First Home in Texas? HB 1130 Would Take Up to $3,000 Off the Tax Bill

You saved for years. You finally got the keys. Then the first tax bill showed up.

A bill filed in Austin this week says the state should knock up to $3,000 off that first bill. One time. For your first home.

Plain English summary

State Rep. Salman Bhojani filed HB 1130 on November 12, 2026. It creates a one-time property tax credit for a person who buys a home and claims it as a homestead for the first time.

The credit is capped at $3,000, or half your tax bill, whichever is smaller. You get it once in your life. You apply through your appraisal district.

He also filed HJR 75, a constitutional amendment. HB 1130 only works if Texas voters approve that amendment on November 2, 2027.

Why it matters

Ask any young couple in Longview, Tyler, Marshall, or Gilmer what the hardest part of buying a house is. Most will tell you it is not the down payment. It is everything after it. Insurance. Escrow. And a property tax bill that can eat a month of take home pay.

Texas has no state income tax. We pay for local government with property taxes. That system lands hardest on the family that just stretched every dollar to close.

A one-time credit does not fix that. But it is aimed at the right person.

The receipt

FACT: HB 1130 was filed November 12, 2026. Author: Bhojani. Source: Texas Legislature Online bill history.

FACT: The bill adds Section 31.039 to the Tax Code. A person who has never before qualified a property as a residence homestead gets a credit in the first tax year after the year they bought the home. Source: HB 1130 as filed.

FACT: Each taxing unit's share of the credit is the lesser of (1) $3,000 times that unit's share of your total tax bill, or (2) half of that unit's taxes. Same source.

DOCUMENTED INFERENCE: Add the units up and the total works out to $3,000 or half your whole bill, whichever is less. A $6,000 tax bill gets $3,000 back. A $4,000 bill gets $2,000.

FACT: You must apply to the chief appraiser with an affidavit, by the homestead exemption deadline. A denial can be protested like a homestead denial. Once you get it, you never get it again. Same source.

FACT: The bill changes Government Code 403.302 so the credit does not count against a school district in the state's property value study. Same source.

FACT: HJR 75 would add Section 1-q to Article VIII of the Texas Constitution. It also lets the Legislature use state money to reimburse local governments for what the credit costs them. The election is set for November 2, 2027. Source: HJR 75 as filed.

FACT: HB 1130 takes effect January 1, 2028, only if voters pass the amendment. Source: HB 1130, Section 4.

What Ryan says

I am for this idea. I want to see the price tag.

Here is what I like. It is targeted. It does not hand a check to the investor buying his tenth rental. It goes to the family buying their first place. That is who gets squeezed the hardest in East Texas right now.

Here is what I want answered. Who pays for it? HJR 75 says the state may reimburse cities, counties, and school districts. May is not shall. If Austin passes a credit and does not fund it, your county eats the cost. And when your county eats a cost, it finds a way to bill you for it next year.

So show me the fiscal note. Show me how many first-time buyers Texas has each year. Show me the dollar figure. Then fund it in full or tell the counties the truth.

And one more thing. A one-time credit is a nice welcome mat. It is not a fix. The fix is a tax bill that does not climb faster than a paycheck. I will keep saying that.

What this does not prove

It does not prove the bill will get a hearing. It was just filed.

It does not prove the amendment will pass. That takes two thirds of both chambers, then the voters.

It does not prove the state will reimburse local governments. The amendment allows it. It does not require it.

There is no fiscal note posted yet. I am not going to guess the cost.

What it does prove

A member of the Texas House put a first-time homebuyer tax credit in writing, with a dollar cap, an application process, and a constitutional amendment to back it.

That is on the record now. Every member can be asked where they stand.

The bottom line

Help the family buying their first house. Pay for it honestly. Do not shift the bill to the county and call it relief.

Read the bill. Ask your representative where they stand.

Do not threaten anyone. Do not harass anyone. Do not contact anyone in my name. Read it. Share it. Send receipts, evidence, witnesses. Put eyes on the record.