Fact check: Texas lawmakers are working to reduce property taxes with the goal of potentially eliminating parts of them, specifical…

Verdict: verified — Trust Score 92/100

This post is verified as an accurate representation of current Texas political and legislative activity in April 2026. Governor Greg Abbott has explicitly campaigned on and proposed the elimination of school property taxes for homeowners, and the state has recently implemented the specific measures mentioned, such as increasing the homestead exemption to $140,000 and using budget surpluses for tax compression.

Platform
instagram
Source author
askablkman — see all fact-checks of this account
Original post
https://www.instagram.com/p/DW4Hhe_jgxe/?igsh=MnczZmM3ZTR3NG1s
Verified on
April 26, 2026
Verification ID
qgu0PLqYiztvulyMkuOFcA

Original content reviewed

Platform: INSTAGRAM Author: @askablkman --- Caption/Description --- Texas lawmakers are working to reduce property taxes with the long-term goal of possibly eliminating parts of them, especially those that fund public schools. So far, they have used state budget surpluses to lower school tax rates and increase homestead exemptions, which has already reduced what many homeowners pay. At the same time, leaders including Greg Abbott have discussed shifting the system away from property taxes and toward other revenue sources. The most commonly proposed alternative is expanding and increasing sales taxes, along with taxing more services and using state funds to help cover costs. The challenge is that property taxes generate tens of billions of dollars each year, so fully replacing them would require major changes to how Texas funds schools and local services. For now, the state is focused on gradual reductions rather than a full elimination. Dm @askablkman for promo --- On-Screen Text (OCR) --- TEXAS WANTS TO END PROPERTY TAXES, LETTING PEOPLE OWN THEIR HOMES WITHOUT PAYING FOREVER Published: 2026-04-08T16:08:53.000Z ---VERIFICATION_SUMMARY--- Platform: INSTAGRAM Author: @askablkman --- Caption/Description --- Texas lawmakers are working to reduce property taxes with the long-term goal of possibly eliminating parts of them, especially those that fund public schools. So far, they have used state budget surpluses to lower school tax rates and increase homestead exemptions, which has already reduced what many homeowners pay. At the same time, leaders including Greg Abbott have discussed shifting the system away from property taxes and toward other revenue sources. The most commonly proposed alternative is expanding and increasing sales taxes, along with taxing more services and using state funds to help cover costs. The challenge is that property taxes generate tens of billions of dollars each year, so fully replacing them would require major changes to how Texas f

Claims analyzed (5)

  1. verified: Texas lawmakers are working to reduce property taxes with the goal of potentially eliminating parts of them, specifically those funding public schools.
    Governor Greg Abbott and other Texas leaders have explicitly stated the goal of eliminating the school maintenance and operations (M&O) portion of property taxes. In late 2025 and early 2026, Abbott campaigned on a plan to use state funds to fully replace this local revenue.
  2. verified: Texas has used state budget surpluses to lower school tax rates and increase homestead exemptions.
    The 89th Texas Legislature (2025) and the 88th (2023) used record budget surpluses to fund property tax relief. The homestead exemption was increased from $40,000 to $100,000 in 2023, and further to $140,000 in 2025 (effective 2026).
  3. mostly true: Governor Greg Abbott has discussed shifting the Texas tax system away from property taxes toward expanded sales taxes and taxing more services.
    While Abbott publicly emphasizes using the budget surplus to 'buy down' property taxes, the broader policy debate he leads includes proposals to shift toward consumption-based taxes (sales tax). Experts note that full elimination would require a sales tax increase from 8.25% to roughly 13.6%.
  4. verified: Property taxes in Texas generate tens of billions of dollars annually.
    In 2025, local governments in Texas levied approximately $89.4 billion in property taxes. School district taxes alone accounted for over $40 billion of that total.
  5. verified: Texas is currently focused on gradual property tax reductions rather than immediate full elimination.
    The current legislative strategy is 'compression,' which involves the state providing funds to school districts so they can gradually lower their tax rates over several years, alongside incremental increases in the homestead exemption.

Sources consulted (13)

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