Property taxes are the expense new buyers of small-town Texas homes most often underestimate, and the one they can do the most about. The Texas homestead exemption removes part of your home's appraised value from property taxes, and for 2026 the mandatory school-district exemption is $140,000, up from $100,000 after Texas voters approved Proposition 13 in November 2025. If you are browsing Omaha Texas real estate or Delta County homes, filing for it belongs on your closing checklist.
The $140,000 exemption and how it works
The homestead exemption takes $140,000 off your home's appraised value before school property taxes are calculated, and the same rule applies in every Texas school district, big city or small town. Cities and counties can add an optional exemption of up to 20 percent, with a $5,000 minimum, so savings vary by where you live. Homeowners 65 and older or with a qualifying disability get an extra $60,000 school-district exemption plus a ceiling on school taxes.
Once active, state law caps annual appraisal growth for tax purposes at 10 percent per year. In a market where values keep climbing, that cap protects the reasonable tax bill that keeps small-town Texas affordable.
How to file, and when
This is the part first-time buyers miss. Since 2022, Texas owners can file on the day they close and receive the exemption prorated for the rest of the purchase year, as long as the previous owner had not already claimed it. You can bank savings in year one.
The filing itself is a single form, Form 50-114, submitted to your county appraisal district at no cost. The April 30 deadline covers a full year if you lived in the home on January 1, and late filings are accepted up to two years later. The home must be your primary residence, and your Texas driver's license or ID must match the property address. It takes minutes, and it pays for years.
Why this matters to buyers right now
Every monthly dollar is doing more work this fall. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate in Texas was about 7.77 percent in October 2026, while inventory sits near five months of supply. That is a roughly balanced market with room to negotiate on price, and a trimmed tax bill improves the monthly math.
Affordable Northeast Texas keeps pulling buyers in. Texarkana's median sale price climbed more than 13 percent year over year in the third quarter of 2026, evidence that small-market value is still in demand. A home like 414 E Main St, 1,606 square feet with three bedrooms, two baths, and nearly an acre on Main Street, puts affordable square footage on Main Street in one package, with an exemption you can file at closing.
Interested in this property? Contact the Shannon Miles Group at (903) 785-2005 or visit shannonmiles.com. Whether you are searching Omaha Texas real estate or weighing Delta County homes, we would love to walk through your numbers, including first-year tax savings.
Shannon Miles Group
REALTOR · eXp Realty · 903-785-2005