Here’s a dumb way to lose money in Comal County: buy a home, move in, and never file one free form.
People do it every year. The exemption doesn’t apply itself. The appraisal district doesn’t call you. You just quietly pay tax on value the Texas Constitution says you shouldn’t.
So here’s what the Comal County homestead exemption actually gets you, by taxing unit, and how to file it without getting it kicked back.
What the homestead exemption takes off your value
Your tax bill isn’t one bill. It’s a stack: school district, county, Lateral Road, maybe a city, maybe a MUD or emergency services district. Each one decides its own homestead exemption. That’s why “the” homestead exemption is really five or six of them.
Here’s what the Comal Appraisal District’s current exemption schedule (2025 tax year, effective Nov. 4, 2025) lists for a general residence homestead:
| Taxing unit | Homestead exemption |
|---|---|
| Every school district (Comal ISD, New Braunfels ISD, Boerne ISD, Wimberley ISD) | $140,000 |
| Comal ISD, on top of that | 20% of value |
| Comal County | 20% (minimum $5,000) |
| Lateral Road & Flood Control | 20% plus $3,000 |
| City of New Braunfels | 20% (minimum $5,000) |
| City of Spring Branch | 20% (minimum $5,000) |
| City of Fair Oaks Ranch | $5,000 |
| Bulverde, Garden Ridge, Schertz | None for under 65 |
The $140,000 school number is new. Texas voters raised it from $100,000 in November 2025, and it applied starting with the 2025 tax year. If you read an older guide that says $100,000 (or $40,000), it’s out of date. That includes some of what’s still floating around on Google.
What that looks like on a $400,000 home
Say your homestead is appraised at $400,000 and you live inside New Braunfels, in New Braunfels ISD.
- School: taxed on $260,000, not $400,000.
- County: taxed on $320,000.
- City of New Braunfels: taxed on $320,000.
Same house in Comal ISD (Canyon Lake, Spring Branch, Bulverde side)? The school district takes off 20% and $140,000, so you’re taxed on $180,000 for school. That’s more than half the value gone from the biggest line on your bill.
Without the form on file, you’re taxed on the full $400,000 at every level. Nobody sends you a warning about that.
Turning 65 (or disabled)? It gets a lot better
Comal Appraisal District lists these on top of the general homestead exemption:
- School districts: another $60,000 ($63,750 in New Braunfels ISD), plus a tax ceiling.
- Comal County: another $50,000 for 65 and older, plus a ceiling.
- City of New Braunfels: another $3,750, plus a ceiling.
- Bulverde: $40,000. Schertz: $10,000. Fair Oaks Ranch: $50,000.
The ceiling is the part people underrate. Once it’s set, the tax that unit charges on your homestead can’t go up because your value went up (new improvements are the exception). The exemption shrinks your value. The ceiling freezes your bill. You want both.
You don’t have to wait for January 1. You qualify the year you turn 65. Comal AD says that if it has your birthdate on file, it grants the over-65 exemption automatically. If it doesn’t, you file a new application. Don’t assume. Check.
Who qualifies
Two rules, and they’re simpler than people make them:
- You own the home.
- It’s your principal residence. One homestead per person, so the lake house doesn’t count if you live in San Antonio.
That’s it. No income test. No minimum time in the house.
How to file with Comal Appraisal District
- Get Form 50-114 (Residence Homestead Exemption Application). It’s on the Comptroller’s website and Comal AD’s site.
- Attach a copy of your Texas driver’s license or state ID. The address on it has to match the property. This is where applications die. If you moved and never updated your license, fix that first.
- Check every box you qualify for (65 and older, disabled, disabled veteran) on the same form.
- Send it to Comal Appraisal District.
The normal deadline is April 30. Missed it? Texas lets you file a late homestead application up to two years after the taxes for that year went delinquent, and you get the refund. So yes, you can go back and get money you already overpaid.
Once it’s granted, you generally don’t refile every year. The district can ask you to reapply, and if it sends a letter, answer it.
How to check if you already have it
Look up your property on Comal AD’s property search, or look at your appraisal notice. You want to see “HS” (homestead) in the exemptions, and “OV65” if you’re 65 or older. If it’s blank, you don’t have it, no matter what your title company told you at closing.
The exemption is filed and your bill’s still too high
The exemption lowers taxable value. It doesn’t touch what the district says your home is worth. If the appraised value is wrong, every exemption is subtracting from a number that’s too big to begin with.
That’s a protest, not an exemption. I was an appraiser at the Guadalupe County appraisal district for six years, and the values that are wrong usually are wrong because the mass-appraisal data is thin or stale for that neighborhood. That’s fixable with evidence. Here’s how to protest property taxes in Comal County, or hand the Comal protest to me and I’ll do it.
Want someone else to file it?
If you’d rather not deal with Form 50-114 and the license-address thing, I’ll file your homestead exemption for you, including late applications for prior years.
Sources: Comal Appraisal District exemption page and “2025 Tax Year Exemption Schedule, effective 11/04/2025” (comalad.org); Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Exemptions; Texas Proposition 13 (2025). Taxing units can change their exemptions each year, so check the current schedule before you rely on a number.