Most people in Comal County file one exemption and stop.
The homestead. Which is a great start, and I wrote a whole Comal County homestead exemption guide with the current numbers by taxing unit.
This post is about everything after that. The exemptions people qualify for and never claim, because nobody told them and the appraisal district isn’t going to call.
Over 65: an extra exemption and a ceiling
Turn 65 and the Comal Appraisal District schedule stacks more on top of the general homestead:
- School districts: another $60,000 ($63,750 in New Braunfels ISD)
- Comal County: another $50,000
- City of New Braunfels: another $3,750
- Bulverde $40,000, Schertz $10,000, Fair Oaks Ranch $50,000
Then there’s the ceiling, which is the part that really matters. Once it’s set, the school district and the other units that adopted one can’t raise the tax on your homestead just because your value went up. New improvements, like an addition, are the exception.
The exemption shrinks the value. The ceiling freezes the bill. You want both, and you get both on the same Form 50-114.
You qualify the year you turn 65. You don’t wait for January. Comal AD grants it automatically if it has your birthdate on file. If it doesn’t, file. Check your record for “OV65” either way.
One more: a surviving spouse who’s at least 55 when the over-65 spouse dies can keep the exemption and the ceiling on the same homestead. People lose this one at the worst possible moment because nobody mentions it.
Disabled homeowners
If you qualify for Social Security disability benefits (or meet the same standard), you get the same extra $60,000 school exemption and school tax ceiling as over-65. Other units set their own amounts. If you’re disabled and over 65, you can’t get both from the same taxing unit, so take whichever is bigger at each one.
Disabled veterans
Two different exemptions on two different forms. A 10% to 99% VA rating gets a partial exemption of $5,000 to $12,000 off one property you choose, on Form 50-135. A 100% or individual unemployability rating gets your homestead fully exempt, on Form 50-114.
The partial one can be filed up to five years late. Full breakdown: Texas disabled veteran property tax exemption.
Ag and wildlife valuation
Technically not an exemption. It’s a special valuation, and on land it’s often worth more than every exemption above put together.
Land used for agriculture (cattle, hay, goats, crops) can be appraised on what it produces instead of what a developer would pay for it. In western Comal County, that gap can be enormous. Land already under ag can also switch to wildlife management, which is how a lot of smaller Hill Country tracts keep the special valuation without running cattle.
The catches: the land has to meet Comal AD’s degree-of-intensity standards and usually a history of qualifying use, the application is due April 30, and if you change the use later there’s a rollback tax: the difference between ag-value taxes and market-value taxes for the three prior years. Read the rollback rules before you build on ag land.
Business personal property: the new $125,000 exemption
Starting with 2026, Texas exempts the first $125,000 of business personal property (equipment, furniture, inventory) for each business. It used to be $2,500.
For a lot of small Comal County businesses that means no BPP tax at all. You still have to file the rendition by April 15, and related businesses at one address get added together. Skip the rendition and you can lose the exemption and pick up a penalty.
Over-65 and disabled deferral
Not an exemption, but worth knowing. If you’re 65 or older or disabled, you can defer property taxes on your homestead and stop the clock on a tax sale. The taxes still accrue, with interest, and come due when the home is sold or the estate settles. It’s a lifeline, not a discount.
How to check what you already have
Look up your property on Comal AD’s property search. The exemption codes are on the record: HS for homestead, OV65 for over 65, DP for disabled, DV for disabled veteran. If a code you qualify for isn’t there, you don’t have it, no matter what anyone told you at closing.
None of these fix a bad value
Every exemption on this page subtracts from the appraised value. If that value’s wrong, you’re subtracting from a number that’s too big to begin with.
That’s a protest. I was an appraiser at the Guadalupe Appraisal District for six years, and I do protests across Texas now, with a lot of them in Comal. $100 a year plus 25% of what I save you. Start with how to protest property taxes in Comal County, or hand it to me.
The exemptions are free. Leaving them on the table isn’t.
Frequently asked questions
What property tax exemptions are available in Comal County?
The general residence homestead exemption, an extra over-65 or disabled exemption with a tax ceiling, disabled veteran exemptions, ag and wildlife special valuation for qualifying land, and the $125,000 business personal property exemption starting in 2026. Each taxing unit sets some of its own amounts, so check the Comal Appraisal District’s current schedule.
How much is the over-65 exemption in Comal County?
Per the Comal Appraisal District’s 2025 schedule: an extra $60,000 at the school districts ($63,750 in New Braunfels ISD), $50,000 for Comal County, $3,750 for the City of New Braunfels, plus a tax ceiling at units that adopted one. These stack on top of the general homestead exemption.
Do I have to reapply for the over-65 exemption in Comal County?
You qualify the year you turn 65. Comal AD says it grants the over-65 exemption automatically when it has your birthdate on file. If it doesn’t, file Form 50-114 with the over-65 box checked.
Can a surviving spouse keep the over-65 exemption?
Yes, if the surviving spouse was at least 55 when the spouse died and the home stays their homestead, they can keep the over-65 exemption and the tax ceiling.
Is ag valuation an exemption?
No. Agricultural and wildlife valuation is a special appraisal method based on what the land produces rather than market value. It can save more than any exemption on rural land, but changing the use later can trigger a rollback tax.
Sources: Comal Appraisal District exemption page and 2025 Tax Year Exemption Schedule, effective 11/04/2025 (comalad.org); Texas Tax Code Sections 11.13, 11.22, 11.131, 11.145, 23.51 and 33.06, via statutes.capitol.texas.gov; Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Exemptions. Taxing units can change their exemptions each year, so check the current schedule before relying on a number. Updated October 2026.