Over 65 property taxes for Austin & Travis County (new home, transfer)

[CptnRn]

What property tax breaks are available for those over 65? I read on the Travis County website about the tax deferral, which makes the taxes owed a lien against the property. You will be charged 8% interest per year on the deffered amount. So by the time you pass away or if you want to sell the house when you are elderly, you may not have much equity left in it.

But I found another website that indicates there is also a tax freeze on the amount for those over 65. State-by-State Guide to Taxes on Retirees says:

PROPERTY TAXES
Property tax is imposed by local taxing units. For homeowners 65 and older, $10,000 (in addition to the regular $15,000 homestead exemption) of the property's assessed value is exempt from school taxes and $3,000 is exempt from other local taxes. Once a homeowner older than 65 qualifies for an over-65 homestead exemption for school taxes, that owner benefits from a tax ceiling for that home on school taxes. If the homeowner improves the home (other than normal repairs or maintenance), the tax ceiling is adjusted for the new additions. School-district taxes are frozen for seniors (65 and older) and disabled persons at the level imposed on the residence the first year that the taxpayer qualified for the residence exemption. Counties, cities, towns and junior-college districts are permitted to establish a tax freeze on homesteads of the disabled and those 65 and older.

That last bit sounds like it still varies from location to location.

[CptnRn]

I found some more about this here, it looks like they added this better explanation in Dec. 2011: Travis County Tax Office - Collecting property taxes, registering voters and motor vehicles.

Homestead School Tax Ceiling
The homestead tax ceiling is a limit on the amount of school taxes you must pay on your residence. If you qualify your home for a 65 and Over or Disabled Person Homestead Exemption, the school taxes on that home can't increase as long as you own and occupy that home. The tax ceiling freezes your school taxes at the amount you pay in the year that you qualify for the 65 and Over or Disabled Person Homestead Exemption.

The school taxes on your home may go below the ceiling but not above the amount of the ceiling. If you improve the home (other than normal repairs or maintenance), the tax ceiling may go higher for the new additions. For example, if you add on a garage or game room to the house, the tax ceiling will be adjusted to a higher level for the value of the addition.


If a 65 and older, disabled, or 55 and older surviving spouse homeowner moves to another home they can transfer the percentage of the tax ceiling to a different home in the same or another school district. The ceiling on the new home would be calculated to give the same percentage of tax paid as the ceiling on the original home.