SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Board of Realtors is looking to help make policy changes that will help keep local families from being taxed out of their homes.
Home values in San Antonio skyrocketed in the last year with the average home sales price increasing 20% from April 2021 compared to April 2022. The increase in home values has also led to a dramatic rise in property taxes.
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To offset the rising taxes, SABOR officials and the real estate economics firm, Rosen Consulting Group, have identified multiple opportunities for savings through tax policy changes.
“Though efforts have been made through legislative action, more can be done to help homeowners stay in their homes while maintaining the affordability that San Antonio is known for”, said SABOR’s CEO Gilbert Gonzalez. “This analysis identifies those opportunities and savings residents desperately need.”
A press release from SABOR notes that San Antonio City Council will be voting on June 16 on multiple property tax relief proposals that could lower taxes for homeowners.
In the press release, SABOR officials announced that they are asking the city to:
- Increase the city’s current homestead tax exemption from .01% to 10%, which saves a property assessed at $300,000 about $164 in total savings. At least 240,000 households could take advantage of an increased homestead exemption if this is passed.
- Increase the over-65 tax exemption from $65,000 to $85,000 which would impact around 103,000 households.
- Increase the disabled persons tax exemption from $12,500 to $85,000 which would provide savings for roughly 7,000 homeowners.
- Lower the city’s existing tax rate, which will not only provide additional relief to homeowners but will provide relief to small business owners and housing providers and their tenants who are struggling due to affordability challenges in the rental housing market.
“Property tax exemptions are imperative in lowering taxes because they remove part of your home’s value from taxation,” the press release said.
San Antonio residents who support SABOR’s endeavor to levy tax relief are asked to send a call to action to the city council ahead of the June 16 meeting.
“Since 2019, the City of San Antonio has offered a homestead exemption of $5,000 or 0.01 percent exemption off the assessed valuation of their home. This is currently the lowest amount that can be applied by a local municipality in Texas,” SABOR officials said. “Of the seven largest cities in Texas, San Antonio was the last to adopt a residential homestead exemption.”