Homestead and ag exemptions can lower your tax bill

If Somervell County is your main home, you can apply for a residence homestead exemption. Texas school districts must give at least a $140,000 exemption on a homestead. Other local taxing units may add their own exemptions on top of that. You apply with the Somervell County Appraisal District — not the tax office.

Rural landowners should also know about agricultural special appraisal (called 1-d-1 or open-space appraisal). It lets the appraisal district value qualifying farmland or ranchland based on what it can produce, not what it would sell for on the market. That can mean much lower taxes. Land must have been used for ag or timber production for at least five of the past seven years. If you later sell or develop the land, a rollback tax applies — you owe back taxes for up to three prior years plus interest. Check the Comptroller's ag-timber page for rules and the appraisal district for local intensity standards.