Home / Buying / Homestead Exemption
What the homestead exemption is actually worth here
$140,000 off school taxable value — roughly $1,441 to $1,690 a year on the west side, district depending, and double the exemption at 65+. Free to claim, filed once, and it switches on the 10% cap most owners forget.
The short answer
The Texas homestead exemption takes $140,000 off your home's taxable value for school district taxes — raised from $100,000 by Proposition 13 in November 2025, applying beginning with tax year 2025. On the west side that is worth roughly $1,441 to $1,690 a year depending on your school district, and homeowners 65+ or disabled get $200,000 off instead (Proposition 11's additional $60,000). It is free to claim, filed once, and it switches on a second benefit — the 10% appraisal cap — that can quietly outearn the exemption itself in a corridor appreciating like this one.
Verified 2026-09-02 · rates are each district's adopted 2025 rate · arithmetic shown per district below
What it's worth, district by district
The exemption's dollar value is just exemption × your school district's rate. Here is that arithmetic at the adopted 2025 rates (the rates on current bills), for the districts a west-side address actually lands in:
| District | Roughly covers | 2025 school rate | Worth per year ($140K) | 65+/disabled ($200K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Settlement ISD | White Settlement | $1.2069 | ≈$1,690 | ≈$2,414 |
| Aledo ISD | Aledo, much of Willow Park, Walsh, parts of Hudson Oaks | $1.1942 | ≈$1,672 | ≈$2,388 |
| Weatherford ISD | Weatherford, parts of Hudson Oaks and Willow Park | $1.0342 | ≈$1,448 | ≈$2,068 |
| Fort Worth ISD | Fort Worth proper, incl. Benbrook | $1.0291 | ≈$1,441 | ≈$2,058 |
Three reading notes. First, the district is set by your address, not your city — Willow Park and Hudson Oaks both split between districts, and Benbrook is Fort Worth ISD (the 2026 ratings page maps this). Second, the November 2025 increase alone — the $40,000 bump from $100K to $140K — added roughly $410–$480 a year in these districts. Third, these figures are the school-district slice only: cities, counties, and special districts levy separately and some offer their own optional exemptions — your appraisal-district record shows exactly which ones apply to your address.
How to claim it (free, once)
- File Form 50-114 with your county appraisal district — Tarrant Appraisal District for Tarrant-side addresses (Benbrook, White Settlement, Fort Worth), Parker County Appraisal District for Parker-side (Aledo, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks, Weatherford). Online, free.
- Do it the week you close. You qualify once you own and occupy the home as your principal residence — no need to wait for a new year, and if you missed it, late filing is allowed for a limited period (ask your appraisal district).
- Never pay a “filing service.” Mailers offering to file it for $50–$100 sell you a free form. The districts themselves warn about these.
- File once, keep it. No annual renewal. Update it only if you move.
The quiet second benefit: qualifying activates the 10% appraisal cap — your homestead's taxable value can't rise more than 10% a year regardless of market value, starting your second year with the exemption. The property-tax playbook covers the cap, the free annual protest, and the PID/MUD layer together.
Who this applies to
New buyers anywhere in the corridor — this is the first form to file after closing, and the savings above are annual, not one-time. Owners 65+ or disabled — the additional $60,000 (a $200,000 total) plus the school-tax ceiling makes this the single most valuable filing in Texas property tax. Renters running the buy math — the exemption narrows the rent-vs-buy gap; the calculator and the rent-vs-buy engine both assume you claim it.
One honest timing note
The rates above are the adopted 2025 rates — what current bills are computed on. Texas taxing units adopt their tax-year 2026 rates around September 2026, and several corridor districts have been cutting rates for years. When the 2026 rates land, the per-district arithmetic here shifts slightly; this page is refreshed each cycle.
2026 adoption watch
Aledo ISD is in: on August 24, 2026 the board adopted a 2026–27 rate of $1.1775 per $100 — down $0.0167 from $1.1942 and the district's eighth consecutive reduction. Once 2026 bills issue, the $140,000 exemption is worth about $1,649 a year in Aledo ISD (65+/disabled at $200,000: about $2,355) — roughly $23 less than on the 2025 rate, because a lower rate makes every exemption dollar worth slightly less. Weatherford ISD, Fort Worth ISD and White Settlement ISD had not published 2026 adoptions as of the verified date above; the table stays on 2025 rates until each one lands.
Next steps
- Check whether your exemption is already on file: look up your address in your appraisal district's records.
- Not on file? Submit Form 50-114 to the appraisal district for your county. Free.
- 65+ or disabled? File the additional exemption at the same time.
- Pair it with the annual protest — the playbook walks both levers.
Sources
- Texas Comptroller — residence homestead exemptions (framework, Form 50-114).
- Proposition 13 & 11 (November 2025) — $140,000 general school exemption applying from tax year 2025; additional 65+/disabled exemption to $60,000.
- Aledo ISD — 2025-26 adopted rate $1.1942 (seventh consecutive reduction); 2026-27 adopted rate $1.1775 (district news, 2026-08-24; eighth consecutive reduction).
- Weatherford ISD — 2025-26 adopted rate $1.0342 (M&O $0.7552 + I&S $0.2790).
- Fort Worth ISD — adopted rate $1.0291 (board adoption 2025-08-26; cross-checked against the county Form 50-859 worksheet).
- White Settlement ISD — adopted rate $1.2069 per the official Tarrant County truth-in-taxation database.
Verified 2026-09-02. Educational only — not tax or legal advice for any specific situation; confirm your own exemptions with your appraisal district.
Keep reading
the buyer's guide · the property-tax playbook · first-time buying in Texas · rate tables by city & district · living in Benbrook
Want the 2026 rate refresh when districts adopt?
Taxing units adopt new rates around September. We redo this page's arithmetic when they land — the early list hears first, no other mail.