Eligible homeowners in Texas County can now obtain and submit an application for freezing their real estate tax.
As approved by almost 86% of Texas County voters last November, Senate Bill 3 effectively freezes eligible taxpayers’ homestead taxes at the year they became eligible. According to the law, an eligible taxpayer is a person who owns or has a legal or equitable interest in a homestead and is responsible for paying its property taxes.
In Texas County, the real property tax liability on an eligible taxpayer’s homestead cannot be increased above the liability incurred during the initial credit year.
Forms may be submitted to the county collector’s office or assessor’s office and are equipped with information about documents that must also be provided (which include proof of residency, warranty deed and 2025 paid real estate tax receipt).
This is not an exemption from real estate taxes. The first year you apply for and are approved establishes your base year to which future taxes are set. Future capital improvements to your property will result in those improvements being assessed and taxed in the year in which they occur, separately from your set amount.
SB3 was signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe last June.
Unlike the similar tax freeze for senior citizens, this new one has no age requirement. Anyone who has already signed up for the senior tax freeze doesn’t need to apply for the new version.
The enrollment period is Feb. 1 through April 1. For more information, call 417-967-2580 or 417-967-4709.