was 54 when the spouse died falls outside the school ceiling and the local-option rule, which makes the date of death and the survivor’s birthday the first two facts to confirm.

Survivors close to the age line often need those dates checked against the statute before the next tax bill arrives. If that describes your situation, call McCulloch & Miller at (713) 333-8900 to set up a time to talk.

Applying With the Harris Central Appraisal District

Texas does not always require the survivor to apply. Under § 11.43(m-2), when the appraisal district learns of the death, including from state death records, and its own records show the survivor is eligible, the survivor receives the local-option exemption in the next tax year without applying. That provision speaks only to the exemption, not to the ceiling, so filing is the safer course.

The Comptroller’s Form 50-114, the residence homestead exemption application, has a box for a surviving spouse of a person 65 or older and a line for the deceased spouse’s name and date of death. The Harris Central Appraisal District uses the same form for the over-55 surviving spouse claim. A late application can still be accepted under § 11.431 if it is filed within two years after the date the taxes on the homestead became delinquent.

Questions Surviving Spouses Ask About the Over-65 Exemption

Does a Surviving Spouse Under 65 Keep the $60,000 School Exemption?

No. The Tax Code continues the school tax ceiling and the local-option exemption for a qualifying survivor, but not the $60,000 school district exemption. The survivor receives that exemption on turning 65.

Does the Surviving Spouse Have to Reapply Every Year?

No. Under Tax Code § 11.43(c), a homestead exemption once allowed does not need to be claimed again each year. It continues until the property changes ownership or the owner’s qualification changes, although the chief appraiser may ask for a new application to confirm eligibility.

What if the Surviving Spouse Was Younger Than 55?

The school tax ceiling and the local-option exemption do not carry over. A survivor who is disabled may still keep a county, city, or junior college ceiling where one was adopted.

Reviewing the Tax Bill After a Spouse Dies

The property tax question tends to surface months after the funeral, when probate and the rest of the estate work are already under way. Thomas W. McCulloch is both an attorney and a CPA, which lets the firm read the tax side and the estate side of a surviving spouse’s situation together. If you would like the firm to review your plan, call (713) 333-8900 or contact McCulloch & Miller to get started.