Key findings
A missed homestead exemption costs a median Texas homeowner $2,108 to $2,535 a year; outside Texas the same mistake costs between $0 and $853.
- Texas is where skipping it hurts most. On the median home the homestead exemption saves $2,459 in Houston (38% of the bill), $2,535 in Dallas, $2,491 in Austin, $2,186 in Fort Worth and $2,108 in San Antonio.[1][3] A Houston-area bill with your own value is on the Harris County property tax calculator.
- Over 65, the Texas bill nearly disappears. In Houston the homestead and over-65 exemptions together cut a median home's bill from $6,445 to $420, a 93% saving; the saving is $5,236 in Dallas and $5,355 in Austin.
- The official figure points the same way. The Travis Central Appraisal District says the homestead exemption saved the average Travis County owner $3,663 in 2025.[5]
- Cook County: about $853 a year. The $10,000 EAV Homeowner Exemption is worth $853 on a median home at an 8.532% rate; with the Senior Exemption the saving is $1,536.[6][7]
- California's exemption is small. The $7,000 homeowners' exemption is worth $83 a year in Los Angeles and $80 in Orange County.[11][13]
- Maricopa's homeowner rebate hits its $600 cap on a median home, 9% of the bill.[16][17]
- King County has no general homestead exemption. Washington's only one is income-limited, for owners 61 or older or disabled.[18][19]
Homestead exemption savings by county, median home
The table prices each county's main homeowner exemption on its median owner-occupied home, using the first taxing area listed on the county page (Cook: the Treasurer's sample-bill rate).
| County | Area | Tax year | Median home | Bill, no exemption | Homestead saves | Share of bill | With 65+ saves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County, IL[9][10][6][7] | Chicago area | 2025 | $335,800 | $8,681 | $853 | 10% | $1,536 |
| Harris County, TX[22][4][23][1][3] | Houston | 2026 | $301,700 | $6,445 | $2,459 | 38% | $6,025 |
| Tarrant County, TX[22][24][25][1][3] | Fort Worth | 2026 | $351,900 | $7,837 | $2,186 | 28% | $3,614 |
| Dallas County, TX[26][22][1][3] | Dallas | 2025 | $330,500 | $7,359 | $2,535 | 34% | $5,236 |
| Travis County, TX[27][22][28][29][1][3][30] | Austin | 2026 | $545,700 | $11,575 | $2,491 | 22% | $5,355 |
| Bexar County, TX[31][22][32][1][3] | San Antonio | 2026 | $284,400 | $6,712 | $2,108 | 31% | $3,655 |
| Los Angeles County, CA[13][12] | Los Angeles | 2026-27 | $866,500 | $10,275 | $83 | 1% | $83 |
| Orange County, CA[33][11][14] | Anaheim | 2025-26 | $1,037,200 | $11,786 | $80 | 1% | $80 |
| King County, WA[34] | Seattle | 2026 | $885,200 | $8,771 | $0 | 0% | $0 |
| Maricopa County, AZ[17][16] | Phoenix | 2026 | $482,800 | $6,826 | $600 | 9% | $600 |
Texas, Cook and Maricopa use the county's own exemption amounts, unit by unit. California and Maricopa have no age-based exemption, so the last column repeats the homestead figure. King County's $0 is not a missed saving: there is no general exemption to claim.
How to apply before you lose another year
None of these exemptions starts on its own for a new owner: you file once with the county office, and in most places it then renews until you move.
Texas: Harris, Dallas, Tarrant, Travis and Bexar
Apply to the appraisal district before May 1 (or within one year of acquiring the home); filing is free. A late homestead application is accepted up to 2 years after the tax delinquency date, and taxes already paid for those years are refunded.[1][2] The amounts by school district and city are on homestead exemption Texas.
Paid kit · 9: Texas Homestead Exemption Kit: exemption finder and filing guide
One-time payment · Refund policy
California, Illinois, Arizona and Washington
- Los Angeles: February 17 (2026 calendar) for the full $7,000; late claims through December 10; renews automatically until terminated.[12]
- Orange County: February 15 for the full exemption; December 10 is the last day to file for the partial (80%) homeowners' exemption.[11][14]
- Cook County: new owners must apply to the Assessor; long-time owners' exemptions renew automatically. Details on the Cook County property tax page.[6]
- Maricopa County: the rebate applies to owner-occupied (class 3) homes; rentals are class 4 and do not get it.[16]
- King County: Apply to the Assessor (taxrelief.kingcounty.gov); 2025 income documents for 2026 taxes.[19]
How many homeowners actually claim it?
Only Los Angeles County publishes a count: about 891,000 homeowners' exemptions on its 2026 roll, against 1,590,376 owner-occupied homes in the Census count, or 56%.[15][21] That ratio is not a "missed" rate, for four reasons:
- The Census counts housing units; the Assessor counts parcels.
- The exemption only goes to a home that was the owner's principal residence on January 1.
- Mobile homes, some co-ops and homes with other exemptions can be counted differently.
- The Assessor's release prints the figure as "891,00"; we read it as about 891,000 because the same release puts the total above $6.3 billion, and 891,000 × $7,000 is $6.24 billion.
The other nine counties do not publish an exemption count we could verify, so we make no claim about how many of their owners miss it.
How we calculated this
- Home value: the county's 2024 median value of owner-occupied homes from the American Community Survey.[20]
- Rates and exemptions: the county's adopted rates for the first area on its page and its exemption amounts, from the sources on that county's page.
- Saving: the bill without the exemption minus the bill with it.
- Texas: market value is used; the 10% homestead cap and the over-65 school tax ceiling are not modeled, and both add to the saving, so the Texas figures are a floor.
- California: bills use market value, not the Prop 13 base-year value, so the bill is an upper bound; the $7,000 exemption's saving is not affected.
- Cook: the 8.532% composite rate is the Treasurer's sample bill (tax year 2023, Niles/Maine Township) with the 2025 equalization factor of 3.03; rates differ across Chicago and the suburbs. The Senior Freeze (income limit $65,000) is not modeled.[8][10]
- Maricopa: the median value is entered as the Limited Property Value, which is usually below market value.
- King: the income-limited senior exemption depends on household income, so it is not priced.
To price your own home, use the calculator on your county's page or the property tax calculator; senior programs beyond the main exemption are on property tax exemption for seniors.
Download the data
The CSV has one row per county: county, state, tax year, area, median value, the bill with no exemption, with the homestead exemption and with the over-65 exemptions, both savings, the saving as a share of the bill, owner-occupied units (ACS 2024, table B25003), and the official exemption count where one exists. Download missed-property-tax-exemptions.csv. You may reuse it with a link to this page.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a homestead exemption save?
On a median home it saves $2,108 to $2,535 a year in the five big Texas counties, about $853 in Cook County, $600 in Maricopa and about $80 in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
Are homestead exemptions automatic?
Not for a new owner. In Texas you apply once to the appraisal district; in California you file a one-time claim with the assessor, and in Los Angeles it then renews until terminated. Cook County renews it for long-time owners.
Can I get a missed homestead exemption back?
In Texas, yes, for up to two earlier years: the district accepts a late application up to 2 years after the delinquency date and refunds taxes already paid.[2] In Orange County a claim filed after February 15 but by December 10 gets the partial (80%) exemption.[14] Other counties' rules are on their pages.
Is the over-65 exemption worth applying for separately?
In Texas it is the biggest saving of all: $3,566 more than the homestead exemption alone on a median Houston home. In California and Arizona there is no age-based exemption on top of the homestead one.
Sources
- Texas Tax Code §11.13 – Residence Homestead
- Texas Tax Code §11.431 – Late Application for Residence Homestead Exemption
- Property Tax Exemptions
- Jurisdictions (rates, homestead percent, over-65 and disabled amounts; data feed behind the page)
- Travis County property owners reminded to apply for homestead exemptions in the new year
- Homeowner Exemption
- Senior Citizen Homestead Exemption
- Senior Citizen Assessment Freeze Exemption
- Understanding your Tax Year 2025 Second Installment tax bill
- Final 2025 Cook County equalization factor (3.0300)
- Homeowners' Exemption
- 2025-2026 Taxpayers' Guide
- Property Tax – Tax Rates by TRA (FY 2025/2026 and 2026/2027)
- Dates To Remember
- LA County property values surpass $2.2 trillion (2026 assessment roll release)
- A.R.S. §15-972 – State limitation on homeowner property taxes; additional state aid
- 2026 Tax Rates, Maricopa County, Arizona
- RCW 84.36.381 – Residences, property tax exemptions
- Senior Citizen and People with Disabilities Reduction in Property Taxes – application for taxes due in 2026
- Table B25077: Median Value (Dollars), owner-occupied housing units (American Community Survey 2024 1-year)
- Table B25003: Tenure (owner-occupied housing units), American Community Survey 2024 1-year
- 2025 Tax Rates and Levies (school district, city, county, special district XLSX; version dated 01/28/2026)
- Truth in Taxation – Notice of Adopted 2025 Tax Rate
- Truth in Taxation Summary (adopted rates by taxing unit, tax years 2021–2026)
- Rates and Exemptions – Detail (2026 Tax Rates & Exemptions)
- 2025 Ad Valorem Tax Rates for Dallas County (notes on SB 4 / SB 23 amounts)
- Jurisdiction tax rates, current and prior four years (qryJurisRateWeb2025.xls; 2026 file for rate2026)
- Jurisdiction tax rates (qryJurisRateWeb2026.xls)
- Austin City Council approves amended Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget
- 2026 Exemption Listing Report
- 2024 Actual Tax Rates / 2025 Actual Tax Rates chart (as of 12/05/2025)
- 2025 Actual Tax Rates / 2026 Actual Tax Rates chart
- County of Orange Property Tax Rates 2025-2026 (TRA Tax Rates, Revised 3)
- 2026 Codes and Levies – King County Taxing Districts