Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Tuesday unveiled a plan to drive down property taxes by further hiking the amount of a home’s value that can’t be taxed to pay for public schools and lowering the age at which Texans qualify for additional relief on their school tax bills.
Under Patrick’s proposal, dubbed “Operation Double Nickel,” the state’s homestead exemption for school property taxes would increase by another $40,000, after Texas voters in November green-lit the latest increase by the same amount, from $100,000 to $140,000. The minimum exemption under Patrick’s latest plan would allow homeowners to shave $180,000 off the value that can be taxed by their local school district.
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Voters also recently signed off on a proposal to raise a separate homestead exemption for homeowners over the age of 65 and those with disabilities, allowing them to take another $60,000 off their home’s taxable value. Patrick’s plan would make homeowners qualify for that benefit at age 55, at which point they would see relief for $240,000 of their home’s value.
“We are on a path now to eliminate school property taxes for every homeowner in Texas in the next few years, no matter their age,” Patrick said Tuesday. “In the next few sessions, we’re going to be able to eliminate school property taxes with homestead exemptions.”
At a Capitol news conference unveiling his proposal, Patrick also reupped his opposition to the feasibility of eliminating property taxes altogether, displaying placards that said such an idea — a popular rallying cry among conservatives in the state — would inevitably lead to massive increases in sales taxes.
That opposition also pits Patrick, the state’s second-in-command, against Gov. Greg Abbott, who unveiled his own property tax relief proposal last month centered around a vow to abolish school property taxes. The governor has been taking his plan on the road as he gears up to seek a fourth term in 2026, when Patrick will also be up for reelection.
An Abbott spokesperson said in a statement that the governor looked forward to working with Patrick and lawmakers, and doubled down on his own proposals that include slashing appraisal increases and pursuing the goal of ending school district property taxes. Patrick has opposed past efforts to lower appraisal caps — the amount by which a home’s appraised value can increase year over year — and he reiterated that stance earlier Tuesday.
“Gov. Abbott will fight for taxpayers and his comprehensive plan throughout 2026, and he looks forward to working with lawmakers to deliver lasting property tax cuts,” Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s press secretary, said in the statement.
Patrick, a Republican who presides over the Texas Senate, refused to comment on the governor’s pitch, saying that the detailing of his own plan to reporters was the first time anyone was seeing it and that he looked forward to working with Abbott and House Speaker Dustin Burrows to reach an agreement on how to lower property taxes.
The third tenet of Patrick’s initiative — released more than a year before the start of the next regular legislative session — seeks to curtail local taxes imposed by counties, cities and other locales. However, he did not elaborate on how the plan would do that, specifying only that local governments must be able to grow but have an onus to be responsible with public funds.
This is a developing story that will be updated.