Hidalgo County, TX: homestead & property-tax exemptions

How to claim property-tax exemptions in Hidalgo County (Edinburg area): who qualifies, the deadline, where to file, documents, re-filing and appeals.

Last checked 2026-10-26 · 14 official sources

Exemptions available

• Form 50-114 (the residence homestead application on HCAD's forms page, rev. 10-25) covers the general residence homestead, age 65 or older, disabled person, and 100% disabled veteran exemptions, plus the surviving-spouse versions of each. It also covers the donated residence of a partially disabled veteran and surviving spouses of armed services members or first responders killed in the line of duty. Partially disabled veterans use Form 50-135. ^[1]
• General homestead: school districts must exempt $140,000 of your home's appraised value. Other taxing units may offer a local option of up to 20% (at least $5,000). Hidalgo County's 2026 Tax Rate Schedule shows every Hidalgo school district with the $140,000 homestead exemption. South Texas ISD is the exception at $5,000. ^[2][3]
• Age 65 or older, or disabled: school districts must exempt an additional $60,000. Every Hidalgo ISD on the 2026 schedule shows $60,000 for over-65 and $60,000 for disabled persons. The schedule notes that you can get only one of the two. School taxes are frozen at the level of the first year you qualify (the tax ceiling), as long as you live in the home and don't add significant improvements. ^[2][3]
• Local optional exemptions for 2026 (Hidalgo County Tax Office 2026 Tax Rate Schedule, signed October 8, 2026). Hidalgo County: $15,000 over-65, no percentage homestead or disabled-person exemption, and a tax ceiling. Drainage District #1 and the EMS districts: none. Edinburg: $5,000 homestead, $5,450 over-65, ceiling. Mission: $10,000 over-65, $10,000 disabled, ceiling. Pharr: $10,000 over-65, ceiling. Weslaco: $10,000 over-65, $10,000 disabled, ceiling. City of Hidalgo: $5,000 homestead, $10,000 over-65, $10,000 disabled. Palmview: $10,000 over-65. Donna: $6,000 over-65. Alamo and San Juan: $5,000 over-65, $5,000 disabled, ceiling. Alton: $5,000 over-65, $3,000 disabled. Elsa: $5,000 over-65. Edcouch: $5,000 over-65, ceiling. Mercedes: $4,500 over-65. La Villa: $3,000 over-65. La Joya: ceiling, no optional amounts. Granjeno, Penitas, Progreso and Sullivan City: none. ^[3][4]
• School districts that add their own local option on top of the state amounts: Edinburg CISD ($5,450 over-65) and La Joya ISD ($5,000 over-65). The other ISDs on the 2026 schedule (Edcouch-Elsa, PSJA, La Villa, Monte Alto, Mercedes, McAllen, Mission CISD, Progreso, Sharyland, Valley View, Weslaco, Donna and Hidalgo) show no optional homestead, over-65 or disabled amounts. South Texas College has no exemptions but has a tax ceiling. The City of McAllen isn't on the county's schedule (see 'Not verified yet' below). ^[3]
• Disabled veterans: every taxing unit on the schedule shows the state disabled-veteran exemption of $5,000 to $12,000, based on the disability rating. Form 50-135 lists $5,000 for a 10-29% rating, $7,500 for 30-49%, $10,000 for 50-69% and $12,000 for 70-100%. A veteran can get $12,000 if they're 65 or older with a rating of at least 10%, totally blind in one or both eyes, or have lost the use of one or more limbs. A surviving spouse keeps the veteran's amount. ^[1][3]
• 100% disabled veterans (100% service-connected rating or individual unemployability) get a total exemption on their residence homestead. So do their unremarried surviving spouses, and surviving spouses of armed services members or first responders killed in the line of duty. ^[1][2]

Statewide exemption details: Texas guide.

Who qualifies

• General homestead: you must own the home and live in it as your principal residence, and you and your spouse can't claim a homestead exemption on any other property. If you buy after January 1, you can get the exemption for the rest of that year right away, as long as the previous owner didn't have the same exemption that year. ^[1][2]
• Over 65: the exemption starts January 1 of the year you turn 65. If you already have the general homestead exemption and HCAD (or the Texas DPS data it receives) has your correct birthdate, you don't have to apply separately. A surviving spouse who was 55 or older when the over-65 spouse died can keep the exemption. ^[1]
• Disabled person: you must qualify for federal Social Security disability insurance benefits. Under Form 50-114, a disabled person who is also 65 or older can get both exemptions in the same year, but not from the same taxing unit. ^[1]

Deadline

• File by April 30 of the tax year you want the exemption for. Exemptions you've been granted carry over, but you must tell HCAD in writing before May 1 of the year after you stop qualifying. ^[1][2]
• Late filing: Form 50-114 allows late homestead applications, including over-65 and disabled, for up to two years. Disabled veterans (not surviving spouses) applying for the 100% or donated-residence exemptions get up to five years after the delinquency date, and their surviving spouses get two years. For Form 50-135, the chief appraiser can extend the April 30 deadline once, by up to 60 days, for good cause. ^[1]

Where and how to file

• Online, for homestead and over-65 only: use HCAD's Online Portal (JustAppraised) at https://taxpayer.justappraised.com/hidalgocad. You can register for an account or continue as a guest. HCAD's own Public Portal account can also be used to file exemptions and protests. ^[5][6]
• Paper: download Form 50-114 (English, or 50-114-S in Spanish) or Form 50-135 from HCAD's forms page and file it with Hidalgo County Appraisal District, 4405 S Professional Drive, Edinburg, TX 78539. Phone 956-381-8466, email [email protected], Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Don't send it to the Comptroller. ^[1][7]
• HCAD may ask for more information. You have 30 days to provide it (the chief appraiser can extend that once, by up to 15 days), or the application is denied. ^[1]

Documents needed

• A copy of each owner's Texas driver's license or state ID, with an address that matches the home. There are exceptions for some facility residents, the address confidentiality program, and certain active-duty service members and their spouses. ^[1]
• Heir property (inherited without your name on the deed): an affidavit of ownership (Form 50-114-A), the prior owner's death certificate, a recent utility bill, and any court record citation. Other heirs who live in the home sign an affidavit too. Manufactured homes: the TDHCA statement of ownership, the purchase agreement or receipt, or a sworn affidavit (Form 50-114-A). ^[1]
• Disabled veterans and surviving spouses must include documentation supporting the claim, such as the VA disability rating. ^[1]

Do you need to re-file?

• Once an exemption is granted you don't reapply every year. You do have to reapply if the chief appraiser asks, or to put the exemption on a different property, and you must notify HCAD in writing before May 1 of the year after you stop qualifying. The over-65 exemption can be added without a new application if HCAD has your correct birthdate (see above). ^[1]

Appeal deadline

• Protest deadline: May 15 or 30 days after HCAD mails your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later. For 2026 that was May 15, 2026. HCAD mails notices each spring to owners whose market value went up by at least $1,000. If you didn't get one, you can still look up your values in HCAD's property search and protest. ^[8][9]
• How to file: online through HCAD's Public Portal (upload evidence, see HCAD's evidence and any settlement offer), by mail, or in person at 4405 S Professional Dr, Edinburg, TX 78539. Form 50-132 (Notice of Protest) is on HCAD's forms page. To have a family member or friend represent you, file Form 50-162 (Appointment of Agent). ^[8][1]
• Informal meeting: after your evidence is processed you can discuss a settlement with an HCAD appraiser, through the portal or in person 30 minutes before your formal hearing. If you don't accept, the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) hears your protest. You can request HCAD's evidence in writing at least 14 days before the hearing (HB 201). ^[8]
• ARB hearing: the hearing notice arrives by mail at least 15 days before the date. Hearings are held in person at the HCAD office (4405 S Professional Dr, Edinburg). Bring your hearing letter and 5 sets of your evidence. Hearings are in English, so bring your own interpreter if you need one. Each side gets about 5 minutes, plus 2 minutes of rebuttal for the owner. To appear by phone or video, tell the ARB in writing by the 5th day before the hearing (10th day if you have an agent) and send your evidence as a notarized affidavit. ^[8][1]
• Postponement: an owner without an agent gets one postponement without showing cause, if requested before the hearing date. If you miss your hearing, the protest is dismissed, but you can ask the ARB chair to reopen it by letter within 4 days, giving good cause. After the ARB decision, see the Texas page for binding arbitration, SOAH and district court appeals. ^[1][8][9]
• Tax bills: the Hidalgo County Tax Office mails statements in October or soon after. If you don't get one, it's your job to contact the taxing units. Taxes billed by January 10 become delinquent February 1, and by July 1 penalties total 12%. Over-65, disabled and disabled-veteran homeowners can pay in four installments (first by January 31, then March 31, May 31 and July 31). You can pay at any tax office location. In November, December and January you can also pay at any Lone Star National Bank branch in Hidalgo County, but you'll need your original statement stub there. ^[10][11]
• Tax office: main office in the Administration Bldg, 2804 S Business Hwy 281, Edinburg, TX 78539, (956) 318-2157, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. There are substations (8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.) in McAllen (300 E Hackberry Ave Ste 3, 956-292-7008), Mission (722 N Breyfogle, 956-581-8898), Pharr (300 W Hall Acres, 956-784-3555), Weslaco (1900 Joe Stevens Ave Ste B, 956-973-7825), San Juan (509 E Earling Rd, 956-283-1645) and Elsa (708 Edinburg Ave Ste B, 956-292-7622). The Alamo substation (1429 S Tower Rd, 956-784-8688) is open Mondays and Tuesdays only. Checks are payable to Pablo (Paul) Villarreal Jr., PCC, Tax Assessor-Collector. ^[12][10][13]

Population: 914,820 (July 1, 2024 estimate) ^[14]

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