Montgomery County, TX: homestead & property-tax exemptions

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

Last checked 2026-10-30 · 24 official sources

Exemptions available

• MCAD handles the general residence homestead, disabled person, age 65 or older and surviving-spouse-of-an-over-65 exemptions, the 100% disabled veteran exemption and its surviving-spouse version, the donated residence of a partially disabled veteran (and surviving spouse), and the exemption for surviving spouses of armed forces members killed in action. The Montgomery County Tax Office collects the taxes but doesn't decide who qualifies. You apply to MCAD. ^[1][2]
• General homestead (state law): school districts must exempt $140,000 of your home's value. Any taxing unit may add a local option exemption of up to 20% of the appraised value, with a minimum of $5,000. If you buy a home after January 1, you can get a pro-rated homestead exemption for the rest of that year, as long as the previous owner didn't have one. ^[3][4][1]
• Age 65 or older, or disabled (state law): school districts must exempt an extra $60,000, and other taxing units may offer their own exemption (minimum $3,000). If you're both 65 or older and disabled, you can't get both exemptions from the same taxing unit. Either one also freezes your school taxes (a tax ceiling): they can go down but not up while you have the exemption, unless you add improvements such as a new garage or room. You can transfer the ceiling to a new Texas homestead. ^[3][2][1]
• Local exemptions for 2026, from the Montgomery County Tax Office's '2026 Tax Rates - 2026 Exemptions' chart (homestead / over-65 / disability). Montgomery County: 20% / $50,000 / $75,000. Montgomery County Hospital District: 20% / $25,000 / $75,000. Lone Star College: 8% / $75,000 / $75,000. City of Conroe: 20% / $40,000 / $40,000. The Woodlands Township: 3% / $50,000 / $50,000. City of Shenandoah: 20% / $100,000 / $100,000. City of Montgomery: 20% / $50,000 / $70,000. City of Oak Ridge North: 20% / $25,000 / $25,000. City of Magnolia: 1% / $25,000 / none. City of Splendora and City of Roman Forest: no homestead percentage, but $25,000 and $20,000 respectively for over-65 and disability. MUDs and ESDs have their own amounts in the chart. ^[5][6]
• School districts in the same chart: Conroe ISD gives the $140,000 homestead and lists $65,000 for over-65 (other districts list $60,000) and $60,000 for disability. Magnolia, Montgomery, New Caney, Richards, Splendora and Willis ISDs all list $140,000 / $60,000 / $60,000. Every school district has the over-65/disabled tax ceiling. ^[5]
• Local tax ceilings (freezes) beyond school taxes: the Tax Office's 2026 chart marks a tax ceiling for Montgomery County, the City of Conroe and the City of Shenandoah. MCAD's homestead page says Montgomery County, Lone Star College and the City of Conroe freeze taxes for disabled persons, and Montgomery County, Conroe, Roman Forest and Lone Star College do for over-65. The two sources don't fully match (see 'Not verified yet'). ^[5][1]
• Disabled veterans (partial, any one property): $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 also gets $12,000 if 65 or older with at least a 10% rating, totally blind in one or both eyes, or has lost the use of one or more limbs. The unremarried surviving spouse gets the veteran's amount. Apply on Form 50-135. ^[7][3]
• 100% disabled veterans (100% service-connected rating or individual unemployability, paid at 100%) get a total exemption on their residence homestead from every taxing unit. So do unremarried surviving spouses of these veterans, as long as it was their homestead when the veteran died and still is. If you qualify after January 1, the exemption applies to the rest of that year. ^[1][3]
• Other surviving spouses get a total homestead exemption if they haven't remarried: spouses of armed forces members killed in action or in the line of duty, spouses of first responders killed in the line of duty, and spouses of veterans who died of a qualifying condition or disease. A home donated by a charity to a partially disabled veteran (and the surviving spouse) is also exempt, based on the disability rating. ^[1][3]
• Tax deferral: if you're 65 or older, disabled, or a disabled veteran, you can postpone paying current or delinquent taxes on your home by filing a Tax Deferral Affidavit (Form 50-126) with MCAD. Deferred taxes build up with 5% interest a year and become due once you or your surviving spouse (55 or older) no longer own and live in the home. If you have a mortgage, check with your lender first. ^[2][8]

Statewide exemption details: Texas guide.

Who qualifies

• General homestead: you must own the home and live in it as your principal residence, and you can't claim a homestead exemption on any other home in or outside Texas. ^[3][1]
• Over 65: you qualify starting January 1 of the year you turn 65, or the year you buy a home if you're already 65. If you already have a homestead exemption and MCAD has your correct birth date, you don't need to apply again when you turn 65. ^[1][9]
• Surviving spouse of an over-65 homeowner: you can keep the exemption and the school tax ceiling if your spouse died in a year they qualified, you were 55 or older at the time, and the home was and still is your homestead. ^[1][3]
• Disabled person: you must meet the Social Security disability standard (an impairment that prevents any substantial gainful activity and is expected to last at least 12 months or result in death). MCAD says you can qualify even if you don't receive disability benefits. You qualify starting January 1 of the year you become disabled. ^[1][3]
• Disabled veterans: you must be a Texas resident with a disability rating from the VA or your branch of service. The partial exemption can go on only one property, and it has to be the same property for every taxing unit. ^[7]

Deadline

• File by April 30 of the year you want the exemption (MCAD: 'before May 1'). MCAD says it acts on an application within 90 days of receiving it. If you don't qualify, it will notify you and give you a chance to protest. ^[9][10][1]
• Late filing: you can file a late homestead application, including over-65 or disabled, up to two years after the deadline. Disabled veterans can file late for the 100% or donated-residence exemption up to five years after the delinquency date, and their surviving spouses up to two years. The partial disabled-veteran exemption (Form 50-135) can be filed up to five years after the delinquency date. ^[9][7]

Where and how to file

• Online: create an account on MCAD's Exemptions Portal (the 'File Your Exemption' link on mcad-tx.org). Filing is free. ^[11][1][2]
• Paper: use Form 50-114 (homestead, over-65, disabled, 100% disabled veteran and surviving spouses) or Form 50-135 (partial disabled veteran), both on MCAD's Forms page. Mail it to MCAD, P.O. Box 2233, Conroe, TX 77305, or bring it to the office. Don't send it to the Comptroller. ^[8][12][9]
• MCAD office: 109 Gladstell, Conroe, TX 77301. Phone 936-756-3354 or 936-441-2186. Open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Customer service email is [email protected], but as of October 30, 2026, MCAD's home page says its email is down, so call or use the online forms. ^[4][12]

Documents needed

• A copy of your driver's license or state ID. The address on it must match the home you're claiming. Certain active-duty service members and their spouses, residents of some care facilities and people in address-confidentiality programs can have this waived. ^[9]
• Disabled person: a current Social Security disability determination, or a statement from your physician (MCAD has a Physician's Statement form). If you use a physician's statement, also send a recently filed federal income tax return and the matching W-2s. ^[1][8]
• Disabled veterans: VA (or service branch) documentation of your disability percentage. Surviving spouses of 100% disabled veterans or of service members killed in action: a death certificate and a current VA letter naming you as the surviving spouse. ^[7][1]
• Inherited homes (heir property): an affidavit of ownership interest (Form 50-114-A), the prior owner's death certificate, the most recent utility bill, and a citation of any court record relating to your ownership, if available. ^[9][3]

Do you need to re-file?

• Once you have an exemption, you don't reapply each year unless MCAD asks you to. If you stop qualifying (for example, you move), you must tell MCAD in writing before May 1 of the following year. ^[9][7]

Appeal deadline

• Protest deadline: May 15, or 30 days after MCAD mailed your notice of appraised value, whichever is later. It's 30 days from the mailing date, not the date you got it. If you file late, the ARB hears you only if it decides you had good cause, and only until it approves the appraisal records. If MCAD never sent you a required notice, you can protest until your taxes become delinquent or within 125 days of getting your tax bill. ^[13][14]
• How to file: online through MCAD's portal, where you can upload evidence, see MCAD's evidence and review a settlement offer; by mail to P.O. Box 2233, Conroe, TX 77305; or in the drop box in front of 109 Gladstell. You don't need a special form (Form 50-132 is optional). A written protest that identifies you and the property and says what you disagree with is enough. ^[13][8][14]
• Informal meeting: you get one meeting per property with an MCAD appraiser, by phone or video. Expect a settlement offer within about 10 business days. If you don't accept it, your protest goes to the Appraisal Review Board (ARB). You can ask in writing for MCAD's hearing evidence, MCAD must deliver it during the 14 days before your hearing. ^[13]
• ARB hearings: panels of three, or a single member if you ask. You can appear in person at MCAD, by phone or video (with an affidavit on file), or by written affidavit only. The ARB contacts you at least 15 days before your hearing, and hearings usually last about 15 minutes. You get one postponement without giving a reason if you don't have an agent. The Notice of Final Order arrives by certified mail (or email if you ask) about three to four weeks later. ^{[15][13][16][17]}
• After the ARB decides, you can appeal to district court within 60 days of receiving the written order, or use binding arbitration or SOAH if your property qualifies. To appeal in district court, you usually have to pay at least the taxes that aren't in dispute before the delinquency date. ^[14][15]
• Tax bills: the Montgomery County Tax Office (Tammy J. McRae, Tax Assessor-Collector) usually mails statements in October, due on receipt. Pay by January 31, which goes by postmark. Penalty and interest start February 1: 7% in February, rising to 18% in July. Real-property accounts still unpaid on June 30 go to the delinquent-tax attorney with another 15-20% penalty. If you don't have a bill by November 1, ask for one. Not getting a bill doesn't change the due date. ^{[18][19][20][21]}
• Payment plans: homeowners with a homestead plus an over-65, disabled person or disabled veteran exemption can pay in four installments (January 31, March 31, May 31 and July 31). Pay at least 1/4 by January 31 and ask for the plan in writing. Anyone can also prepay monthly through September 15, and partial payments are accepted. Online fees: e-check free, debit card 1.00%, credit card 2.05% (minimum $1). Tax Office: 400 N. San Jacinto St., Conroe, TX 77301; (936) 539-7897; [email protected]; Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. ^{[22][19][23][21]}

Population: 749,613 (July 1, 2024 estimate) ^[24]

Other Texas counties

• Harris County
• Dallas County
• Tarrant County
• Bexar County
• Travis County
• Collin County
• Denton County
• Fort Bend County
• Hidalgo County
• El Paso County