The Over-65 and Disabled Property Tax Deferral in Texas
The Over-65 and Disabled Property Tax Deferral in Texas
Information, not legal advice. Laws change; check the current statute or rule and talk to a Texas attorney before you act.
Texas lets certain homeowners stop the collection of property taxes on the home they live in. The taxes still pile up, but the taxing units cannot sue and the house cannot be sold at a tax sale while the owner qualifies. This is the "deferral" in Tax Code §33.06.
It matters to two groups. Property tax lenders need to know about it because the law ties it to their loan paperwork. Investors need to know about it because a deferred account can look like a great tax-sale lead on a delinquent roll and still never go to sale.
Who qualifies
An individual can defer collection, abate a pending tax suit, or abate a pending tax sale if two things are true (Tax Code §33.06(a)):
- The person is 65 or older, is disabled as defined in Tax Code §11.13(m), or qualifies for the disabled veteran exemption under §11.22.
- The tax was imposed on property the person owns and occupies as a residence homestead.
Rental property, second homes and land the owner does not live on do not qualify. An heir property owner who has qualified the home as a homestead is treated as the sole owner for this section (§33.06(h)).
How the owner gets it
There are three routes, depending on how far collection has gone.
| Situation | What the owner files | Where | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| No suit yet | Deferral affidavit | Chief appraiser of the appraisal district (§33.06(b)) | No suit can be filed and no tax sale held |
| Suit already filed | Affidavit in the court case (§33.06(c)) | The court where the suit is pending | Court abates (pauses) the suit unless the taxing unit successfully contests it |
| Sale already set | Affidavit delivered to the chief appraiser, the collector or its attorney, and the officer running the sale, at least 5 days before the sale (§33.06(c-1)) | All three | The property may not be sold |
The chief appraiser notifies every taxing unit in the district when a deferral affidavit is filed (§33.06(b)). If a property is sold in violation of the section, the owner can move to set the sale aside in the same court during the redemption period (§33.06(c-1)).
What keeps running and what stops
The deferral is a pause on collection, not forgiveness (§33.06(d)):
- The tax lien stays on the property.
- Interest keeps accruing, at 5% a year instead of the normal 1% a month under §33.01.
- No new §33.01 penalty accrues during the deferral.
- Penalties and interest that accrued before the affidavit was filed are preserved.
- The attorney collection penalty under §33.07 can be added only if the taxes are still unpaid on or after the 181st day after the deferral ends.
- Limitations and "want of prosecution" defenses do not run against the taxing unit because of the deferral.
The Comptroller's penalty-and-interest chart makes the same point: deferred or abated taxes carry 5% annual interest, and the normal monthly schedule does not apply.
When it ends
The deferral lasts until the 181st day after the collector delivers a delinquency notice following the date the person stops owning and occupying the home as a homestead (§33.06(b)). In plain terms, the clock starts when the owner moves out, sells, or dies, and the collector then sends a notice.
Surviving spouses. If the qualifying owner dies, the deferral continues for the surviving spouse if the home was the deceased spouse's homestead, the surviving spouse was 55 or older at the death, and the home was also the surviving spouse's homestead (§33.06(f)).
After the deferral ends, the full balance (years of taxes plus 5% interest plus any pre-deferral penalty and interest) becomes collectible. For an heir who inherits a long-deferred house, that balance can be large.
A related deferral: appreciating homesteads (§33.065)
Any homestead owner, not only seniors, can defer the part of the tax caused by appraised value above 105% of the prior year's appraised value plus new improvements (§33.065(a)). The owner must keep paying the tax on the rest. Interest on the deferred part runs at 8% a year (§33.065(g)). It is much less common than the §33.06 deferral, but it shows up on some rolls.
Why property tax lenders care
Three rules link deferral and lending:
- A person 65 or older cannot transfer a tax lien on property where they are eligible for the over-65 homestead exemption under §11.13(c) (Tax Code §32.06(a-3)). So over-65 homesteads are off-limits for a property tax loan, whether or not a deferral is on file.
- The sworn transfer document must state that the owner was told that a disabled owner may be eligible for a §33.06 deferral (§32.06(a-1)(1)(D)).
- Tax bills and collection letters that threaten suit on a possible homestead must carry a capitalized notice telling owners 65+ or disabled to contact the appraisal district about a postponement (§33.045).
For a lender, the practical job is exclusion: knowing which accounts carry an over-65 or disabled exemption, or a deferral code, before anything is mailed.
Why investors care
On a delinquent roll, a deferred account can show many years owed and no suit. It looks "ripe." It is not. No suit can be filed and no sale can happen until the owner leaves the home and the 181-day period runs. Treat a deferral flag as "not for sale" and "not a fast deal."
There is still a real-estate story here. When the owner later moves to assisted living or passes away, the family inherits a house with a large tax balance and a clock that has just started. That is a probate and heirship situation, covered in Probate in Texas and the house.
Where the record lives
- The affidavit is filed with the appraisal district.
- Deferral codes often appear on the tax office's delinquent roll, but the format differs by county, and not every published roll carries one.
- Since January 1, 2026, chief appraisers must report the number of deferred homesteads in each school district to the Comptroller, without personal information, and the Comptroller reports the totals to the Legislature by November 1 (§33.06(i)-(k), added by HB 851, 2025).
Note that appraisal districts may not post online information showing that an owner is 65 or older (Tax Code §25.027).
How this shows up in Agentix Data
Our appraisal-district owner records carry exemption codes, including the homestead and over-65 codes, for the counties we cover, and our delinquent tax rolls show years and amounts owed. Lenders use the over-65 code to exclude ineligible homesteads. We do not yet confirm a §33.06 deferral county by county, so treat a long-delinquent over-65 or disabled homestead with no tax suit as a likely deferral and check with the tax office or appraisal district.
Sources
- Texas Tax Code §33.06 (deferral for elderly, disabled, disabled veterans), current text: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.33.htm#33.06 and https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._tax_code_section_33.06
- Texas Tax Code §33.065 (appreciating homestead deferral): https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.33.htm#33.065
- Texas Tax Code §33.045 (required deferral notice on bills and suit threats): https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.33.htm#33.045
- Texas Tax Code §32.06(a-1), (a-3) (tax lien transfers; 65+ restriction): https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.32.htm#32.06
- Texas Tax Code §25.027 (no online posting of age information): https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._tax_code_section_25.027
- HB 851, 89th Legislature (2025), reporting amendment effective Jan. 1, 2026: https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=HB851
- Texas Comptroller, 2025 tax penalty and interest chart (note on deferred taxes at 5%): https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/penalty-interest/chart2025-26.php
General information, not legal or financial advice.