Property Tax Relief | House Ways and Means, 9.15.2026

Estimated Time to Read: 4 minutes

Texas Policy Research submitted the following written testimony to all members of the Texas House Committee on Ways and Means ahead of its interim hearing.

• Committee: House Committee on Ways and Means
• Hearing Date: September 15, 2026
• Context: 89th Legislature, Interim
• Subject: Property Tax Relief
• Position: Informational
• Texas Liberty Compact:
  • Eliminate Property Taxes
  • Limit Local Spending & Debt
• Submitted By: Jeramy Kitchen
• Entity: Texas Policy Research Action (TPRA)

The text below reproduces the testimony as submitted to the committee.
The submitted document linked above is the authoritative version.

Chairman Meyer and Members of the Committee,

Texas has devoted historic amounts of state revenue to property tax relief. Yet Texans continue to face a system in which rising property values, government spending, and tax levies make owning a home or operating a business increasingly expensive. The Legislature should build upon its recent efforts by shifting its focus from temporary relief toward structural reform and eventual elimination.

One area deserving particular scrutiny is the continued reliance on larger homestead exemptions. Over the past decade, the school district residence homestead exemption has increased from $15,000 to $140,000 for most homeowners and to $200,000 for Texans age 65 and older or with disabilities. These policies unquestionably reduce liability for qualifying homeowners, but they do not reduce the underlying cost of government.

Exemptions redistribute tax burdens rather than eliminate them. Businesses, rental properties, homeowners receiving smaller exemptions, and ultimately consumers and renters continue bearing those costs.

This also raises questions of affordability and generational equity. Younger Texans already face higher home prices, interest rates, insurance costs, and property taxes. Continually expanding exemptions for existing homeowners while leaving the underlying spending untouched risks shifting an increasing share of the burden onto those trying to purchase their first home. Renters receive no direct homestead exemption at all, while property taxes imposed on rental housing ultimately affect the rents they pay.

Texas possesses a better option. The Texas Liberty Compact, Texas Policy Research's agenda for the 90th Legislature, calls for a phased elimination of property taxes. Rather than continually expanding exemptions, lawmakers should prioritize broad-based compression of school district maintenance and operations tax rates, using surplus-driven buy-downs to create a credible pathway toward eliminating school M&O property taxes.

Compression provides relief by lowering the tax rate itself rather than shifting the burden among taxpayers. That effort must be paired with enforceable limits on government spending. State-funded compression cannot provide lasting relief if spending and tax levies simply grow around it. Without fiscal discipline, today's relief becomes tomorrow's tax increase.

Texas should stop measuring success by the size of the next exemption or the dollar amount of the next relief package. Success should be measured by whether Texans are becoming less dependent on legislative intervention to remain in their homes.

Property taxes represent a recurring claim on ownership. The ultimate objective should be ending that claim altogether.

Thank you for your consideration.

---

Sources

• House Joint Resolution 1 (HJR 1), 65th Legislative Session, Second Called Session (1978)
• House Joint Resolution 4 (HJR 4), 75th Legislative Session (1997)
• Senate Joint Resolution 1 (SJR 1), 84th Legislative Session (2015)
• Senate Joint Resolution 2 (SJR 2), 87th Legislative Session, Third Called Session (2021)
• House Joint Resolution 2 (HJR 2), 88th Legislative Session, Second Called Session (2023)
• Senate Joint Resolution 2 (SJR 2), 89th Legislative Session (2025)
• Senate Joint Resolution 85 (SJR 85), 89th Legislative Session (2025)
• Amendments to the Texas Constitution Since 1876, Texas Legislative Council

Related TPR Work

• TPR Bill Analysis: Senate Joint Resolution 2 (SJR 2), 89th Legislative Session
• TPR Bill Analysis: Senate Bill 4 (SB 4), 89th Legislative Session
• TPR Bill Analysis: Senate Joint Resolution 85 (SJR 85), 89th Legislative Session
• TPR Bill Analysis: Senate Bill 23 (SB 23), 89th Legislative Session
• 89th Legislative Session Policy Brief: Property Taxes
• How Texas Can Replace Property Taxes
• Texas Property Tax Levies Continue Climbing in 2025
• The Texas Legislature's Broken Promises: Rising Property Taxes Despite Relief
• Why Texas Must Rein In Local Government Spending to Deliver Real Property Tax Relief
• Written Testimony, Appraisal District Funding | Senate Local Government, 9.1.2026
• Written Testimony, Local Government Fees | Senate Local Government, 9.2.2026

---