In 2024, more than 42,000 El Paso County households paid no school property taxes because the value of their exemptions exceeded the taxable valuation of their homes. That number could grow to more than 77,000 this year if Texas voters approve a constitutional amendment in November to increase school tax exemptions for people who occupy homes they own, and for people age 65 and older or with disabilities.
That would mean about 43% of properties with a homestead exemption – more than two of every five such homes in the county – would pay no property tax to a school district this year.
If the constitutional amendment passes – a virtual certainty based on previous elections – the homestead exemption for school property taxes will rise from $100,000 to $140,000. The over-65/disability exemption will go from $10,000 to $60,000.
That means that owner-occupied homes in El Paso County with a value below $140,000 won’t owe any school tax, because the homestead exemption is more than the taxable value of the house for school districts. For people with homestead exemptions who are older than 65 or have a state-recognized disability, that threshold will go to $200,000.
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The Ysleta Independent School District also provides an additional 20% homestead exemption, so any property with a homestead exemption with a value of $175,000 or less will pay no school tax. YISD property owners with both a homestead and over-65/disability exemption won’t pay school property tax if their value is $250,000 or less.
These exemptions apply only to school taxes. The city and county governments have $5,000 homestead exemptions on their tax bills, with the city also offering a $25,000 exemption for people with disabilities or age 65 and older. University Medical Center of El Paso and El Paso Community College don’t offer homestead exemptions.
Homestead exemptions, and the one for people over 65 or with disabilities, are only available on single-family homes occupied by their owner. Rental housing and commercial and industrial properties don’t qualify for the exemptions.
Military veterans with a 100% disability rating are exempt from all property taxes in Texas.
The Texas Legislature this year approved the expanded homestead exemptions as a means of lowering property tax bills, Property taxes have become an increasingly contentious subject for homeowners in Texas as home valuations have risen in recent years.
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The plan passed by the Legislature would use money from a state budget surplus to replace the money local school districts will lose from the expanded exemption over the next two years. Critics of the plan have warned that the expanded homestead exemption could create financial challenges in future years, especially if state revenues decline.
The plan requires voter approval in the Nov. 4 election. The plan would reduce school property taxes for most taxpayers by several hundred dollars, depending on local school district tax rates and changes in property valuations for homeowners.
But for more than 77,000 El Paso homeowners, the exemptions will wipe out all of their school property tax bills, according to valuation data from the El Paso Central Appraisal District provided to El Paso Matters. That’s nearly double the number who paid no school property tax in 2024.
Seniors, people with disabilities benefit the most
The largest growth in El Paso County homeowners no longer paying school taxes will be among people older than 65 or with a state-recognized disability, who will see a combined increase of $90,000 in exemptions for school taxes.
In 2024, only four homeowners saw their school taxes zeroed out by the $10,000 senior/disability exemption on top of the $100,000 homestead exemption, according to El Paso Central Appraisal District. (Thousands of seniors paid no school taxes because the homestead exemption alone exceeded the taxable value of their property).
But the expanded senior/disability exemption of $60,000 will mean that more than 17,000 El Paso homeowners will see their school tax bill reduced from a few hundred dollars or less to nothing, according to EPCAD data. This is on top of thousands of additional people older than 65 or with a disability who will reach zero school taxes just from the expanded homestead exemption.
The increase in older homeowners or people with disabilities no longer paying school taxes is particularly pronounced in the El Paso and Ysleta school districts, where the population is older than Socorro ISD.
Benefitting from low property values
On average, El Pasoans pay lower property tax bills than people living in most other Texas cities. That’s largely because housing costs significantly less in El Paso than in places like Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
Homes valued below $140,000 – the new homestead exemption for school taxes – are rare to non-existent in most Texas cities. But they are still fairly common in El Paso, despite recent rises in valuations.
As a result, tens of thousands of El Paso households will pay no school taxes this year solely because their homestead exemption ($140,000 in most school districts, $175,000 in Ysleta ISD) is higher than the taxable value of their homes. This includes military veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating who are exempt from all property taxes.
The number of homeowners paying no school taxes because of homestead and over 65/disability exemptions is highest in Ysleta ISD because of its additional 20% homestead exemption. Almost three-fourths of Ysleta homeowners with a homestead exemption will pay no school taxes this year.
But the largest percentage growth in the number of homeowners not paying school taxes because of those exemptions is in El Paso ISD (127%) and Socorro ISD (106%).
Exemption for disabled vets
In Texas, any military veteran who has a service-connected disability rating of 100% from the Department of Veterans Affairs is exempt from paying any property taxes, including for schools.
El Paso County has more than 11,000 veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating, with the largest concentration in Socorro ISD.
The county’s number of veterans with a 100% disability rating increased 14% in the past year.
David Stone, the deputy chief appraiser for the El Paso Central Appraisal District, said he couldn’t explain the growth.
“I know that the exemption is very valuable because there is no value limit. El Paso is very popular with veterans because of services available through Fort Bliss,” Stone said.
Potential impacts of high numbers not owing school taxes
Increasing numbers of people who don’t have to pay school property taxes present opportunities and challenges for El Paso districts.
If you don’t have to pay taxes, you may be less inclined to follow what’s happening in schools. People who don’t pay taxes may not have much incentive to vote on bond issues or other tax proposals, such as Socorro ISD’s voter-approval tax rate election, also scheduled Nov. 4.
On the other hand, people who don’t have to pay school taxes – at whatever rate is set by school boards – could be ideal targets for school districts to reach out to during elections. Such voters can approve tax increases that impact others, but not themselves.
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