Texas Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption: Who Qualifies (2026)

If you're a Texas veteran with a service-connected disability, the disabled veteran property tax exemption can erase part or all of the property tax on your home. At a 100% VA disability rating, it removes the entire appraised value of your homestead from taxation.1

That's a Texas benefit, run under Texas law and claimed at your county appraisal district, not something you apply for through the VA. This guide walks through exactly who qualifies, how much you save at each disability rating, what happens for a surviving spouse, and how to file.

In This Guide

• Key Takeaways
• Do You Qualify for the Texas Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption?
• How Much Is the Texas Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption Worth?
• What About a Surviving Spouse?
• How to Apply
• How It Works With Your VA Benefits
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Learn More

Do You Qualify for the Texas Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption?

The Texas disabled veteran property tax exemption is built on your service-connected VA disability rating, so eligibility starts with two things: you're a veteran with a disability the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rates as service-connected, and the home you're claiming is your residence homestead, the place you actually live.1

From there, Texas grants two distinct exemptions under the Tax Code. They are not an either/or, which is the assumption that costs veterans money here.

The first is the full exemption. Under Texas Tax Code Section 11.131, a veteran who has been awarded 100% disability compensation from the VA because of a 100% service-connected disability rating, or a determination of individual unemployability, is entitled to an exemption from taxation of the total appraised value of their residence homestead. The Comptroller adds that you don't need both: a veteran is eligible if he or she is either 100 percent disabled or unemployable.1 In plain terms, if you're rated 100% and receiving 100% compensation, your home is fully exempt from property tax.

The second is the partial exemption under Tax Code Section 11.22, for a veteran the VA, or the branch in which the veteran served, classifies as disabled with a service-connected disability.1 It subtracts a fixed dollar amount from the taxable value of the property, scaled to the rating, and unlike the full exemption it isn't confined to your homestead: it may be applied to any one property you own and designate. Section 11.22(g) requires that you be a resident of Texas. The next section lays out the amounts.

Here is the part worth a phone call. The Comptroller states that an eligible disabled veteran may receive both the Section 11.131 and the Section 11.22 exemption.1 A veteran rated 100% is not choosing between them, so if you have a second property you own and could designate, ask your appraisal district about claiming the partial exemption there as well.

One point worth keeping straight from the start. This is the exemption for veterans with a service-connected disability. It's a separate benefit from the age-and-income property tax relief many Texas seniors qualify for, which is based on being 65 or older rather than on a VA rating. If you're not a disabled veteran but you're a senior looking to lower your tax bill, our guide to senior property tax relief in Texas covers that track instead.

How Much Is the Texas Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exemption Worth?

How much you save depends on which track you're on. A full exemption removes the entire appraised value of your homestead from taxation, so your property tax on that home drops to zero.1 A partial exemption subtracts a set dollar amount from your property's value before the tax is calculated, and that amount rises with your disability rating.

Here's how the partial exemption scales.

Those amounts come from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and the Texas Tax Code.1 Because the partial exemption lowers the value your local taxing units tax rather than the tax itself, the actual dollars you keep depend on your combined local tax rate. The full exemption under Section 11.131 is the larger benefit by far, since it removes the total appraised value rather than a capped slice.

There's a second route to the top band that has nothing to do with your rating percentage. Section 11.22(b) allows $12,000 for a veteran who is 65 or older with a disability rating of at least 10 percent, for a veteran who is totally blind in one or both eyes, and for a veteran who has lost the use of one or more limbs. A veteran who qualifies under both subsection (a) and subsection (b) gets only one exemption, but may choose the greatest one he qualifies for.1 For an older veteran carrying a 10% or 20% rating, that turns a $5,000 exemption into a $12,000 one, and the appraisal district will not make the swap unless you raise it.

What About a Surviving Spouse?

The exemption doesn't necessarily end when the veteran dies. Under Section 11.131(c), the surviving spouse of a veteran who qualified, or who would have qualified had the exemption been in effect at the time of the veteran's death, is entitled to an exemption of the total appraised value of the same property.1

But the statute sets three conditions, and all three have to hold:1

• The surviving spouse has not remarried since the death of the disabled veteran.
• The property was the surviving spouse's residence homestead at the time of the veteran's death.
• The property remains the surviving spouse's residence homestead.1

The last two are the ones that decide real cases. A widow who had already moved out before her husband died, or who has since moved in with a daughter and kept the house, does not meet them, and reading only the remarriage condition would tell her she qualifies when she doesn't.

Moving isn't necessarily the end of it, though. If a qualifying surviving spouse later moves, Section 11.131(d) limits the exemption on the new homestead to the dollar amount of the exemption she received on the former homestead in its last year, which is why the Comptroller warns that the new residence homestead might not receive a total property tax exemption.1

The partial exemption carries over on its own terms. Under Section 11.22(c), if a disabled veteran entitled to a partial exemption dies, the surviving spouse takes the amount of the veteran's exemption at the time of death for as long as the spouse remains unmarried; if the spouse does not survive the veteran, each of the veteran's unmarried surviving children younger than 18 shares it.1

How to Apply

You claim the exemption yourself; it isn't applied automatically. The process runs through your county, not the VA.

If you're not sure which form fits your rating or how to document individual unemployability, the Texas Veterans Commission can file the claim with you. Asked on its own Claims page what it charges, TVC answers: "Nothing." It describes 80 or more accredited benefits advisors, all of them veterans, across forty-nine offices in the state, many of them inside VA facilities. Not every county has its own office, but TVC says many of the 249 Texas counties have a Veteran County Service Office, usually inside local county assistive services, and those officers work with TVC under a memorandum of understanding to provide the same help at no fee.2 Reach the commission at 1-800-252-8387, at (512) 463-6564, or by email at info@tvc.texas.gov; it offers phone appointments as late as 7:00 pm at some locations for people who work during the day.2

How It Works With Your VA Benefits

A question that comes up often: does claiming this exemption affect your VA pension or your monthly compensation? It helps to see where this benefit sits. Texas grants both exemptions under its own Tax Code, and you claim them by filing an application with the appraisal district where the property sits.1 What they change is the taxable value your local taxing units bill you on. No money moves from the VA either way, because the VA is not the payer here.

That distinction matters most if you also receive, or are applying for, VA Aid and Attendance, the monthly pension add-on for veterans who need help with daily activities. The VA sets the 2026 Aid and Attendance rates as annual ceilings, and it pays the difference between your income for VA purposes and that ceiling rather than the full amount: up to $29,093 a year for a qualifying veteran, about $2,424 a month, and up to $34,488 a year for a veteran with a spouse, about $2,874 a month. VA publishes these rates as annual maximums, so a monthly amount is the yearly award divided by 12.3 Aid and Attendance is a needs-based pension with its own rules, including a 2026 net worth limit of $163,699 and a requirement that you need help with activities of daily living. That limit combines the claimant's and their dependents' assets with their income for VA purposes, and it includes the spouse's net worth.4

Families talk themselves out of applying at this point, and usually for the wrong reason. VA's assets don't include the home you live in, your car, or basic home items like appliances you wouldn't take with you if you moved. Assets are the fair market value of your other real and personal property minus any mortgages, and VA may subtract unreimbursed medical expenses and educational expenses from income when it works out both your income for VA purposes and your net worth.4 A paid-off house in Plano does not sit on the $163,699 side of the ledger.

The property tax exemption runs on a different test entirely, turning on your service-connected disability rating and the property you designate, so a veteran can pursue both on their own tracks.

If you want the full picture of the federal side, our Texas Aid and Attendance guide covers eligibility, the rates, and how to file, and our overview of VA benefits for senior care in Texas shows how these pieces fit together with VA health care and Texas State Veterans Homes.

Learn More

Find personalized help claiming the Texas disabled veteran property tax exemption at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.