Extra Property Tax Breaks for Older and Disabled Randall County Homeowners

The regular homestead exemption isn't the last word on a Randall County tax bill. Once you turn 65 or qualify as disabled under Social Security rules, the school district knocks an additional $60,000 off your home's taxable value, on top of the standard homestead amount. Most local taxing units add at least another $3,000 break of their own.

The bigger prize is the school-tax ceiling that comes with the over-65 exemption: once it's in place, the school portion of your bill generally can't climb above what you paid the year you qualified, even as values rise around you. That ceiling alone can be worth far more over time than the exemption dollars.

None of it is automatic. You apply through the Potter-Randall Appraisal District, which keeps the exemption records for every property in the county. Two situations catch people out: a homeowner who turns 65 mid-year and assumes the county already knows, and a buyer who looks at the previous owner's low senior bill and expects to inherit it. The exemption follows the person, not the house, so a new owner starts over. File your own application the year you qualify, and don't bank on the old bill.