Texas Governor Considers Eliminating School Property Taxes Entirely with Five-Point Reform Plan

O'Connor discusses how Texas governor considers eliminating school property taxes entirely with five-point reform plan.

HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES, February 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ --


Property taxes have become a surprising talking point across the nation. Chicago and Cook County in Illinois are currently seeing a meltdown due to one of the largest tax hikes in history, a series of errors that may lead to the entire county going into a government shutdown to start the new year. New York and Georgia have released comprehensive programs to help seniors stay in their homes. Property taxes have found themselves being debated like never before.

In states like Florida, Ohio, and Texas, an extreme solution is at least being explored. This is the full elimination of public school property taxes. In Texas, the governor has been exploring the drastic cutting of school taxes for a while, but the idea seems to be gaining traction. After speculation for months, Gov. Greg Abbott released a new five-point plan in February on how to lower property taxes in Texas, including eliminating school taxes. Even if this goal cannot be achieved, there are several other pieces of the platform that could benefit taxpayers. O'Connor will look at what is being proposed and if it is feasible to achieve.

Public School Taxes in Texas

If a Texan has been a homeowner for any length of time, they should know that the largest chunk of their yearly taxes goes to public schools. Whether it was a separate bill or lumped together with the rest of their taxes due by the end of January, an owner's wallet always took the largest hit from public school taxes. Since Texas has no income tax, property taxes have been relied upon to fund all education for decades. This is true for most states in the nation, and Illinois, New York, and Georgia have all been focused on how to deal with rising costs. Due to their outsized impact, these taxes often drew the ire of homeowners, which in turn, pushed for more reform.

Previous Tax Cuts

Thanks to growing pressure, Texas governor Greg Abbott began to float various ideas on how to deal with rising taxes. In 2023, an expanded homestead exemption was given to residents, raising the exemption from $40,000 to $100,000. This brought school taxes down to similar levels compared to MUD or county taxes. This was greeted with acclaim from many taxpayers, as it represented a significant cut to the largest bill that a Texan receives every year.

2025 saw another round of legislation, this time even greater breaks were proposed. Unsurprisingly, when given the chance, taxpayers voted in droves to land more tax breaks. This time, the homestead exemption increased to $140,000. This was supplemented by an over-65 exemption that jumped from $10,000 to $60,000. These senior exemptions could be combined with the traditional homestead to cut $200,000 in taxable value from the rolls of certain taxpayers. Many seniors found themselves paying no school taxes at all. Even for the average homeowner, school taxes were reduced to a level never seen before.

Gov. Abbott’s Five-Point Plan

After spearheading the 2023 and 2025 tax cuts, Governor Abbott looks to make even more drastic changes. The governor just announced his five-point plan to lower taxes across Texas. The headliner is the abolishment of property taxes on homes that would fund school districts. In essence, there would be no more local funding for schools, at least from homeowners. Sales tax could still be used to help fund schools. This would obviously be a boon for taxpayers, as it fully eliminates what was once the largest tax that was owed.

The five-point plan is as follows:

Local spending limits
Tax increases require the approval of two-thirds of voters
Rollback elections
Property appraisal cap, with appraisals every five years
The elimination of school property taxes for homeowners

While the realism of eliminating school taxes is debatable, the rest of the points could be a boon for taxpayers. Local spending limits could keep the demand for property taxes in check, as local government would still collect property taxes if school taxes were eliminated. By requiring two-thirds of voters to approve tax increases, it would all but guarantee that a new tax increase is never seen again. The third point proposes that if 15% of voters support it, rollback elections against tax increases could be held. This is quite an easy threshold to make. The fourth point could be a mixed bag. While appraisal caps would certainly be a benefit, having five years between appraisals could be problematic. It is often the gulf between real value and assessed value that causes issues in property taxes. By extending appraisals to every five years, the potential for overvaluation of property is increased.

Lowering Taxable Value Protects Your Largest Investment

High property taxes are certainly bad if the owner wishes to sell their home, but they are even worse if they want to keep it. This is especially true in high-demand counties like Harris, Travis, Dallas, and Denton. Investors, home flippers, and corporate landlords can disrupt existing neighborhoods. This leads to gentrification in many traditional communities and can price out seniors, the disabled, and working people. Appeals are one of the best ways to keep these challenges in check. This will allow owners to sell their home at a better price later or give them a higher level of equity that they can borrow from. Money saved on taxes can also be used for improvements, which can then be used to raise their market value even more.

Too Good to be True?

While these seem like wins for taxpayers and relief from out-of-control spending, the practicality of abolishing school taxes and the other proposals is certainly questionable. As Texas has no income tax, the budget shortfalls would have to be made up with increases to the sales tax, which is already high in Texas. This puts pressure on the entire community, regardless of economic status. There is debate about whether the increased sales tax would actually exceed the savings handed down by eliminating school taxes. Currently, the state of Texas is funding school districts to make up for current tax cuts. This should work, as long as the state government is in a surplus, but if things reverse, there will be little that local governments can do to restore funding.

Dan Patrick Offers an Alternative

The Lt. Governor, Dan Patrick, is also targeting tax relief, albeit in a more reserved manner. The main trust is Operation Double Nickel, which brings down the over-65 exemption to the age of 55, significantly increasing the population that can benefit from the reduction. In addition, the standard homestead exemption would increase once again, jumping to $180,000, offering large savings to homeowners of all ages. The Double Nickel proposal could meet things halfway between the unsustainable status quo and the overzealous complete removal of school taxes. It looks like this debate may come down to the voter, so it will be up to property owners to decide how things should go. This is as it should be, as Texans being empowered to control their taxes is a noble goal.

About O'Connor:
O’Connor is one of the largest property tax consulting firms, representing 185,000 clients in 49 states and Canada, handling about 295,000 protests in 2024, with residential property tax reduction services in Texas, Illinois, Georgia, and New York. O’Connor’s possesses the resources and market expertise in the areas of property tax, cost segregation, commercial and residential real estate appraisals. The firm was founded in 1974 and employs a team of 1,000 worldwide. O’Connor’s core focus is enriching the lives of property owners through cost effective tax reduction.

Property owners interested in assistance appealing their assessment can enroll in O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program ™. There is no upfront fee, or any fee unless we reduce your property taxes, and easy online enrollment only takes 2 to 3 minutes.

Patrick O'Connor, President
O'Connor
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