Maintaining a Texas Homestead Exemption While Replacing a Home

While there is a separate statute for homes destroyed or damaged in declared disaster areas, homeowners can still get tax relief if they lose their home because of flooding or storm outside of a disaster area. If a home is destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by wind or water, the homeowner can still claim a homestead exemption on the property as they work to replace the home. As long as construction or preparations for construction are started on the property within a year, the homeowner can maintain their homestead exemption for two years, preventing a sudden spike in taxes from compounding an already difficult situation. If the damage occurred in a declared disaster area, then the homestead exemption can be extended to a total of five years.