HB2508

HB2508 exempts the entire appraised value of a qualifying surviving spouse’s residence homestead from property taxation when the veteran died as a result of a qualifying condition or disease. The spouse must have been married to the veteran at death and must not have remarried since. The veteran’s disability rating does not control eligibility. This is a homestead exemption, not an exemption for every property the spouse owns. Final law, Section 1.

The qualifying condition or disease must be one for which the federal PACT Act of 2022, or a regulation adopted under it, establishes a presumption of service connection. That is narrower than saying every veteran’s death, every service-connected disability or everyone eligible for VA health care qualifies. The Texas law still requires that the veteran died as a result of the qualifying condition. Federal presumptions have their own disease and service requirements; this explanation does not decide an individual claim. Texas eligibility definition; federal PACT Act, including Sections 403–406; VA’s explanation of presumptive conditions and benefits.

If the spouse later moves to another homestead and has not remarried, the exemption on that later home is the same dollar amount as the exemption on the former home in the last year it was received. It is not automatically an exemption of the later home’s entire value. The chief appraiser for the former home must provide a certificate stating that amount. For example, a $250,000 transferred exemption would not erase the full value of a $350,000 later home. Final law, Section 1, new Tax Code 11.136(c)–(d).

The act adds application, qualification and tax-bill adjustment rules. Once granted, the exemption generally need not be claimed annually, though continued eligibility matters and the chief appraiser retains authority under the governing rules to require confirmation. The act also addresses the former home’s taxes when the spouse moves and recalculating or refunding an overpaid bill when the exemption is recognized after taxes have been calculated. These provisions do not promise two completely tax-free homes at once. Final law, Sections 2–5; general exemption application rules.

The law was conditional on voters approving HJR133. They approved it as Proposition 7 on November 4, 2025, as certified in the governor’s November 19 proclamation. HB2508 therefore took effect January 1, 2026 and applies to tax years beginning on or after that date. A veteran’s death before 2026 can qualify; that does not make the exemption available for pre-2026 tax years. HJR133; official adoption proclamation; final law, Sections 7–9.