HOUSTON — Your upcoming property tax bill could be lower.
Property tax is usually not something that is fun to talk about, but a new bill in Austin could change that. According to the guy who wrote the legislation, Senator Paul Bettencourt, a homeowner with a house valued around $300,000 — the state’s medium — would save around $200 next year.
How would this work?
It takes money from the state tax surplus to reduce property tax bills for the 2022-2023 school year. So at least $2 billion would be sent to independent school districts in the state. In return, those districts would reduce homeowner’s tax rates by about 3.3 cents, leading you to save on your tax bill.
Why is this happening now?
This week Governor Abbott added property tax relief to the agenda for the third special session now underway in Austin. According to the Texas Tribune, Abbott is facing pressure from the right to pay more attention to property tax relief. In fact one of his challengers in next year’s primary for governor attacked Abbott for not having property tax relief on the special session agenda originally.