TEXAS, USA — The 2023 November election is underway. Texas voters will be voting on the hot topic of property taxes for home and property owners.
Texas lawmakers agreed to raise homestead property tax exemption from $40,000 to $100,000 under 'Proposition Four' in July. However, for it take into effect, lawmakers are requiring Texans to vote on it.
This is a part of Gov. Greg Abbott's $12.7 billion package of property tax cuts, promising to deliver savings to millions of property owners in Texas suffering from skyrocketing tax bills.
A "yes" vote supports amending the state constitution to:
- Increase the homestead tax exemption from $40,000 to $100,000
- Authorize state legislature to limit the annual appraisal on non-homestead real property
- Exclude appropriations made to increase state education funding from the state appropriations limit
- Authorize state legislature to provide four-year terms for members of the governing body of an appraisal entity in counties with populations of 75,000 or more
A "no" vote disagrees with the above statements.
Bell County Chief Appraiser Billy White told 6 News if this were to pass, the housing market would likely see a positive change.
"It could definitely help with the housing market, but definitely when it comes to property owners," White explained. "It could help them save on their taxes by voting yes on this."
Disabled homeowners could also see a reduction of $15,000 or less on their taxes.
However, voting against 'Prop Four' means you're voting to keep property taxes the same. So, if you're a homeowner, things will keep going the way they are.
"If it doesn't go through, some of the tax savings that the tax office like ourselves put out show could change," White continued. "It would probably be closer to last year's taxes"
In addition, voters will also be voting on school tax compression and electing appraisal officials for their districts.
If the 'Prop Four' change get's the green light, they would mostly go into effect automatically with no action required by property owners.
"Generally, it's always important for people to show up at the polls so we're excited to see the results," White said.
Early voting begins in Texas Monday, October 23.