If you own a home in DFW, you have a stake in what the Texas Legislature does with property tax in 2027. And after this week, the direction is clearer than it has been in years.
Governor Abbott's property tax reform proposal has already secured majority support in the Texas House. Now, Texas Scorecard reports, State Senators Bob Hall and Bryan Hughes have become the first senators to publicly join him at events promoting the plan. It's still not a done deal. But it's no longer a trial balloon either.
Here's what's actually in it, what the competing Senate proposal looks like, and what I'd want any DFW homeowner thinking about buying, selling, or holding to understand.
What Abbott is proposing
The Abbott plan is not a small tweak. Per the reporting, it would:
- Require two-thirds voter approval for any local property tax increase, including bond elections
- Impose new limits on local government spending
- Expand taxpayers' ability to force rollback elections
- Lower appraisal caps
- Ultimately allow voters to abolish school district property taxes on homesteads through a constitutional amendment
Abbott's framing at events in Canton and Bullard this week was blunt: "The state should fund public education, not your homestead. The amount that you would pay in your property tax bill for school districts is $0. That would be forever."
For context, the homestead exemption has grown from $15,000 when Abbott took office to $140,000 today. Abbott's argument is that Texans still don't feel lasting relief because appraisals and local government spending keep outrunning the exemption growth. That's a fair description of what a lot of DFW homeowners in Frisco, Prosper, and Celina have experienced firsthand as their appraisal notices climbed year after year.
What the Senate is looking at instead
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is championing a narrower package. Per the reporting, his plan would:
- Increase the homestead exemption by an additional $40,000
- Extend senior-style property tax freezes to homeowners starting at age 55
- Cap city and county budget growth at 3.5%
Patrick's argument for the narrower plan is that it costs less (projected under $4 billion per biennium), and he has warned that fully abolishing school district property taxes could require a meaningful hike to the state sales tax to backfill the lost revenue.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows's office has said property tax reform will be prioritized next session and that the "final legislative package will be the most significant in modern history," without endorsing either specific plan.
What this means for a DFW homeowner
I want to be clear that nothing is passed. This is a governor's proposal, a competing Senate framework, and a Speaker's office saying "we're going to do something big." But here's how I'd think about it if I were a DFW owner or buyer:
If you're holding
If you own a homestead in Collin or Denton County where your annual property tax bill is $10K, $15K, or $25K, the range of outcomes here matters to your monthly cost of ownership. Under Patrick's plan, a $40K exemption bump saves you a few hundred dollars a year in most DFW ISDs. Under Abbott's plan, if school district property taxes on homesteads eventually go to zero, the savings for a $700K Frisco or Prosper home could be in the low five figures annually. Very different numbers. Both are possible.
If you're buying
Don't underwrite your mortgage decision assuming either plan will pass. The right approach is to qualify at today's full tax rate and treat any future relief as upside. That said, the political direction of travel is pretty clearly toward some form of homestead relief in 2027. That's a tailwind for a long-term owner, not something to gamble on for a short-term flip.
If you're selling
I'd expect buyer questions this fall about "when will property tax reform happen?" My honest answer is nobody knows. What I'd advise sellers to do is stop leaving property-tax uncertainty as a silent objection in a buyer's head. If your listing has a manageable tax bill, put it in the marketing. If your bill is high, be ready to talk about protest history and comparable neighborhood assessments.
What I'd watch next
Three signals I'd track before the session opens:
1. Whether more Senate Republicans publicly align with Abbott or with Patrick. Right now Hall and Hughes are the only two publicly on Abbott's side. That number moving is the leading indicator.
2. What the House files as its opening bill in 2027. The 89 candidates who signed Abbott's pledge suggest a specific-sounding piece of legislation is coming.
3. How Patrick handles the sales-tax question publicly. If a compromise emerges, that's likely where the seam runs.
The one line to remember
The current property tax framework in Texas is going to change in 2027. What we don't know is which version of "change" we get. That's not a reason to freeze. It's a reason to run your numbers on both scenarios and know how each would affect your buy, sell, or hold decision.
If you want to talk through what your specific DFW property tax situation looks like under each proposal and what that means for a 2026 or 2027 move, that's the conversation I'd want to have.
Source: Abbott's Property Tax Plan Gains First Senate Backers — Texas Scorecard, June 2026 · by Brandon Waltens
“For a DFW homeowner whose property tax bill runs $10K, $15K, or $25K a year, this isn't political theater. It's a number on your budget.”
