by Conservative State Representative Angelia Orr
If you’ve opened your appraisal notice lately and felt a wave of frustration, you’re not alone. Across our community, I’m hearing the same thing from families, retirees, and homeowners: property taxes are out of control. You work hard, you invest in your home, and then you get hit with a tax bill that feels like a penalty for doing everything right. Enough is enough.
This week, we received major news for Texas homeowners. After in-depth negotiations, House and Senate leadership reached an agreement that will provide significant property tax relief. Thanks to the strong conservative leadership of Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and Speaker Dustin Burrows, the legislature is moving forward with a historic tax plan.
We’re voting to increase the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 for most homeowners, and up to $200,000 for seniors and individuals with disabilities. For many of our older neighbors, this will mean eliminating their school property tax bill entirely, which is a huge win.
That’s real relief. That’s money that stays in your pocket. Whether you’re a retired teacher, a widow living on Social Security, or someone who’s worked hard to build a life in their home, this plan was crafted with you in mind.
This new plan also brings significant relief for our small business community. The exemption on business personal property will rise dramatically, from just $2,500 to $125,000. As a small business owner myself, I know the challenge of investing in equipment, tools, and materials, only to face taxes on those same investments year after year. This change means real savings for local mechanics, farmers, shop owners, and contractors, the backbone of our rural communities. It will practically eliminate the property tax liability of many of our local mom and pop shops.
In addition to this historic agreement, we’ve also secured more than $58 billion in the state budget for property tax relief, a 128% increase over the last biennium. This funding will help keep taxes low and provide long-term relief for Texans across the state.
While this new agreement is a major step forward, I’m also pushing for even more relief through school tax compression. This approach uses state funds to directly lower the portion of your property tax bill that goes toward school funding. Since school taxes make up the largest share of most Texans’ property taxes, compression is one of the most powerful tools we have to provide long-term, broad-based relief for homeowners. I will continue to push for this as part of the ongoing conversation on property tax reform.
At the end of the day, it’s not just about cutting taxes, it’s about protecting the people and places that make rural Texas strong.
Our work isn’t finished. I remain committed to fighting against rising appraisals, ensuring transparency in property tax calculations, and making sure our schools stay fully funded without burdening taxpayers.
Texans deserve to own their homes—not rent them back from the government every year. I’ll continue to fight for your rights, and I’ll keep listening to your concerns every step of the way.
Thank you for reading my weekly column. To stay informed, call our Capitol office at (512) 463-0600 or follow me on Facebook at facebook.com/AngeliaOrrForTX. I’m here to serve you!
–Your Conservative State Representative, Angelia Orr
