No more school property taxes? Here’s Gov. Abbott’s plan to slash taxes in Texas
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants Texans to vote on eliminating school district property taxes.
Abbott, a Republican seeking election to his fourth term, was in Fort Worth on Thursday, including for a campaign stop at Rex’s Bar and Grill where he outlined his five-point plan for property tax reforms. The proposals are a key part of Abbott’s reelection campaign.
The state has taken steps in recent years to reduces property tax bills, including increasing the homestead exemption on school property taxes from $100,000 to $140,000. The change was overwhelmingly approved by voters in the November constitutional amendment election.
But more needs to be done, Abbott told a crowd at the Fort Worth restaurant.
“I’ve done this every single year that I’ve been governor, and yet every single year, you, my constituents, keep saying our property taxes are too high,” Abbott said. “We have to do more to lower them.”
Abbott’s plan includes:
- Limiting local government spending.
- Requiring approval from two-thirds of voters to increase all local property taxes.
- Giving Texans the ability to force a rollback election to lower property tax rates through a petition signed by 15% of registered voters in the local area.
- Requiring property appraisals once every five years and lowering the cap on homestead appraisal increases from 10% to 3%. Abbott also proposes expanding the cap to all properties.
- Letting Texans vote on a constitutional amendment to eliminate school district property taxes on homeowners.
Of the school property tax elimination proposal, Abbott said: “The time has come to altogether put an end to any homestead taxation by your school district. Take that number to zero.”
Abbott has discussed the plan, including the possible elimination of school property taxes, at recent campaign events across the state. While visiting Temple on Nov. 12, Abbott said that if the tax was eliminated, districts will be funded by the state of Texas, referencing the increased homestead exemption approved by voters earlier this year as an example.
“That homestead exemption means less money will be going from local property taxes to schools,” Abbott said. “Instead, the state makes up the difference, and that’s what would happen here.”
Abbott was pressed on how the state would get more tax money during the Temple stop.
“To be honest, that should be up to the voters or up to a meeting or discussion among legislators,” Abbott said. “There’s a lot of possible solutions to come up with the resources needed.”
He offered the state’s surplus as one possibility.
“The budget surplus we’ve had each of the past four years exceeds the amount it would cost to eliminate any school district property tax in the state of Texas,” Abbott said. “So that would be one possible way, without raising a single penny more in taxes whatsoever.”
Abbott’s proposal to take the elimination of school property taxes to voters has the support of Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, a former North Texas senator who’s seeking election to the statewide office in the March Republican primary.
Hancock said he voted for billions in property tax relief while in the Texas Legislature. He, too, held a campaign event in Fort Worth on Thursday, where he was joined by Abbott and Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn.
“What this does is it literally takes it to the next level, and it gives the voters — those that are actually paying the taxes — a greater voice in it,” Hancock said. “I think it sounds like a great idea, and look forward to the next legislative session.”
Were Texas to find itself in a difficult economic environment, Hancock expects the state would focus on finding budget cuts over imposing sales tax increases or an income tax. Texas in 2019 passed a constitutional amendment blocking lawmakers from enacting an income tax.
“When you have tough economic environments, do you have to make reductions in spending? Absolutely,” he said. “But still, we’ve had that before and education still received funding.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 5:11 PM.
