The Tarrant County Commissioners Court approved a 10% homestead exemption for the county and JPS hospital district this week.
Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare announced a 10% homestead exemption for the county was unanimously adopted Tuesday by county commissioners and a 10% homestead exemption for the John Peter Smith hospital district passed on the same day by a 3-2 vote.
"One of the reasons I was elected was my commitment to take on runaway spending and excessive taxation. The Commissioners Court took an essential step in the right direction this week," stated O'Hare.
The tax rates for both JPS and the county were each set at roughly $.224 per $100 of valuation. On a $300,000 home, the exemption would drop the county and hospital taxes by about $67 each, or $134 per year.
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O'Hare said this was the first time the county offered an exemption to homeowners to lower their tax burden.
"This was a victory for taxpayers, and I hope the Commissioners Court will continue to use every tool at its disposal to provide property tax relief to our residents," O'Hare remarked. "My desire is that every other taxing entity in Tarrant County will follow our lead and provide much-needed relief to their taxpayers, as well."
O'Hare said he planned to reach out to every other taxing entity in the county, there are about 80 of them, encouraging them to lower property taxes in their jurisdictions. See a list of current Tarrant County tax rates and exemptions here.
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Optional homestead exemptions must be approved by local governments before July 1 to apply to the tax year.
O'Hare, who was elected last November and took office in January, has been calling for property tax relief for several months. After receiving his property appraisal in April he tweeted, "These repeated double-digit increases are unsustainable. 209% increase since 2018. All taxing entities must provide tax relief for our residents."
The effort by the county comes amid a stalemate between the Texas House and Senate over who has the best plan for further lowering property taxes statewide. The House has sent the Senate a bill that uses compression to lower the M&O tax imposed by school districts, but the Senate wants to use compression and increase the homestead exemption to $100,000.
