Homestead Exemption: What It Is and How to Get It

What is a homestead exemption?

It is a reduction for a home that is the owner's residence, written into state law and applied by the county or town that assesses the property. It does not change what the assessor says the home is worth. It changes the value the tax is charged on, which is why it can sit on your bill next to an assessment you think is too high, and why fixing one does not replace appealing the other.

Some states call their version something else. Pennsylvania has a homestead exclusion, and Maryland gives a homestead tax credit that caps how fast your taxable assessment can rise instead of taking a fixed amount off.

Who qualifies for a homestead exemption?

The common test is that you own the home and it is your principal residence. Maryland's records make that visible: each property shows whether it is the owner's principal residence, and only a principal residence can get the homestead tax credit. Illinois limits its General Homestead Exemption to owner-occupied homes, and South Carolina gives its lower assessment ratio and school tax exemption to an owner-occupied legal residence.

Second homes and rentals generally don't qualify. In South Carolina, for example, a second home is assessed at 6% of fair market value instead of the 4% used for a legal residence.

How much does a homestead exemption save?

The exemption comes off the value, not the bill. To estimate the saving, multiply the exemption amount by the tax rate that applies to it. In Cook County, each bill uses a composite rate that adds up every taxing district serving the property, so the $10,000 Homeowner Exemption saves $10,000 times that composite rate.

Where an exemption applies to only some taxes, only those rates count. The Texas residence homestead exemption of $140,000 applies to school district taxes, and homeowners 65 or older or disabled get an additional $60,000 off for school taxes.

Homestead exemptions in the states we cover

• Illinois. The General Homestead Exemption lowers an owner-occupied home's equalized assessed value by up to $6,000 in most counties, up to $8,000 in the counties bordering Cook, and $10,000 in Cook. In DuPage County it is handled by the township assessors and is generally granted automatically. Cook adds a Senior Exemption of a further $8,000 and a Senior Freeze for owners 65 or older with household income of $65,000 or less, which holds the equalized assessed value at a fixed amount (not the bill).
• California. The homeowners' exemption takes $7,000 off the taxable value of a qualifying owner-occupied home. You claim it once with the county assessor.
• Texas. Besides the school tax exemptions above, a homestead's appraised value can rise by at most 10% a year over the prior year's, plus new improvements.
• Maryland. The homestead tax credit holds the yearly increase in an owner-occupied home's taxable assessment to 10% for the State tax and to a percentage each county sets, from 0 to 10%, for county tax. For fiscal 2027, Anne Arundel County set 2%, Prince George's 3%, Baltimore County and Baltimore City 4%, and Montgomery 10%.
• South Carolina. A legal residence is exempt from school operating taxes, though not from school debt, county or city taxes, and is assessed at the lower 4% ratio.
• Pennsylvania. For the 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.
• Oregon. Part of the assessed value of the homestead of a qualifying disabled veteran (rated 40% or more) or surviving spouse is exempt, and the amount rises 3% each year.

How do I check my homestead exemption?

Look for it on your tax bill or assessment notice, or on the county's property record. In Maryland, the SDAT record has a Homestead Application Status line that reads approved (with a date), received but not processed, no application on file, or denied; our SDAT real property search guide walks through the record.

What if my homestead exemption is missing?

Contact the assessing office first: the county assessor in most states, and the appraisal district in Texas. In Cook County, if an eligible homestead exemption was left off a bill you already paid for tax years 2021 to 2025, a Certificate of Error can get the money back; see our record correction page. Owners who no longer qualify can ask the Cook County Assessor to remove the exemption.

An exemption is one of several ways to bring a bill down. Our guide on how to lower your property taxes covers record errors and appeals, and exemptions to check first lists the senior, disability and veteran programs. Once your exemptions are in place, our free check compares your assessment with similar homes nearby. Local rules and deadlines are in each state guide, such as Illinois, California, Texas and Maryland, or the Cook County guide.