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Council briefed on senior/disabled property tax exemption; staff recommends no change
Summary
Finance staff told council the current $160,000 senior/disabled homestead exemption keeps the average exempt home's taxable value at roughly 30–33% of market value and recommended maintaining the exemption; staff estimated the current exemption saves an average senior about $867 on the city tax bill.
Todd Gastroff, director of finance, presented the annual review of Richardson's 65-and-disabled property tax exemption and recommended the council maintain the current $160,000 exempt value for the coming year.
Gastroff described how market value and taxable value differ and said, based on certified values, the average senior home market value is about $485,000. At the current exemption level, he said, the exempt value amounts to just under one-third of average market value and "saves seniors and disabled persons who receive the exemption $867 off of their City Richardson tax bill." He estimated the city-wide exempted value for the current year at about $7.4 million and projected that, with modest account growth, exemptions would total roughly $7.6 million next fiscal year.
Council members asked whether the one-third share of residential accounts receiving the exemption has been steady; Gastroff said recipients have increased roughly 1% per year over the past five years and confirmed the exemption applies only to a homestead occupied by the owner, not to additional investment properties.
Based on the presentation and the city's financial policy target (approximately 30% of market value), staff's recommendation was to maintain the current exemption level. Council did not adopt an ordinance or take a formal vote during this briefing; staff said no further action would be needed to maintain the exemption as it already exists.
