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Rosenberg council keeps homestead and senior/disabled exemptions unchanged
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Summary
City staff recommended keeping Rosenberg's residential homestead exemption at 20% and the over-65 and disabled-person exemptions at $85,000; council members voiced support and gave staff direction to maintain the existing levels ahead of the June 30 deadline.
City of Rosenberg staff recommended that the city keep its current property tax exemptions for tax year 2025 unchanged: a local-option residential homestead exemption of 20% of appraised value and $85,000 exemptions for residents aged 65 and older and for disabled persons. The recommendation was presented at the June 2 council workshop and council members indicated support for leaving the exemptions in place.
The recommendation came from a staff presentation explaining applicable legal limits and local usage. Texas Property Tax Code section 11 allows a residential homestead exemption up to 20 percent; the city’s ordinance (City of Rosenberg Code of Ordinances chapter 26, article 1, section 26-4) implements the option as “the greater of 20% of appraised value or $5,000.” Staff reported that for tax year 2024, 7,651 properties received the homestead exemption, producing $372,719,910 in exempt value and roughly $1.2 million in tax relief to homeowners at the city’s tax rate of $0.32 per $100 valuation.
During discussion council members asked how the exemptions stack (the homestead exemption can be combined with the over-65 or disabled exemption where applicable) and whether there is any statutory cap beyond the state maximum; staff explained the state maximum governs the homestead exemption and there is no statutory ceiling on the additional 65/disabled dollar exemption amounts. Multiple council members, noting rising average home values (staff cited an average assessed value of about $260,000), said they were comfortable keeping the exemptions as drafted and that they could revisit the matter next year if circumstances change. Staff noted any changes for a given tax year must be adopted and reported to the appraisal district by June 30.
Council provided direction to staff to leave the exemptions at their current levels for the 2025 tax year and to proceed with any notifications or formal steps required by the appraisal district and the city's budget calendar.
