Is there ever a scenario when an over 65 exemption would be applied to a property without the property owner filling out the form and submitting it to the CAD?

If a homeowner who is over 65 over paid because they submitted the form late, can they ask for refunds? How many years of refunds are they eligible for? Based on what I'm reading online, I think it's 3 years. Is there any way to get refunds going back more than that (possibly up to 9 years)?

looks like two years back, which would be 3 if you count the current year.

best to call the CAD and ask

https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/refunds.php

Yeah, that's next step. Just wondering if anyone here has had success remedying a similar situation.

Called HCAD. No application for the over 65 exemption was ever filed but there is a letter dated Feb 2018 saying that the property is eligible for it. Gal I spoke with said they do grant them automatically based on information they have.

It's clear that the ISD did NOT honor it, though. They only appear to have put it in place this past year (2025).

HCAD is going to mail a copy of the letter and I think we are going to apply for a refund using that. We will see what happens.

hope that works out.

I don't think they're under any obligation to grant it if you don't apply, but you lose nothing by trying.

Looks like HCAD did grant it. And the ISD knows about it, because there is a note on the ISD account saying the taxes were frozen in 2017. But the ISD continued sending bills that were $1000-$2000 more than the frozen amount.

so the property received the over 65 exemptions from Harris County/City of Houston, but not the ISD? That's strange

Well, the Harris county taxes don't really change that much (as best I can tell). And they are only a few hundred per year anyway.

The over 65 exemption really applies to ISD taxes.

And yes, HCAD put a letter on the account dated Feb 2018 that says the property has an over 65 exemption. Apparently, the ISD knew about it too, but did not adjust the tax bill accordingly.

Taxes in 2025 were $845, and they now appear to be frozen at this. But the two years before that, they were $1700, then $2900 for two years, and $3100 in 2020. The online records don't go back past 2020. But I think the bill should have been frozen at $845 in 2018.

This is Clear Creek ISD, not HISD.

If you can show that the exemptions were granted for that period for the City/County, but not by the ISD, you should have a good case.

On the HCAD website, you should be able to pull up the "value notice" for each of the last 5 years. That notice should break down the amount of each exemption for that year.

Since the taxes decreased over the past few years, that kind of fooled my parents into thinking the exemption went into effect.

They had no idea what actual number they were supposed to be frozen at. So they didn't realize there was a problem.

So, I looked at the value notice for last year, and there was nothing identifying any the exemptions. I looked at mine, too (and I know I have a homestead), and same thing. So I was confused by that.

The HCAD record itself does say multiple exemptions. But it doesn't specify which ones.

Ok...determined that part of the discrepancy is due to the fact that the value of the over 65 exemption increased significantly in 2025.

The mandatory exemption increased from $10k to $60k. So for 2025 the property is being taxed on $50k less value. That's making a huge difference.

Further complicating things is the ISD rate has also gone down significantly - from $1.2659 to $0.969 since 2000. The tax rate was even higher in 2018 - it was $1.4 back then. So maybe they paid a lot more in taxes back in 2018.

Still trying to sort through some other details. But this may all be attributable to the huge decrease in the tax rate and big increase in the over 65 exemption.

The problem is, the CCISD website says taxes are supposed to be "frozen" at whatever was paid the year the exemption went into effect. And I don't know what that number was. Online records only go back to 2020. And I don't know how that number is adjusted if taxes actually go down (because of lower tax rates and increased exemptions).

TXTransplant said:

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The problem is, the CCISD website says taxes are supposed to be "frozen" at whatever was paid the year the exemption went into effect. And I don't know what that number was. Online records only go back to 2020. And I don't know how that number is adjusted if taxes actually go down (because of lower tax rates and increased exemptions).

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yeah, there have been quite a few changes in exemptions amounts and rates over the last few years so comparing apples to apples based on bill isn't very useful.

It's more about comparing the appraised value to the exemptions amounts and value after exemptions.

the tax ceiling for the "freeze year" is your cap, and I don't think that number changes. You could pay less in taxes one year to the next if rates go down and/or exemption amounts go up.

We need our HCAD expert to chime in as he knows more about this than I ever will.

Yeah, it's really weird, and I'm gonna post more details here hoping someone sees it and comments.

For 2020-2022, I can take the appraised value, subtract the exemptions, and multiply by the ISD tax rate/100 and get the exact tax bill that was owed/paid.

For those three years, the "Frozen Tax Information" says 2017-$3431.85. I can only guess that's what they paid back in 2017. The tax bills for 2020-2022 were all less than that because the ISD tax rate decreased (1.4 down to 1.1146). I don't think the exemptions changed all that much between 2017-2022. HCAD assessed values stayed roughly the same between 2020-2022.

Then in 2023, the regular homestead exemption increased A LOT (it went from $40k to $100k for everyone). In that year, the tax bill that I calculate using the formula does NOT equal what was actually billed/paid. The calculated amount owed is $2276, but only $1730 was billed/paid. The "Frozen Tax Info" was also set to $1730.

Same thing in 2024 - calculated tax owed is $2191 but only $1717 was paid. And the "Frozen Tax Info" was set to $1717.

Now, in 2025, the calculated tax (again using the formula above) is $1319, but the actual tax bill was only $845. And the "Frozen Tax Info" was again changed to $845.

It looks like the over 65 exemption amount was correctly applied all those years (ie, appraised value was reduced correctly at least starting in 2020). But I cannot for the life of me figure out how the tax bill was calculated from 2023-2025. I was mistakenly thinking the tax value should have been frozen at $845 all these years, but that's not correct.

I'm not complaining that they paid less in taxes than what the formula says they should have, but I would really like to understand why! It just seems odd that I can't use the appraised values, exemptions, and tax rate to arrive at the tax that was actually billed/paid over the last few years.

The freeze years are recalculated (with a formula that I dont really understand and my eyes glaze over when I read it, so I haven't tried too hard) now due to legislation from I think 2023, and retroactively applicable to state actions lowering ISD tax rates in 2022. Basically, when the state injects more tax relief money into the school funding outside property taxes that results in "compression" of the ISD tax rates, the collectors have to recalculate the ceiling based on some formula version of "what would the ceiling be if the base year took later compression of the tax rate into account." Combined with increases in homestead exemptions, I see many people that now have ceilings of $0.00

Some of my neighbors have weird ass exemptions that make no sense (like much higher exemption amount on city tax than school tax) so that might explain it.

Seems like a purposely opaque system.

Quote:

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SECTION 3.02. Section 11.26, Tax Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (a), (a-10), and (o) and adding Subsections

(a-11) and (a-12) to read as follows:

(a) The tax officials shall appraise the property to which

this section applies and calculate taxes as on other property, but

if the tax so calculated exceeds the limitation imposed by this

section, the tax imposed is the amount of the tax as limited by this

section, except as otherwise provided by this section. A school

district may not increase the total annual amount of ad valorem tax

it imposes on the residence homestead of an individual 65 years of

age or older or on the residence homestead of an individual who is

disabled, as defined by Section 11.13, above the amount of the tax

it imposed in the first tax year in which the individual qualified

that residence homestead for the applicable exemption provided by

Section 11.13(c) for an individual who is 65 years of age or older

or is disabled. If the individual qualified that residence

homestead for the exemption after the beginning of that first year

and the residence homestead remains eligible for the same exemption

for the next year, and if the school district taxes imposed on the

residence homestead in the next year are less than the amount of

taxes imposed in that first year, a school district may not

subsequently increase the total annual amount of ad valorem taxes

it imposes on the residence homestead above the amount it imposed in

the year immediately following the first year for which the

individual qualified that residence homestead for the same

exemption, except as provided by Subsection (b). [If the first tax

year the individual qualified the residence homestead for the

exemption provided by Section 11.13(c) for individuals 65 years of

age or older or disabled was a tax year before the 2015 tax year, the

amount of the limitation provided by this section is the amount of

tax the school district imposed for the 2014 tax year less an amount

equal to the amount determined by multiplying $10,000 times the tax

rate of the school district for the 2015 tax year, plus any 2015 tax

attributable to improvements made in 2014, other than improvements

made to comply with governmental regulations or repairs.]

(a-10) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this

section, if in the 2024 or a subsequent tax year an individual

qualifies for a limitation on tax increases provided by this

section on the individual's residence homestead, the amount of the

limitation provided by this section on the homestead is equal to the

amount computed by:

(1) multiplying the taxable value of the homestead in

the preceding tax year by a tax rate equal to the difference between

the school district's maximum compressed rate for the preceding tax

year and the district's maximum compressed rate for the current tax

year;

(2) subtracting the amount computed under Subdivision

(1) from the amount of tax the district imposed on the homestead in

the preceding tax year; [and]

(3) adding any tax imposed in the current tax year

attributable to improvements made in the preceding tax year as

provided by Subsection (b) to the amount computed under Subdivision

(2);

(4) multiplying the amount of any increase in the

current tax year as compared to the preceding tax year in the

aggregate amount of the exemptions to which the individual is

entitled under Sections 11.13(b) and (c) by the school district's

tax rate for the current tax year; and

(5) subtracting the amount computed under Subdivision

(4) from the amount computed under Subdivision (3).

(a-11) This subsection applies only to an individual who in

the 2023 tax year qualifies for a limitation under this section and

for whom the 2022 tax year or an earlier tax year was the first tax

year the individual or the individual's spouse qualified for an

exemption under Section 11.13(c). The amount of the limitation

provided by this section on the residence homestead of an

individual to which this subsection applies for the 2023 tax year is

the amount of the limitation as computed under Subsection (a-5),

(a-6), (a-7), (a-8), or (a-9) of this section, as applicable, less

an amount equal to the product of $60,000 and the tax rate of the

school district for the 2023 tax year. This subsection expires

January 1, 2025.

(a-12) This subsection applies only to an individual who in

the 2023 tax year qualifies for a limitation under this section and

for whom the 2021 tax year or an earlier tax year was the first tax

year the individual or the individual's spouse qualified for an

exemption under Section 11.13(c). The amount of the limitation

provided by this section on the residence homestead of an

individual to which this subsection applies for the 2023 tax year is

the amount of the limitation as computed under Subsection (a-11) of

this section less an amount equal to the product of $15,000 and the

tax rate of the school district for the 2022 tax year. This

subsection expires January 1, 2025.

---

Diggity said:

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Some of my neighbors have weird ass exemptions that make no sense (like much higher exemption amount on city tax than school tax) so that might explain it.

Seems like a purposely opaque system.

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Houston and Harris County generally have large O65 exemptions.

If you are under 65 and in Houston/HISD, you get more exemption from the ISD (20% plus $140,000) and from most other jurisdictions, like the city you get just the 20%. So your taxable value is lowest in the ISD.

However, the city and county have massive O65 exemptions ($320,000 vs $60,000 now for ISDs) I think, so after that you only get 20% plus $200,000 from the ISD, but 20% plus $320,000 from the city and county so taxable values are higher for the ISD. After that they also get the ceiling on the ISD part which is a huge benefit too, and the way things are currently going ceilings are dropping as the politicians pass more tax relief.

Someone in the city of Houston who lives in an under $400k home and is over 70 probably pays close to $0.00 total.

Your exemptions in the standard county wide and the city of Houston will be 20% ($80,000) and then also the over 65 exemption of $320,000 cancels the rest for a taxable value of $0 in all those jurisdictions. Then in HISD the exemption is less, but after the last 5 years the ceiling may be almost nothing or like $100. The only other jurisdiction your likely to pay a few bucks in is HCC.

Thanks to you both for humoring me on this, if for no other reason than to confirm I'm not crazy (at least when it comes to this).

After staring at this for a couple of hours last night, I basically came to the same conclusion as what jjxvi posted above - the ISD is retroactively applying the new exemptions and recalculating the tax bill and freeze value based on some unknown formula.

I even tried to SWAG a formula adjustment, but nothing I tried got me even close to what the bills have been the last few years.

What's crazy to me is the tax statements mention nothing about any adjustments. They have the assessed value, the taxable value, the tax rate, and then an amount due that doesn't match the other numbers when you do the calculation. So, basically it looks like the ISD tax office is just really bad at basic math.

To futher jjxvi's points about what seniors with a house under $400k are paying - his estimates match this situation almost exactly.

School district bill is $845 after almost $237k in exemptions and their "magic math".

Harris Co taxes are similarly low (just under $600), and I went back to the HCAD value statement to look at what exactly is being taxed. The taxable values for Harris Co, Harris Co Flood District, Port of HOU, Harris Co Hospital, and Harris Co Education Dept are all $0.

The only taxable amount under Harris Co is City of Webster, which only gives a $139k exemption.

As you would expect, those taxable amounts have also changed/decreased with the changes to exemptions at the state level, but the entities where the taxable values are not $0 have been low for a while (they were <$25k before this last increase to exemptions).

To say the ISD calculation is opaque is an understatement. Best I can tell, it's nearly impossible for an over 65 individual to calculate what their ISD tax bill actually should be (other than it should be at or less than the "frozen" amount). It's basically a "Here is your bill, trust us that it's correct and pay it." situation. Since the tax bill is now so low, I guess they just don't expect anyone to complain, but the ISD could make a "mistake" in calculating bills and taxpayers would NEVER know it.

It's also crazy to me that a tax bill that was once frozen at $3400/year is now frozen at $845/year. I did not follow the last couple of tax relief legislation that was passed, but this is significant. Gives me something to look forward to when I'm old.

I fear the day I get a call/email from a client thats asks me to verify their freeze ceiling.

Prior to this little investigation, I thought what was frozen at 65 was your taxable VALUE. Meaning the assessed value was locked (even if market keeps increasing).

I had no clue that the freezes were any way tied to the actual tax bill - mainly because that makes no sense. Tax rates are always changing. Pile on changes to exemptions on top of that, and trying to compare tax bills is nearly impossible.

No, values are only limited by just a 10% annual increase limitation.

Property tax is not supposed to be a "tax based on your value" its supposed to be "tax to fund the budget of govt entities that is apportioned based on on value"

The big problem with tax tax relief in general, even appraisal caps or increase limitations is that people start paying their share of the tax not on how much more valuable their property is than yours but based on arbitrary things like differences in timing of when the property was purchased and things like that.

I get it for something like an over 65 that eventually everybody is going to get, but the stuff where your neighbor is paying a fraction of what you pay because of only time differences in when they bought the exact same house as you aren't really right in my opinion.

I totally agree. The property tax system is a huge frustration, made even more complicated by the fact that a significant portion of the population is transient. Meaning houses turn over frequently and sometimes people aren't even here long enough to know they should be protesting.

So, a few houses in the neighborhood become the highest valued and HCAD uses that as the basis for valuing all other properties. The fact that some houses were never valued correctly in the first place never factors in. That's on the homeowner for not protesting. HCAD has zero accountability for even trying to get it right in the first place.

I also hate that we go through this rigmarole every freaking year. It's such a waste of everyone's time and effort. Some years there aren't even any good comps to base a value on. I wish it was based on a 3 or 5 year average.