Harris County Property Tax Guide

Last updated: September 2026

Everything a Harris County homeowner needs in one place: who sets your appraisal, what exemptions you can claim, and the deadline to push back if your value looks too high.

Your appraisal district

Property in Harris County is appraised by the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD), not by the county tax office — that's a separate office that only collects the bill. HCAD sets your home's value every year as of January 1, and it's who you file both exemptions and protests with. Their site, hcad.org, has your property's current record, your Notice of Appraised Value, and (in most years) an online portal for filing.

Harris County covers Houston, Pasadena, Baytown, and Humble. It's the largest county in Texas by population, which also means the state's highest volume of protests every year — HCAD processes appraisals for well over a million parcels.

Exemptions you can claim

These are set by state law, so they apply the same way in Harris County as anywhere else in Texas — the only thing that changes by county is which office you file them with:

• General homestead exemption — $140,000 off your home's value for school taxes, if it's your primary residence as of January 1.
• Age 65+ or disabled — an additional $60,000 off school-tax value (raised from $10,000 after voters passed Proposition 11 in November 2025), plus a freeze on your school taxes from the year you qualify.
• 100% disabled veterans (or their unmarried surviving spouse) get a full exemption from property tax on their homestead — every taxing unit, not just schools.

File Form 50-114 (homestead) or Form 50-135 (disabled veteran) with HCAD — it's free, no company needs to be paid to do this for you, and you can still file up to two years late if you missed the window. Some cities and other local taxing units inside Harris County may also offer their own additional exemption on top of these; HCAD can tell you what applies at your specific address. See our full property tax exemptions guide for every dollar amount and edge case.

The protest deadline

You have until May 15, or 30 days after HCAD mails your Notice of Appraised Value — whichever is later — to file a protest. HCAD doesn't mail every notice on the same day, so go by the date printed on your own notice rather than assuming May 15 applies to you. File Form 50-132, usually through HCAD's own online portal. There's no fee, and no attorney is required.

Doing it yourself, or getting help

Protesting in Harris County costs nothing to do yourself — the process above is the same whether or not you hire anyone.

Nearby counties

Comparing notes with a neighboring county, or not sure Harris is the right one? Here are the counties closest to it.

Searching by city instead? See our Houston property tax guide.