Escrow can start with full taxes.
Your lender may still collect full taxes in escrow at closing until the exemption is approved. I’d plan for that cash unless the lender and title company confirm another treatment.
Texas Veteran Property Tax Calculator
What your VA rating does to your property taxes and payment.
Example inputs below. Update them to match your VA letter and property. This estimates a full year on a Texas residence homestead.
Your rating & property
Texas residence homestead · The total exemption applies to your qualifying primary homestead. Partial veteran exemptions may apply to one designated property.
This calculator covers Texas only. I kept the home value from your link and reset the location and taxes to the Bexar example.
A county’s historical effective average is a rough planning rate, not the property’s adopted combined tax rate. City, school, special districts, exemptions and taxable values can change the result.
Your potential tax savings
Estimated reduction per month
$516.67 / month
Potential savings per year$6,200.00
Over 10 years, at the same tax bill$62,000.00
Value removed by the partial exemption
Property tax before / month$516.67
Property tax after / month$0.00
These are annualized estimates after qualification and approval. A move or qualification partway through the year may produce a prorated first-year result. Ten-year savings assume the same bill, rules and eligibility.
This changes the tax portion of your payment. Principal, interest, insurance, HOA dues and charges outside ad valorem property tax remain.
What happens at closing?
Send the approval to your servicer.
Ask for a new escrow analysis once the appraisal district approves the exemption. The servicer can adjust the payment and address any surplus under its escrow rules; approval doesn’t instantly change the payment.
Bring your VA letter early.
How underwriting counts the taxes for DTI depends on the lender and documentation. Bring your rating and compensation letter early, and I’ll check how the lender will treat it.
100% is a different kind of tax break.
For the total exemption under Tax Code §11.131, the veteran needs VA-awarded 100% service-connected disability compensation and either a 100% rating or Individual Unemployability. It applies to the qualifying residence homestead. Permanent & Total status is not an extra requirement in that test.
100% means compensation at the 100% rate plus a 100% rating or IU. Check both on your VA award letter. A rating by itself doesn’t establish every qualification.
Below 100%: dollars off taxable value
The partial exemption under §11.22 reduces taxable value. A 90% rating does not mean 90% off the tax bill. The saving is approximately the value exemption times the applicable combined tax rate, capped here at the entered bill.
| VA service-connected rating | Value exemption, up to |
|---|---|
| 10%–29% | $5,000 |
| 30%–49% | $7,500 |
| 50%–69% | $10,000 |
| 70%–100% | $12,000 |
Age 65+ with at least a 10% rating can qualify for the $12,000 amount. Certain blindness or loss-of-use conditions can also qualify; this calculator does not separately ask about those conditions. The partial veteran exemption can be in addition to the general homestead exemption. Actual savings depend on remaining taxable value and each taxing unit’s rules. I’d use the appraisal district’s calculation for the final number.
What about surviving spouses?
A qualifying surviving spouse of a veteran covered by the total exemption may continue it if the spouse has not remarried, the property was their homestead at the veteran’s death, and it remains their homestead. Moving to a new home has different dollar-limit rules. I’d review the Comptroller’s surviving-spouse FAQ ↗; survivor scenarios aren’t calculated here.
When should I file after buying?
I’d contact your county appraisal district the week you close, with your VA rating and compensation letter, and file the appropriate application as soon as you qualify. A qualifying 100% veteran’s exemption may begin when the new residence qualifies as a homestead; you do not necessarily have to wait until the next January. Filing is still required, and the district determines the effective date.
For San Antonio, start with Bexar Central Appraisal District ↗ or its homestead application instructions ↗. Total homestead and partial veteran exemptions use different forms; ask the district which application and supporting documents it needs.
Does this also remove my VA funding fee?
Receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability generally qualifies for a funding-fee exemption. Certain veterans eligible for compensation but receiving retirement or active-duty pay instead can also qualify. On a $0-down purchase, the usual fee starts at 2.15% for first use or 3.3% after first use; the lender must verify any waiver.
This tool carries an exemption assumption only when you confirm the compensation requirement. If you’re unsure, I leave the fee on for planning until the lender verifies it. Other qualifying exemption categories may still apply.
VA funding-fee rules ↗Your rating, your taxes, your payment
Want your real payment with the exemption and funding-fee waiver both applied?
Let’s run it. I’ll check your VA letter, the property and the lender’s treatment before you plan around a payment.
Check the official sources
- Texas Comptroller: 100% disabled veteran & surviving spouse FAQ ↗
- Texas Comptroller: partial disabled-veteran exemptions ↗
- Residence homestead exemptions chart (PDF) ↗
- Bexar Central Appraisal District ↗ · Homestead application instructions ↗
County estimates reuse the site’s 2024 historical effective-rate data. Texas city / school district presets use the existing 2025 adopted-rate data before exemptions. The selected rate’s source appears beside the inputs.
Educational summary, not legal or tax advice. Property tax law changes and appraisal districts administer the details. Confirm with the Texas Comptroller and your county appraisal district before relying on a number. Current as of .