Texas Homestead Tax Amendment Vote Coming May 2026

Texas is asking voters to decide on a new way to calculate home taxes for people who own their homes. This proposed constitutional amendment, called HJR 39, would change how homestead property taxes work starting in the first year someone qualifies for a homestead exemption. Under this plan, when someone first gets a homestead exemption, the appraised value of their home for taxes would be set at its market value. If someone purchased the home, the purchase price they paid would be considered the market value. This means first-time homestead owners would know their starting tax value based on what they actually paid or what the home is worth. After that first year, home tax values would increase differently. Yearly increases would be limited to the market value of new improvements made to the property. This means if someone adds a room or replaces a roof, those improvements would affect future tax values. But increases wouldn't be based on rising neighborhood home values the way they are now. The amendment also includes protections. The tax limit stays in place as long as the owner or their spouse still qualifies for the homestead exemption. If the property passes to an heir who also qualifies, the protection continues. The amendment has a special rule for people who already had homestead exemptions before this law would take effect. All Texas voters will decide on this amendment at the election on May 2, 2026. The ballot will ask voters to approve or reject the proposal to change how home values are appraised for tax purposes.