AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s Tax Proposal

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is advocating for a reduction in the age for seniors to qualify for property tax exemptions, moving it from 65 down to 55. This initiative, which he’s calling “Operation Double Nickel,” has the potential to reduce tax bills for over a million homeowners by hundreds of dollars.

This approach contrasts with Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent push to fully eliminate property taxes for school districts, which has become a key part of his policy agenda.

Patrick expressed that this plan is a unique avenue to further decrease property taxes and do so more quickly for many homeowners, which seems to be a positive move in his view.

In response, Abbott’s spokesman, Andrew Maharelis, stated that Abbott remains committed to his tax strategy for 2026.

Maharelis conveyed that Abbott looks forward to collaborating with Patrick, the Speaker, and Congress on policies aimed at giving taxpayers greater control over their property taxes, restricting local government expenditures, reducing property assessment rises, and erasing school district property taxes for homeowners.

This year, legislation increased the homeowner exemption from $140,000 for those under 65 to $200,000 for those 65 and older. Patrick is suggesting an additional rise of $40,000 for both groups in the upcoming 2027 legislative session.

Additionally, he mentioned a desire to freeze the taxable value of homes for homeowners aged 55 and above.

During a Capitol session on Tuesday, Patrick warned that abolishing school district property taxes could lead to sales tax hikes of up to 15 cents, nearly double what it is now. Full elimination of property taxes could push sales tax rates as high as 26 cents, a scenario he believes most Texans would find unacceptable.

“I don’t think that’s realistic,” he remarked, expressing skepticism about the feasibility of such measures.

Abbott introduced his tax plan last month during a campaign launch in Houston. Central to his agenda is limiting local tax increases through mandatory elections and empowering voters to lower tax rates.

His proposal aims to cap home assessment increases at 3%, which Patrick has opposed, fearing it might limit housing market activity.

“Hardly anyone moves. When you’re not selling or building homes, it affects the economy. They don’t move because they lose their cap,” Patrick explained, pointing to the economic implications of such a policy.

While Patrick has yet to define other components of his proposal, he has indicated a general aim to reduce city taxes without going into specifics. For now, the primary focus remains on lowering the exemption age for seniors to 55.

Patrick shared a light-hearted perspective, saying, “You can go to Denny’s and feed your grandkids breakfast, but you don’t want a 55-year-old to feel old. They consider you a senior.”

Given that the average age of homeowners in Texas is 58, lowering the exemption age could qualify around 3.3 million of the 6.1 million homeowners in the state, according to Patrick.