Texas Senior Benefits: Property Tax, Energy, Food & Prescriptions

Program: Age 65 or Older Homestead Exemption, School Tax Ceiling (Freeze), and Property Tax Deferral

Texas gives homeowners age 65 or older three separate breaks that can be stacked together. First, on top of the general $140,000 homestead exemption from school district taxes, seniors get an additional $60,000 school-tax exemption (Tax Code Sec. 11.13(c)/(d)), for a combined $200,000 exempted from school district value. Cities, counties, and other local taxing units may also offer their own optional senior exemptions of at least $3,000, so total savings vary by county and taxing jurisdiction. Second, once you qualify for the over-65 exemption, Texas locks in (freezes) the school district portion of your property tax bill at the dollar amount you owed in the first year you qualified. Even if your home's appraised value keeps rising, your school taxes cannot increase above that ceiling (they can still go down). Some cities and counties have separately adopted a similar local tax ceiling, but that is optional and varies by jurisdiction. Third, seniors (and homeowners with disabilities) may file a tax deferral affidavit with the county appraisal district to postpone paying property taxes on their homestead altogether for as long as they own and live in it. Deferred taxes accrue interest (5% per year under current law) and become due after the home is sold or no longer used as the homestead by the qualifying owner or surviving spouse. Deferral does not erase the debt — it delays it — so it's best used as a last resort for cash-flow-strapped seniors, not a default choice.

Who qualifies: Must be age 65 or older (exemption applies starting the year you turn 65) and own and occupy the home as your principal residence (homestead). No income limit for the exemption or freeze. A qualifying surviving spouse age 55+ can keep the ceiling after the senior spouse's death. Local optional exemptions and any local tax ceiling vary by city/county.

How to apply: File Texas Comptroller Form 50-114 (Application for Residence Homestead Exemption, with the Age 65 or Older section completed) with your county appraisal district — free to file, no cost. Apply any time during the year you turn 65; filing by April 30 typically gets the exemption applied to that year's tax bill (exemptions can also be applied retroactively for prior years in some cases). The deferral requires a separate deferral affidavit filed with the same appraisal district. Contact your county appraisal district directly for local forms and any additional local exemptions.

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Program: Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) — Texas's LIHEAP

Texas administers the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) under the name Comprehensive Energy Assistance Program (CEAP), run by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA). CEAP helps eligible low-income households — including seniors, people with disabilities, and families with young children — pay electricity, gas, or propane bills, and also funds crisis assistance for utility shutoffs (including summer cooling emergencies). Funding flows from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to TDHCA, which distributes it to roughly 30-plus local Community Action Agencies and other subrecipients that collectively cover all 254 Texas counties. Because the program is locally administered, exact benefit amounts, application windows, and documentation requirements vary by county — applicants should confirm current details with their local agency before applying.

Who qualifies: Households generally at or below 150% of the federal poverty level qualify, though local agencies may apply somewhat different income tests within federal guidelines. Households with a member age 60+, a person with a disability, or a young child are often given priority. No separate stand-alone "senior" CEAP program exists — seniors apply through the same CEAP process as other low-income households, and elderly/disabled status is factored into priority and, in some cases, benefit level.

How to apply: Contact your local CEAP subrecipient (community action agency) — find yours via the TDHCA CEAP subrecipient directory, or call 2-1-1 (Texas Health and Human Services 211 helpline) to be connected to the agency serving your county. Applications and required documents (proof of income, utility bill, ID) are handled locally; deadlines and open enrollment periods vary by agency and by funding availability, so apply as early in the program year as possible.

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Program: SNAP (with the Texas Simplified Application Project for seniors) and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)

Texas seniors can get help buying groceries through the regular Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), loaded onto a Lone Star Card. For households where every member is age 60 or older or has a disability, Texas offers the Texas Simplified Application Project (TSAP) — a shorter SNAP application with a longer, 3-year certification period (instead of the standard 6 months) and no renewal interview, reducing the paperwork burden that keeps some seniors from applying or staying enrolled. Separately, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), run through USDA in partnership with Texas food banks, provides income-eligible seniors 60 and older with a free monthly box of about 30-35 pounds of shelf-stable and nutritious foods (cereal, juice, protein, peanut butter or beans, milk, grains, canned fruits/vegetables, and cheese). CSFP is separate from SNAP and a senior can potentially receive both, subject to local food bank capacity and waiting lists in some areas.

Who qualifies: SNAP/TSAP: household income and resource limits apply (higher resource limits for elderly/disabled households); TSAP specifically requires every household member to be age 60+ or disabled. CSFP: must be age 60 or older and meet CSFP income guidelines (generally around 130% of the federal poverty level, set by USDA/Texas HHS); availability can be limited by local caseload caps, so some areas maintain waiting lists.

How to apply: SNAP/TSAP: apply online at YourTexasBenefits.com, in person at a local Texas Health and Human Services benefits office, or request a paper application by calling 2-1-1. CSFP: sign up through a local participating food bank (e.g., your regional Feeding Texas food bank) since Texas HHS partners with food banks to run local CSFP distribution — contact your nearest food bank or call 2-1-1 to find the CSFP site serving your county.

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Program: No general state pharmaceutical assistance program — refer to Medicare Extra Help and the Texas Benefits Counseling Program (HICAP)

Being honest about a gap: Texas does not run a general state-funded prescription drug assistance program (SPAP) for seniors, unlike some other states. The only state pharmacy assistance program Texas operates is limited to people living with HIV (the Texas HIV Medication Program's State Pharmacy Assistance Program), which is not a general senior benefit and does not apply to most older Texans. For general prescription cost help, Texas seniors should rely on the federal Extra Help (Low-Income Subsidy) program, which pays most Medicare Part D premiums, deductibles, and copays for people with limited income and resources. Texas Health and Human Services, together with the Texas Legal Services Center and local Area Agencies on Aging, also runs the Texas Benefits Counseling Program (the state's federally required State Health Insurance Assistance Program, sometimes still referred to as HICAP), which provides free, unbiased one-on-one counseling to help seniors understand Medicare Part D options, compare plans, and apply for Extra Help and Medicare Savings Programs.

Who qualifies: Extra Help: Medicare beneficiaries with limited income and resources (2026 thresholds set federally; eligibility is often automatic for anyone with both Medicare and full Medicaid, or SSI, or a Medicare Savings Program). Texas Benefits Counseling Program: available free to any Medicare beneficiary or their representative, regardless of income, with no age cutoff (65+ or disability-qualified beneficiaries of any age).

How to apply: Apply for Extra Help through the Social Security Administration at ssa.gov or by calling 1-800-772-1213, or apply for both Extra Help and Medicaid/Medicare Savings Programs together through Texas HHS at YourTexasBenefits.com. For free, local, unbiased Medicare and Part D counseling, contact the Texas Benefits Counseling Program at 1-800-252-9240 or through your local Area Agency on Aging.

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