On November 4th, 2015, Texas’s Statewide Proposition 1 for homestead exemption passed with 86% of the vote. Thanks to strong support from Texas Association of Realtors, Prop 1 will increase the homestead exemption from $15,000 to $25,000. What this means for the average Texas homeowner is an extra $125 in savings per year from a reduction in property-taxes. Passage of this proposition also means real estate transfer taxes are constitutionally prohibited, which saves consumers money when they buy or sell property.
Prop 1 includes up to 20 acres of land if it is owned by the homeowner [with a homestead structure on property] and used for residential purposes.
The official ballot title is as follows:
The constitutional amendment increasing the amount of the residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation for public school purposes from $15,000 to $25,000, providing for a reduction of the limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed for those purposes on the homestead of an elderly or disabled person to reflect the increased exemption amount, authorizing the legislature to prohibit a political subdivision that has adopted an optional residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation from reducing the amount of or repealing the exemption, and prohibiting the enactment of a law that imposes a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property
Because property values are quickly rising, homeowners might not have a lower property tax bill, but one that increased slightly less because of the savings from the homestead exemption.
More information on this proposition can be found here.