About 60% of Texas homeowners 65 and older now pay nothing in school property taxes. The finding, first reported by Houston Public Media on Wednesday, Sept. 30, comes from an analysis by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt's office and raises pointed questions about who covers the cost of public schools in fast-growing communities like The Woodlands.

Texas lawmakers boosted the general homestead exemption on school district taxes to $140,000. Homeowners 65 and older receive an additional $60,000 senior exemption, shaving a combined $200,000 off a home's taxable value for school tax purposes. Nearly 2.4 million Texans across the state no longer pay school property taxes, according to Bettencourt, a Houston Republican who authored many of the state's property tax cuts.

Woodlands bills climb despite lower rate

The Woodlands Township adopted a 2026 total property tax rate of $0.1694 per $100 of taxable value on Sept. 3, down from $0.1714 in 2025. The rate dropped. Bills still went up.

The average homestead taxable value in the township climbed from $645,317 to $681,960, a 5.68% increase. That pushed the tax on the average Woodlands homestead up $49.17 to $1,155.24, a 4.45% jump. The township board approved the maintenance and operations rate 6-1, with Director Shelley Sekula-Gibbs voting against it.

Conroe ISD, the school district serving most of The Woodlands, adopted a 2026-27 tax rate of $0.9471 per $100 on Aug. 18, with a $769.6 million budget. Trustee Melissa Dungan called property taxes a huge issue at the meeting and said school finance is "all projection from here."

Growing senior population

Montgomery County's senior population is expanding alongside its overall boom. About 106,300 county residents were 65 or older in 2024, representing 14.2% of the population, according to U.S. Census Bureau data compiled by USAFacts. The county added 30,011 residents between July 2024 and July 2025, reaching roughly 781,200 people and ranking as the fourth-fastest-growing county in the nation by numeric growth, according to the Census Bureau.

No Woodlands-specific data is available on what share of local seniors pay $0 in school taxes. Statewide, the figure exceeds 60%. In rural counties with lower property values, more than three-quarters of senior homeowners pay nothing, according to Bettencourt's office.

Tax policy experts told Houston Public Media the exemptions amount to a generational wealth transfer. State revenue surpluses funded by sales taxes that working-age adults pay are used to cover the school property tax cuts, effectively shifting the cost from older homeowners to younger residents and commercial property owners.

What comes next

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said he wants to extend the senior school-tax exemption to people 55 and older. Gov. Greg Abbott has proposed eliminating school property taxes for all homeowners. Under Abbott's plan, owners of apartments, stores, factories and warehouses would still owe school property taxes.

The Texas Legislature's next regular session begins in 2027, when property tax policy is expected to return to the agenda.