As home values continue to soar in San Antonio, the city could provide relief by boosting its homestead exemption.
Darren Abate /San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio Express-News
Molly Smith, Staff writer
Mayor Ron Nirenberg and council members embraced city staff’s recommendation Wednesday to raise the homestead exemption from 10 to 20 percent, the maximum amount allowed under Texas law. The aim is to blunt tax increases for homeowners facing rising appraisals.
District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte said he was “thrilled” with the proposal, something his predecessor, Clayton Perry, had long pushed for before leaving office last month.
“I do think this is the time for us to be able to max out our homestead exemption, considering that that is relief that will be provided to residents, homeowners of San Antonio,” Nirenberg said.
Council will vote on it next week as part of a package of property tax exemptions for 2024.
The homestead exemption would exclude 20 percent of a home’s market value from city taxation for people who live in a home they own.
For about 240,000 San Antonians who file for the expanded exemption — if council members approve it — “their tax bill will be less,” Deputy Chief Financial Officer Troy Elliott said.
City property taxes account for about a quarter of San Antonio’s current $1.51 billion general fund budget, which pays for services such as police and fire protection, street repairs, public libraries and senior centers.
City taxes make up a fifth of a homeowner’s overall property tax bill. School districts, Bexar County, Alamo Colleges, the San Antonio River Authority, University Health and other government entities also take in property tax revenue.
City staff are proposing setting next year’s property tax rate at $0.54041 cents per $100 of property valuation, slightly below the current $0.54161 rate. Elliot said he could not provide the "no new revenue" rate — or the rate that would generate the same amount of tax revenue as the current year — until July, when he receives the city’s final property valuations from the Bexar Appraisal District.
At the proposed 2024 tax rate, a homeowner whose home has a market value of $200,000 — and who claims the 20 percent homestead exemption — would pay $865 in city property taxes, down $110 from their current tax bill of $975.
Council won’t officially adopt next year's tax rate until September.
Despite District 9 Councilman John Courage’s call last month for the city to also increase the exemptions for seniors age 65 and older and residents with disabilities, staff recommended leaving those untouched. Those exemptions will likely remain at $85,000, which is the amount someone could exempt from the market value of their home. Both of those groups also have a city tax freeze in place.
molly.smith@express-news.net