Exemptions and relief
Homestead and Other Exemptions to Check First
Before you appeal your home's value, make sure every exemption you qualify for is on your bill. An exemption lowers the value you're taxed on no matter what the home is worth: in Cook County, for example, the Homeowner Exemption takes $10,000 off the equalized assessed value of an owner-occupied home. A missing exemption is fixed with an application to the assessor (the appraisal district in Texas), not by appealing the value.
Homestead exemptions in the states we cover
| State | Exemption | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | General Homestead Exemption | Lowers an owner-occupied home's equalized assessed value by up to $6,000 (up to $8,000 in counties next to Cook and $10,000 in Cook). |
| California | Homeowners' exemption | Takes $7,000 off the taxable value of a qualifying owner-occupied home; claimed once with the county assessor. |
| Texas | Residence homestead | A $140,000 exemption from school district taxes, plus an additional $60,000 for homeowners 65 or older or disabled. The homestead's appraised value can also rise by at most 10% a year, plus new improvements. |
| Maryland | Homestead tax credit | Limits the yearly increase in the taxable assessment of an owner-occupied home to 10% for the State tax and to the county's own percentage (0–10%) for county tax. |
| South Carolina | Legal residence | An owner-occupied legal residence is exempt from school operating taxes (not school debt, county or city taxes). |
| Pennsylvania | Homestead or farmstead exclusion | Apply to the county assessor by March 1 (Philadelphia sets its own date, no later than December 1 of the year before). |
Senior, disability and veteran exemptions
These usually need an application, and most depend on age, income, disability or service:
- Cook County: the Senior Exemption (65 and older) lowers the equalized assessed value by a further $8,000. The Senior Freeze, for owners 65 and older with household income of $65,000 or less, holds the equalized assessed value at a fixed amount; it does not freeze the tax bill itself. The Persons with Disabilities Exemption lowers it by $2,000 a year, and veterans with a disability rating of 70% or more receive a $250,000 reduction.
- South Carolina: the first $50,000 of fair market value is exempt for the home of a resident who is 65 or older, totally and permanently disabled, or legally blind.
- Washington: the senior and disabled exemption removes all or part of the property tax on a qualifying owner's principal residence, starting the year after the claim.
- Maryland: the principal residence of a veteran rated 100% service-connected, permanently and totally disabled is fully exempt (apply to SDAT).
- Oregon: part of the assessed value of a qualifying disabled veteran's (40% or more) or surviving spouse's homestead is exempt, and the amount rises 3% each year.
- Rhode Island: part of a qualifying veteran's property value is exempt; each city or town sets the dollar amount.
How to check what's on your bill
Look for the exemption lines on your tax bill or assessment notice. On a Los Angeles County secured tax bill, the value after exemptions is printed as NET TAXABLE VALUE, below TOTAL and LESS EXEMPTION; on a Riverside County bill, the value box lists the exemptions before Net Taxable Value. If an exemption you applied for isn't there, contact the assessor's office (the appraisal district in Texas) before the bill is due.
If an exemption was missing from a past bill
In Cook County, if an eligible homestead exemption was missing from a paid bill for tax years 2021–2025, you can apply for a refund through a Certificate of Error, online or by mail. For a missing Homeowner Exemption, the Assessor says the Treasurer's refund follows the certificate in about 6 to 8 weeks. Our record correction page explains the steps. Owners who are no longer eligible for an exemption can also apply to have it removed.
Exemption first, then the value
An exemption and an appeal answer different questions, and you can pursue both. The exemption lowers the taxable value whatever the market says; an appeal argues that the value itself is wrong. Fix the exemptions first so you know what the remaining bill is based on, then read how to appeal your property taxes yourself.
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Sources
Official pages and documents this article relies on. Rules and dates can change each year; check the source before you file.
- Illinois Department of Revenue: Property tax relief
- Cook County Assessor: Homeowner Exemption
- Cook County Assessor: Senior Exemption
- Cook County Assessor: Senior Freeze Exemption
- Cook County Assessor: Certificates of Error
- California State Board of Equalization: Homeowners' Exemption
- Texas Tax Code, Chapter 11 (exemptions)
- Texas Tax Code, Chapter 23 (homestead limit)
- Maryland Code, Tax-Property § 9-105 (homestead tax credit)
- Maryland SDAT: Property tax exemptions
- South Carolina Department of Revenue: Property tax exemptions manual (Chapter 5)
- Pennsylvania Homestead Property Exclusion (53 Pa.C.S. Chapter 85)
- Revised Code of Washington 84.36.381 (senior and disabled exemption)
- Oregon Revised Statutes, Chapter 307 (disabled veteran exemption)
- Rhode Island General Laws § 44-3-4 (veterans' exemptions)
About this article
Written by
Property Appeal Team
Written by our research team and checked against the official sources listed above. Facts about counties come from the same verified records as our county guides; see how we verify facts.
Reviewed by
Rebecca Caldwell
Assessment Review Specialist
Rebecca reviews assessment records, property characteristics, comparable sales and market data. She reviews our guides on exemptions.