23,509 single-family homes with a Baytown mailing address on HCAD's Harris County roll, how many have no homestead exemption on record, and the widest low-end appraisal range in this set.
Check your home FREE →| What HCAD's records show | Baytown | All of Harris County |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family homes counted (state class A1) | 23,509 | 1,157,293 |
| No homestead exemption on record | 5,808 (24.7%) | 328,310 (28.4%) |
| Median appraised value | $220,384 | $279,813 |
| Median appraised value per square foot | $95.32 | $111.97 |
| Middle 80% of homes, per square foot | $69.54 – $120.66 | $84.36 – $184.69 |
| Median year of the primary structure | 1980 | 1990 |
Against the county: 24.7% here versus 28.4% across all of Harris County (328,310 of 1,157,293 single-family homes) — Baytown runs 3.7 percentage points below the county rate.
5,808 of 23,509 Baytown-addressed homes — 24.7% — have no homestead exemption on record, against 28.4% countywide. Baytown also has the lowest median appraised value in this entire set, at $220,384, and the lowest median rate at $95.32 per square foot, well under the county's $111.97.
The number that deserves attention is the low end of the range. The middle 80% of Baytown homes run $69.54 to $120.66 per square foot. That $69.54 floor is the lowest in this set by a wide margin. In a mailing area where the median primary structure dates to about 1980, a floor that low usually reflects real differences in condition between houses of similar size and age — which is precisely the situation where a protest based on condition, supported by photographs and written repair estimates, has something concrete to work with.
The second implication is about dollars. A lower value base means the flat exemption amounts do proportionally more work here than anywhere else on this list: $140,000 off school-district taxable value under §11.13(b) is a much larger share of a $220,000 home than of a $975,000 one.
With a median structure year around 1980, a large share of Baytown homes are now 45 years old. Two consequences follow, and both are actionable.
First, condition is a legitimate protest ground and it is under-used. HCAD's mass appraisal cannot see a failing roof, foundation movement, or original 1980s systems. Dated photographs, written repair estimates and contractor bids are the evidence that makes that argument — and they need to be uploaded through your owners.hcad.org account ahead of the hearing, not brought to it.
Second, over-65. On homes at this value level, the additional $60,000 school exemption under §11.13(c) plus the §11.26 school tax ceiling can be a large fraction of the school-district line. Neither is automatic, and neither is granted just because you already have the general homestead exemption — they are separate boxes on the same free form.
There are three ways to file, and all three are held to that same deadline: online through iFile at owners.hcad.org, by mail, or in person at Harris Central Appraisal District, 13013 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77040-6305. Online is the only route that connects to iSettle, HCAD's electronic settlement-offer process, which resolves a large share of protests without a hearing.
The full walkthrough lives in our free guides rather than being repeated on every area page: the complete Harris County protest guide, how to file online through HCAD iFile, and what actually happens at an ARB hearing. If the deadline has already passed, §41.44(b) late protests and the other remedies are covered honestly there, including what they do not cover.
Exemptions are separate from a protest, they are free to file, and they are not filed through iFile. For most households they are also the bigger number — a protest argues about value, an exemption takes value out of the tax base outright.
| Exemption | What it does | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| General residence homestead | $140,000 off the value your school district taxes, on a home you own and live in as your main residence | Tax Code §11.13(b) |
| Age 65 or older, or disabled | Another $60,000 off school-district value on top of the $140,000. From any one taxing unit you take the age-65 or the disability exemption — not both (§11.13(h)) | Tax Code §11.13(c) |
| Filing homestead late | A late residence homestead application must be accepted and decided if it is filed within two years of the delinquency date for those taxes; tax already paid is refunded without a separate application | Tax Code §11.431 |
| Filing disabled-veteran late | Disabled veterans get a far longer window — up to five years after the delinquency date | Tax Code §11.439 |
Full detail on each: the homestead exemption guide, the over-65 exemption and school tax ceiling, and the disabled-veteran exemptions.
Only if your Notice of Appraised Value comes from Harris Central Appraisal District. Baytown extends into Chambers County, which HCAD does not appraise. Homes on the Chambers side are handled by the Chambers County Appraisal District, protested there, and are not reflected in any figure on this page.
It can, but only if you show it. HCAD appraises in bulk and cannot see the condition of an individual house. A condition-based protest is built from dated photographs, written repair estimates and contractor bids for the specific defects — a failing roof, foundation movement, original plumbing or electrical. Upload that evidence through owners.hcad.org before your hearing date.
Texas Tax Code §41.44 sets it at May 15, or the 30th day after HCAD delivered your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is LATER. It is not always May 15 — if your notice arrived late, the later date is the one that governs. You can file online through iFile at owners.hcad.org, by mail, or in person at Harris Central Appraisal District, 13013 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77040-6305.
Yes. Checking what HCAD has on record for your home costs nothing and takes about a minute. Filing an exemption — homestead, over-65, disability, veteran, disaster — is also free: HCAD publishes the application as Form 11.13 and the Texas Comptroller publishes the identical form as 50-114, both at no charge. Anyone charging you a fee to file a homestead exemption is charging you for a free government form.
No. We are not attorneys and not tax agents, and we do not represent anyone before HCAD or the Appraisal Review Board. We prepare the forms and the comparable-property evidence; you file it yourself under your own account. iFile requires your own login tied to your own account number and PIN, so the protest stays on your own record.
Last updated: July 31, 2026. Property figures computed from Harris Central Appraisal District's public appraisal roll (single-family state class A1, vacant-lot records excluded), joined to HCAD's exemption records. Sources: Harris Central Appraisal District, hcad.org and owners.hcad.org; Texas Tax Code §41.44, §11.13, §11.431 and §11.439. This page is general information for Harris County homeowners, not legal or tax advice. Appraisal figures reflect the roll as loaded and change every year — verify your own account with HCAD before you rely on anything here.