76% of Williamson County Houses Have a Homestead Exemption

Of the 213,174 one-family houses on the Williamson Central Appraisal District's public file, 162,566 carry an active homestead exemption. That is 76.3 percent. The other 50,608 do not, and a further 729 have an application that was received or is waiting on more information. If you are buying in Williamson County, the exemption on a house is not a feature of the house. It belongs to the owner who filed for it, and the bill that arrives for your first tax year depends on whether anyone did.

The timing matters this week. Williamson County's Tax Assessor-Collector said on October 13 that statements for about 130,000 properties would go out only after the results of the November 3 election are final, because five school districts needed voters to approve their adopted tax rates. Those bills still become delinquent on February 1, 2027, no matter when they land in the mailbox.

The count, from the district's own files

Williamson CAD publishes its property characteristics and exemptions as public files. We loaded both into our research database on October 19, 2026. The characteristics file is dated July 27, 2026 and the exemptions file July 30, 2026. We kept one record per property classified by the district as state class A1 (a one-family residence) with a recorded living area, and counted every one that has a homestead exemption with the status "Active."

The file does not say why a house has no exemption, and we will not guess. A homestead exemption requires that the owner live in the home as a principal residence, so a house with none could be occupied by a renter, held by a builder, or owned by someone who has not filed. The data cannot separate those.

It barely changes with the age of the house

We grouped the same houses by year built. The share with an active exemption stays between 70 and 80 percent in every group.

Percentages are our arithmetic, and the six rows add to the full 213,174. The newest houses sit a few points lower than the 2010s group. Our file shows the pattern but not the cause.

For a comparison across the county line, our Travis County deadline piece counted 79.6 percent of Austin one-family properties with a homestead on the 2026 Travis roll. That count uses a different district's file and a city boundary, so treat the two numbers as neighbors, not a ranking.

The calendar for a Williamson County bill

• Bills: statements began going out the week of October 19. About 130,000 properties wait for the November 3 results because Coupland, Florence, Georgetown, Leander and Round Rock school districts needed voter approval of their adopted rates (My Neighborhood News, October 14, 2026). As of this morning we found no published results, so we do not report any.
• Deadline: the tax office says taxes are due on receipt and delinquent on February 1, 2027. A later mailing does not extend that date.
• Where to look: bills can be searched at tax.wilcotx.gov.

Three of those districts, Georgetown, Leander and Round Rock, had a Proposition A rate question on the ballot, according to FOX 7 Austin. We are not reporting dollar impacts, because the dollar figures in that coverage were not clear enough to repeat.

What the exemption does, and how you get it

The Texas Comptroller's office says school districts must give a $140,000 exemption on a residence homestead, with an additional $60,000 for homeowners 65 or older or disabled. Any taxing unit may also adopt a local exemption of up to 20 percent of appraised value, which the Comptroller says cannot be less than $5,000 (Comptroller exemptions page).

To show what a $140,000 exemption can be worth, take an illustrative school rate of $1.00 per $100 of taxable value. The exemption removes $140,000 of value, which is $1,400 of tax. That is arithmetic, not any district's rate and not a quote for a house. Your own school rate is on your bill or at the district.

The Williamson CAD exemptions page sets out the process:

• The property must be owned and occupied as your principal residence, and you cannot claim a homestead on two properties.
• The regular filing period is January 1 through April 30. Late applications may be filed up to two years after the taxes become delinquent.
• You can file in person or online through the district's Property Search by selecting the HS Exemption icon. You generally do not need to reapply unless the Chief Appraiser asks or you move.
• If you acquire and occupy a property after January 1, you may qualify for part of that tax year, provided the previous owner did not receive a homestead exemption on it for that year.

The district's page lists the full rules at wcad.org/exemptions.

What this means if you're buying or selling in Williamson County

If you are buying: look up the house on Williamson CAD's Property Search and see whether the current owner has an exemption. Then plan on filing your own application after you move in, in the window above. If the seller's exemption was the only thing keeping the tax line low, your first bill can look different from the one the listing quoted. Our piece on new-owner homestead filing walks through the same steps on the Travis side, and our closing and tax bill guide explains how the year's tax is handled at the title company.

If you are selling: an open or unpaid bill is a closing item. Ask your title company how the 2026 tax will be handled, and remember the February 1 date for the 130,000 properties whose bills come late.

If you own a house with no exemption: if it is your principal residence and you have never filed, the district says late applications are accepted for up to two years after the taxes become delinquent. Call the district to confirm what applies to you.

This is general education, not tax advice. For your own bill, call the Williamson County Tax Office or the appraisal district, or ask a tax professional.

How we counted

Austin Local Team analysis of Williamson CAD public Property_Characteristics and Exemptions files, received October 19, 2026 (source dates July 27 and July 30, 2026). A house is one property with state class A1 and a recorded living area above zero. It counts as exempt if the exemptions file lists a homestead exemption with the status "Active" for that property. Applications with the status "Received application" or "Pending - requested more info" are counted separately. Percentages are rounded to one decimal. We use appraisal district records only, never MLS data, and we do not identify owners.

If you want the tax line for a specific Williamson County address next to the purchase price, our property tax analyzer is the place to start, and a local agent can help you read the first bill.