This one is misunderstood in both directions — people think it exempts the whole home, and people think it does nothing at all. It removes the value the device added, and that is worth having.
If panels put value on your appraised value, that added amount comes out of what you are taxed on. The house is still taxed. The addition is not.
Unlike the homestead exemption, which can be filed up to two years late, this one has no late-filing relief at all. Miss 30 April and you lose that whole year.
The form is 50-123 from the Texas Comptroller. HCAD's own version of the same application is numbered 11.27.
Texas law points this exemption at whoever owns the device, and since 2021 that works even if they do not own the land it sits on. What the law does not do is say anything at all about leases or power-purchase agreements.
Appraisal districts do not treat leased systems alike — some publish that they do not qualify. HCAD publishes nothing in either direction, so if your system is leased or on a power-purchase agreement, ring them and ask rather than assuming. That call is free and it is the honest answer to a question the statute leaves open.
No. It removes the added value the device put on the property. The rest of the home is taxed normally.
Nobody can tell you from the statute. §11.27 points the exemption at the owner of the device and says nothing about leases or power-purchase agreements. Some appraisal districts publish that leased systems do not qualify; HCAD publishes nothing either way. Ask HCAD directly.
No. Once the exemption is granted it continues; you do not file again each year.
Everything on this page is an exemption — it takes part of your home's value out of the tax, and applying is free.
A protest is the separate argument that HCAD's valuation is too high in the first place. You have that right every year, and our free check tells you whether it looks worth using.
Check my home free →Exemptions are free to file and always will be. The $39 do-it-yourself kit is for the separate job of protesting a value, and you never need it to claim an exemption.
Harris County, Texas. Statutory amounts and deadlines are set by law and can change; verify with HCAD or the Texas Comptroller before relying on any figure here. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.