Hico TX Real Estate: Over-65 and Disabled Exemptions for Homebuyers

Texas school districts must give homeowners who are 65 or older, or who are disabled, an extra $60,000 residence homestead exemption, according to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. If you are shopping for Hico TX real estate in Hamilton County and you qualify, that exemption does not apply by itself: you have to apply with the appraisal district, and the general filing deadline is before May 1.

What is the over-65 or disabled person exemption in Texas?

The over-65 or disabled person exemption is an additional property tax break on your home, set under Texas Tax Code Section 11.13. The Comptroller says school districts must provide the $60,000 amount. Any other taxing unit may also adopt its own exemption, which cannot be less than $3,000.

That second point is local. Whether the City of Hico, Hamilton County, or another unit that taxes a Hico address offers an amount is a question for the appraisal district, and I could not confirm it for this post. The $60,000 school amount is statewide, and anything else depends on where the home sits.

Who qualifies?

According to the Comptroller, you qualify if you meet each of these:

• You are 65 or older, or you meet the Social Security Disability Insurance definition of disabled.
• You have an ownership interest in the home.
• You live there as your principal residence.

Disability benefits from other programs do not automatically qualify, and the appraisal district may ask for supporting documents. A surviving spouse who is 55 or older may be eligible for the deceased spouse's over-65 exemption if the spouse died in a year they qualified and the survivor lives in the home as a primary residence. A person who is both 65 or older and disabled can receive both exemptions in the same year, but not from the same taxing units.

When do you apply after buying a home?

The Comptroller says the general deadline for filing an exemption application is before May 1, and applications go to the appraisal district in the county where the home is located. For Hico, that is the Hamilton County appraisal district. If you acquire a home after January 1, the Comptroller says you may receive the general homestead exemption for the rest of that tax year once you qualify, as long as the previous owner did not receive it for that year. The page does not give a separate deadline for the over-65 exemption, so ask the appraisal district.

What this means for buyers and sellers

If you are a buyer who is 65 or older or disabled: Plan to file soon after closing, and be ready with disability documentation if the district asks for it. I can't tell you what the exemption will save, because that depends on the home's value and the tax rates, and I won't guess.

If you are buying with a spouse or helping a parent buy: Ownership and residence both matter. Ask a title company and your attorney how the home will be titled before closing.

If you are selling: The previous owner's exemption can affect what a buyer is able to claim in the year of the sale, so ask your title company how that year's taxes will be handled at closing.

My take: what I'd do right now

1. Ask the appraisal district for the forms before you close. A phone call costs nothing.
2. Get the local amounts in writing. Ask which units that tax the Hico address you are considering offer a local exemption, and for how much.
3. Check the tax notices. The City of Hico posted a notice on Sept. 2, 2026, of a public hearing on a proposed tax increase. I explained how to read that kind of notice in my post on the Hico tax increase notice.
4. Talk to a tax professional. Whether an exemption fits your situation is a question for your CPA or the appraisal district.
5. Keep the deadline on your calendar. The Comptroller gives the general filing deadline as before May 1, so mark it now.

Sources

• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Property Tax Exemptions, accessed Oct. 14, 2026
• City of Hico, home page and notices, accessed Oct. 14, 2026
• City of Hico, events calendar, accessed Oct. 14, 2026

Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and is for general purposes only. Karen Fox, REALTOR®, Moore Home & Ranch Realty. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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