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Read. Follow. Verify.Texas HB 53 caps interest on deferred property taxes for seniors and disabled homeowners at five percent
Last action · July 14, 2025: FiledSponsor: Mike Schofield
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 53 caps the annual interest rate on deferred or abated property taxes for qualifying residence homesteads at the lower of five percent or the reported by the Federal Reserve Board. The change applies to unpaid interest accrued before December 1, 2025, and all interest accruing on or after that date, taking effect December 1, 2025.
- Section 33.06 of the Texas Tax Code permits certain elderly or disabled homeowners, as well as qualified disabled veterans, to defer the collection of property taxes on their residence homesteads. context
- Ad valorem taxes are assessed based on the monetary value of an item, such as real estate property. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Homeowners with deferred property taxes
Property owners with deferred or abated ad valorem taxes are subject to a capped annual interest rate of no more than five percent.
Taxing units
Key Facts
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · introduced in the House.
Procedural history
1 action- Jul 14, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Capping Deferred Tax Interest
HB 53 transitions deferred property tax interest from standard section 33.01 rates to a dynamic benchmark tied to the five-year Constant Maturity Treasury Rate with a five percent ceiling.
Connected Entities
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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