Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has proposed a plan that would again raise homestead exemptions. Such a move would impact more than 3 million Texas homeowners. As Texas Public Radio reports, voters gave the OK last month to raise the school district homestead exemption to $140,000 and raise that of seniors to $200,000. The proposed "Operation Double Nickel" would increase those current exemptions by another $40,000. Patrick says the plan would also reduce the age of qualification for the senior homestead exemption from 65 to 55. "This means at age 55 you lock in a frozen value, and your tax bill will continue to drop as we increase the homestead exemption.
This exemption, by the way, stays with you as long as you own a home anywhere in Texas.” Patrick made his pitch during a news conference at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. But some of the most withering criticism comes from the well-known conservative think tank Texas Policy Research (TPR). The nonprofit agency describes Patrick’s plan as a political gimmick; a short-term band-aid approach that simply “shifts the financial burden to younger families, renters and businesses,” while doing nothing to address the core issues of reducing spending or shrinking tax rates. In short, TPR calls Patrick’s “operation Double Nickel” just another cycle of increased exemptions to create the illusion of action and reform.
Either way, Patrick says debate over the measure will be a top priority going into the 2027 legislative session since the Texas state legislature meets every other year, on odd numbered years for regular sessions.
The lieutenant governor also reasserted his position that property taxes cannot be totally eliminated in Texas, which puts him at odds with Governor Greg Abbott, a not wholly unfamiliar position. Patrick argues eliminating property taxes altogether, which has become a popular stance among Texas conservative circles, could backfire, and actually cause massive increases in sales taxes.
Speaking of Abbott, as he gears up for what would become an unprecedented fourth full term in office, the governor has called for the abolishment of school property taxes. For his part, Patrick refused to comment on the governor’s plan at this time, instead saying he looks forward to working with Abbott and House Speaker Dustin Burrows to reach an agreement on how to lower property taxes.
