Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0470

July 3, 2024

The Honorable John R. Gillespie
Wichita County Criminal District Attorney
900 Seventh Street
Wichita Falls, Texas 76301-2482

Opinion No. KP-0470

Re: Calculation of the limitation of school tax on homesteads of the elderly or disabled
under Texas Tax Code section 11.26 (RQ-0528-KP)

Dear Mr. Gillespie:

You seek our opinion regarding the calculation of the ceiling on the school taxes that may
be imposed on the homestead of certain elderly or disabled persons under Tax Code section 11.26. 1
You state that section 11.26 was enacted in 1997 to “put into place the limitation (ceiling)
established” by article VIII, subsection 1-b(d), Texas Constitution. Request Letter at 1; see TEX.
CONST. art. VIII, § 1-b(d) (prohibiting the total amount of ad valorem taxes imposed on a
homestead by a school district from being increased while the property remains the homestead of
a person who is disabled or sixty-five years of age or older). You describe the calculation as the
lower of the tax levies imposed in “both the first and second year after a homestead qualifie[s]
. . . .” Request Letter at 1; see also TEX. TAX CODE § 11.26(a). You explain that in 2021, Senate
Bill 12 amended section 11.26 to add additional subsections that “recalculate the ceiling based on
[certain] reductions in school tax rate from 2019 forward.” Request Letter at 1; see also TEX. TAX
CODE § 11.26(a-5)–(a-9). You note the recalculation is based on the first year of homestead
qualification rather than on a comparison between the first and second-year levies and you indicate
that you therefore believe the two methods of calculation conflict. Request Letter at 1.

1
See Letter from Honorable John R. Gillespie, Wichita Cnty. Crim. Dist. Att’y, to Honorable Ken Paxton,
Tex. Att’y Gen. at 1 (Jan. 4, 2024), https://texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/request-files/request/2024/
RQ528KP.pdf (“Request Letter”).
The Honorable John R. Gillespie - Page 2

The historical relationship between Tax Code section 11.26 and subsection 11.13(c)

For context, it is important to understand some of the interplay between Tax Code section
11.26 and subsection 11.13(c). The ceiling in Tax Code section 11.26 involves the tax exemption
provided by subsection 11.13(c), which entitles an eligible person who is disabled or who is sixty-
five or older to an additional exemption from school taxes on their homestead residence. 2 TEX.
TAX CODE §§ 11.26(a), .13(c) (requiring school districts to provide an additional $10,000 residence
homestead exemption); see also TEX. CONST. art. VIII, § 1-b(c) (authorizing a tax exemption for
a disabled person or a person sixty-five years of age or older). Because Texas law as a general
matter makes a tax exemption effective on January 1 of a given year, historically the exemption in
subsection 11.13(c) did not become effective until January 1 of the year after the person qualified
for the exemption. See TEX. TAX CODE § 11.42(a) (providing that an exemption is determined by
an applicant’s qualifications on, and is applicable starting, January 1 of any given year); see also
ENROLLED BILL SUMMARY, Tex. S.B. 1437, 75th Leg., R.S. (1997) at 1.

In 1997, the Legislature changed the effective date of the subsection 11.13(c) exemption
from January 1 to “immediately on qualification” for those sixty-five and older and instituted a
mathematical formula to prorate the exemption for those who qualified for only a partial year. Act
of May 28, 1997, 75th Leg., R.S., ch. 1059, §§ 1, 6, 1997 Tex. Gen. Laws 4030, 4030, 4031–32
(then codified at TEX. TAX CODE §§ 11.42(b), 26.112). To further accommodate this change, the
same legislation amended subsection 11.26(a) to limit school taxes for those sixty-five and older
to the lesser amount of the taxes assessed the year a property owner turned sixty-five or those
assessed in the succeeding year. Id. § 3 at 4030 (codified at TEX. TAX CODE § 11.26(a)). This
framework remained in place until 1999.

Then in 1999, the Legislature again altered the timing aspect of qualifying for the
subsection 11.13(c) exemption to provide that it was effective on January 1 of the qualifying year
and applied to the entire year. See Act of May 30, 1999, 76th Leg., R.S., ch. 1481, § 3, 1999 Tex.
Gen. Laws 5097, 5098 (codified at TEX. TAX CODE § 11.42(c)); see also Act of May 29, 2003,
78th Leg., R.S., ch. 411, § 5, 2003 Tex. Gen. Laws 1658, 1660 (codified at TEX. TAX CODE
§ 26.10(b)) (extending this framework in 2003 to disabled individuals). This new framework
remains in effect today. In all of these changes, however, the Legislature did not eliminate the
language in subsection 11.26(a) that limited school district taxes to the lesser amount as between
those imposed the year of qualification or those imposed the following year.

2
The residence homestead exemption found in section 11.13 generally exempts a part of the value of a
person’s residence from specified taxes. TEX. TAX CODE § 11.13(a), (b) (requiring school districts to provide a
$100,000 exemption on a residence homestead); see also id. § 11.13(j)(1) (defining “[r]esidence homestead”).
The Honorable John R. Gillespie - Page 3

Pertinent to your question, in 2021 the Legislature added subsections (a-5) through (a-9) 3
to section 11.26. 4 See Act of Aug. 27, 2021, 87th Leg., 2d C.S., ch. 14, § 1, 2021 Tex. Gen. Laws
3959, 3959–62 (“Senate Bill 12”); Tex. S.J. Res. 2, 87th Leg., 2d C.S., 2021 Tex. Gen. Laws 3970,
3970–71 5 (proposing a constitutional amendment to lower the property tax ceiling to reflect school
district compressed rates). We hereinafter refer to these provisions collectively as the
“compression adjustment provisions.” It is the interplay between these provisions and the
surviving language in subsection 11.26(a) regarding the two-year comparison that prompts your
question.

Subsections 11.26(a-5) through 11.26(a-9) apply “notwithstanding” the language that
remains in subsection 11.26(a).

As noted, section 11.26 establishes a limit, or ceiling, on ad valorem taxes that a school
district may impose on the homestead of a disabled person or a person who is sixty-five or older.
TEX. TAX CODE § 11.26(a) (providing that the amount a school district may impose is “the amount
of the tax as limited by this section”). Its ceiling calculation first looks to the amount of tax “in the
first tax year in which the individual qualified” the residence homestead for the subsection 11.13(c)
exemption. Id. For those instances in which an individual’s tax burden is less in the year after first
qualifying for the exemption than in the qualifying year, subsection 11.26(a)’s ceiling calculation
provides that

[i]f the individual qualified that residence homestead for the
exemption after the beginning of that first year and the residence
homestead remains eligible for the same exemption for the next
year, and if the school district taxes imposed on the residence
homestead in the next year are less than the amount of taxes imposed
in that first year, a school district may not subsequently increase the
total annual amount of ad valorem taxes it imposes on the residence
homestead above the amount it imposed in the year immediately
following the first year for which the individual qualified that

3
For ease of discussion, we limit our discussion to subsections 11.26(a-5) through (a-9) as added by Senate
Bill 12. See Act of Aug. 27, 2021, 87th Leg., 2d C.S., ch. 14, § 1, 2021 Tex. Gen. Laws 3959, 3959–62. Though
included in Senate Bill 12, subsection (a-10) was later amended in 2023 and is forward-looking by applying to
individuals that first qualify for the tax limitation “in the 2024 or a subsequent tax year . . . .” TEX. TAX CODE § 11.26(a-
10). Subsection 11.26 also now includes subsections (a-11) through (a-12) that were added in 2023. See Act of July
13, 2023, 88th Leg., 2d C.S., ch. 1, § 3.01, 2023 Tex. Gen. Laws 4700, 4701–03. To the extent those provisions contain
language similar to what we construe herein, they would be construed similarly.
4
These provisions were intended to address property tax reduction inequities resulting from the passage of
legislation in 2019 that compressed the school maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate for most property taxpayers
but not for persons with an exemption for being disabled or sixty-five or older. See HOUSE RESEARCH ORGANIZATION,
BILL ANALYSIS, Tex. S.B. 12, 87th Leg., 2d C.S. (2021) at 4 (recognizing that while previous legislation “provided
relief for many homeowners, those who are disabled or elderly did not see the same benefits because of constitutional
limitations on property tax exemptions”). The new provisions “increase[d] property tax relief for those taxpayers by
providing compression for the tax ceiling from 2019 through 2023.” Id.
5
The proposed constitutional amendment to article VIII, section 1-b was approved by Texas voters. See TEX.
LEGIS. COUNCIL, AMENDMENTS TO THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION SINCE 1876 at 92 (May 2024),
https://www.tlc.texas.gov/docs/amendments/Constamend1876.pdf.
The Honorable John R. Gillespie - Page 4

residence homestead for the same exemption, except as provided by
Subsection (b). 6

Id. (footnote added).

But section 11.26 also contains the compression adjustment provisions in subsections (a-
5) through (a-9), which require a different set of calculations. Id. § 11.26(a-5)–(a-9). These
provisions are all similar but as an example, subsection (a-6) provides that

[n]otwithstanding the other provisions of this section, if in the 2023
tax year an individual qualifies for a limitation on tax increases
provided by this section on the individual’s residence homestead
and the first tax year the individual [or spouse] qualified for an
exemption under Section 11.13(c) for the same homestead was the
2019 tax year, the amount of the limitation provided by this section
on the homestead in the 2023 tax year is equal to the amount
computed by:

....

Id. § 11.26(a-6) (emphasis added). As indicated by the italicized language, the initial component
of these calculations identifies a specific starting year for the calculation. Id. Subsection (a-5)
identifies the starting year as a tax year prior to the 2019 tax year and subsections (a-7) through
(a-9) respectively identify the relevant starting tax year as 2020, 2021, and 2022. Id. § 11.26(a-5),
(a-7)–(a-9).

The second component in these calculations applies the compressed rate to each of the
intervening tax years after the starting year. 7 Technically, the computation for each of the (a-5)–
(a-9) compression adjustment provisions begins with subdivision (1) providing for the
multiplication of the taxable value of the homestead in the stated tax year by a specified rate to
account for the relevant compression adjustment. 8 Id. § 11.26(a-5)(1), (a-6)(1), (a-7)(1), (a-8)(1),

6
Subsection (b) allows a school district to increase the tax if certain improvements are made to the
individual’s residence homestead. TEX. TAX CODE § 11.26(b).
7
See id. § 11.26(a-5)(1)–(15) (providing subsequent calculation method for the compression adjustment for
the 2018 through 2023 tax years when the first year of qualification was a tax year before the 2019 tax year), 11.26(a-
6)(1)–(12) (providing subsequent calculation method for the compression adjustment for the 2019 through 2023 tax
years when the first year of qualification was the 2019 tax year), 11.26(a-7)(1)–(9) (providing subsequent calculation
method for the compression adjustment for the 2020 through 2023 tax years when the first year of qualification was
the 2020 tax year), 11.26(a-8)(1)–(6) (providing subsequent calculation method for the compression adjustment for
the 2021 through 2023 tax years when the first year of qualification was the 2021 tax year), 11.26(a-9)(1)–(3)
(providing subsequent calculation method for compression adjustment for the 2022 and 2023 tax years when the first
year of qualification was the 2022 tax year).
8
The first in the sequence, subsection 11.26(a-5), uses a multiplier for subdivision (1) as the “tax rate equal
to the difference between the school district’s tier one maintenance and operations rate for the 2018 tax year and the
district’s maximum compressed rate for the 2019 tax year[.]” Id. § 11.26(a-5)(1). Subsequent subsections all use the
(continued…)
The Honorable John R. Gillespie - Page 5

(a-9)(1). Then, each subdivision (2) provides that the amount calculated in subdivision (1) is
subtracted from the amount of “tax the district imposed” in a specified year, with that specified
year being the tax year specified as the first year of qualification. Id. § 11.26(a-5)(2), (a-6)(2), (a-
7)(2), (a-8)(2), (a-9)(2).

The key point is that because this step in the compression adjustment calculation starts with
the taxes imposed only in the first year the person qualified for the exemption and cascades from
that year on, the compression adjustment provisions do not account for a lesser amount of taxes
that might have been imposed in the second year the person qualified for the exemption. 9 Said
differently, nothing in the calculations in subsection (a-5) through (a-9) incorporate a lower ceiling
that a property owner may have had in the year after the first year the person qualified under the
two-year comparison under subsection 11.26(a). Accordingly, a person entitled to a lower ceiling
under subsection 11.26(a) for the specified tax years does not have the benefit of that two-year
comparison for the lower ceiling as the starting point for the compression adjustment. Hence, the
appearance of an apparent statutory conflict between the tax ceiling calculation method in
subsection 11.26(a) and the calculation employed by subsections (a-5) through (a-9).

That said, the plain text of subsections 11.26(a-5) through (a-9) resolves what would
otherwise be a conflict. Each subsection begins with the phrase “[n]otwithstanding the other
provisions of this section[.]” Id. § 11.26(a-5)–(a-9). The use of the word “notwithstanding”
indicates that the Legislature intended these subsections to be controlling. In re Lee, 411 S.W.3d
445, 454 (Tex. 2013) (citing Molinet v. Kimbrell, 356 S.W.3d 407, 413–14 (Tex. 2011) (holding
that a “notwithstanding any other law” provision evidenced clear legislative intent to resolve any
interpretation conflicts in favor of the statute containing the provision)); see also Tex. Att’y Gen.
Op. No. KP-0287 (2020) at 4 (recognizing that “the word ‘notwithstanding’ means ‘despite’ or ‘in
spite of’” (quoting State v. Pub. Util. Comm’n, 110 S.W.3d 580, 586 (Tex. App.—Austin 2003,
no pet.))). The compression adjustment provisions in subsections 11.26(a-5) through (a-9) 10 thus
control over subsection 11.26(a) in the event of a conflict. Accordingly, a court would likely
conclude that the school tax ceiling calculation should be computed without reference to the two-
year comparison in subsection 11.26(a). 11

same language to identify the multiplier in their respective subdivision (1): “tax rate equal to the difference between
the school district’s maximum compressed rate for the [tax year specified in the initial provision] year and the district’s
maximum compressed rate for the [subsequent] tax year[.]” Id. § 11.26(a-6)(1), (a-7)(1), (a-8)(1), (a-9)(1).
9
Subsequent compression adjustment calculation steps do refer to “tax[es] imposed in the 2019 tax year
attributable to improvements made in the 2018 tax year,” but this language refers to an additional amount allowed
beyond the ceiling. Id. § 11.26(a-5)(3), (b) (emphasis added) (authorizing a school district to increase that tax on the
homestead “[i]f an individual makes improvements” to the residence homestead); see supra note 6.
10
See supra note 3.
11
We note however that these provisions are only effective until January 1, 2025. See Act of July 13, 2023,
88th Leg., 2d C.S., ch.1, § 3.15(b), 2023 Tex. Gen. Laws 4700, 4706 (repealing subsections 11.26(a-5) through (a-9)
effective January 1, 2025).
The Honorable John R. Gillespie - Page 6

S U M M A R Y

Tax Code section 11.26 sets a ceiling on the taxes a school
district may impose on individuals qualifying for a property tax
exemption as a disabled person or person sixty-five or older under
Tax Code subsection 11.13(c). Subsection 11.26(a) includes a
computation that compares the amount of tax imposed in the first
and second year the person qualifies for the exemption. The
computation of that ceiling under other provisions in section 11.26
that adjust for the Legislature’s compression of school district
maintenance and operations taxes (subsections (a-5) through (a-9))
does not include the two-year comparison set forth in subsection
11.26(a). But each of these compression adjustment provisions
apply “notwithstanding” the other provisions of section 11.26.
Accordingly, they control over the two-year comparison in
subsection 11.26(a), and the school tax ceiling should be computed
pursuant to those subsections without reference to the two-year
comparison.

Very truly yours,

KEN PAXTON
Attorney General of Texas

BRENT WEBSTER
First Assistant Attorney General

LESLEY FRENCH
Chief of Staff

D. FORREST BRUMBAUGH
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

AUSTIN KINGHORN
Chair, Opinion Committee

CHARLOTTE M. HARPER
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee