Veterans Day posts usually stop at thank you, so here is something you can use. If you own a home in Burleson or are thinking about buying one anywhere in Texas, there is a second list of housing benefits sitting next to your VA loan. It is easy to miss because it is spread across several state and federal agencies. Not all of it will fit you, and some of it comes with a catch, so I will give you the catch first each time.
The catch: the Texas Veterans Land Board is a state program with state rules. You have to be a bona fide legal resident of Texas on the date you apply. On a home loan, the house must be your primary residence for at least three years, and you must move in within 60 days of closing. It is also not automatically the cheapest money available, so get a plain VA quote to compare it with.
With that said, the Land Board makes three kinds of loans:
A VA service-connected rating of 30 percent or higher gets a discounted rate on the home and home improvement loans. I am not printing rates here because they move, and the Land Board adjusts its home improvement base rate weekly. Check the current number on the General Land Office site. I covered how this fits with a VA purchase in my Burleson VA loan guide.
The catch: this only reaches back to years you actually qualified, and you have to ask for it. Nobody is going to find you.
Texas Tax Code Section 11.439 lets a disabled veteran file late for the 100 percent exemption, the partial exemption and the donated home exemption, up to five years after the delinquency date for the taxes on that property. If it is approved after the bills have gone out, the collector adjusts the bill. If the tax was already paid, the collector refunds it to whoever owned the property when it was paid, within 60 days of being notified.
Here is why I am telling you this in November. Texas property taxes generally go delinquent on February 1. By my math, that puts the five-year limit for tax year 2021 at about February 1, 2027. Confirm your exact date with your appraisal district, because a late-mailed bill can shift the delinquency date. If your rating goes back that far and you never filed, this is worth a call this month to your appraisal district or a veterans service officer.
That five-year window is written for disabled veterans. Surviving spouses have a shorter one on the homestead exemptions, so do not assume it carries over. The amounts and tiers are in my statewide exemption guide.
The catch: this is value off the appraisal, not dollars off the bill. It saves you the amount times your tax rate, which is modest.
The partial exemption normally runs from $5,000 to $12,000 by rating. Under Section 11.22, a veteran who is 65 or older with a rating of at least 10 percent gets the full $12,000, wherever the rating sits in that table. The same goes for a veteran who is totally blind in one or both eyes or has lost the use of a limb.
Two more details people skip. This exemption can go on any one property you own, not just your homestead, as long as you are a Texas resident and use the same property for every taxing unit. And it stacks with the $140,000 school district homestead exemption. They are not alternatives.
The catch: these programs have income limits, a 620 minimum credit score on government loans, and their own rates. A VA loan already needs no down payment, so assistance is only worth it if the total deal beats a plain VA quote. Ask for both side by side.
The catch: these are narrow. They are tied to specific service-connected disabilities, and most veterans will not qualify. If you might, though, the numbers are large.
The VA's page currently lists a Specially Adapted Housing grant of up to $126,526 and a Special Home Adaptation grant of about $25,350. Those are the fiscal year 2026 figures. Fiscal year 2027 began October 1 and the amounts adjust yearly with construction costs, so confirm the current amount with the VA. The grants can be used up to six times over a lifetime, and there is a temporary version for adapting a family member's home where you are living for now. The application is VA Form 26-4555.
If you are receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability, you are generally exempt from the VA funding fee. That is any rating that pays compensation, not just 100 percent. Check that your Certificate of Eligibility shows it before you close. Details are in my funding fee post.
I am a REALTOR, not a lender, tax professional or attorney. Confirm your own situation with your lender, your appraisal district, a veterans service officer or a tax professional.
The General Land Office says veterans combining VA-backed benefits with its home loan program may qualify with no down payment and no private mortgage insurance. You must be a bona fide Texas resident on the date you apply, and the home must stay your primary residence for at least three years. Land loans are different: the Land Board is the lender and they are not done in conjunction with the VA.
Tax Code Section 11.439 allows a disabled veteran to file up to five years after the delinquency date for the taxes on the property, for the Section 11.131, 11.132 and 11.22 exemptions. If the tax was already paid, the collector refunds it to the person who owned the property when it was paid. Surviving spouses have a shorter window on the homestead exemptions, so confirm yours with your appraisal district.
Not always. My First Texas Home lets a qualified, honorably discharged veteran skip the first-time buyer requirement with a DD-214 if they have not already used that waiver on a mortgage revenue bond loan. Income limits, credit minimums and program rates still apply, so compare the offer with a plain VA quote from your lender.
Not sure which of these applies to you? Send me a note with the address you own or the area you are looking at and I will help you sort out what to ask your lender and your appraisal district. If the funding fee is your first question, start with who never pays it.
REALTOR® · BHHS PenFed Realty Texas
I help buyers and sellers across the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex — Fort Worth, Burleson, Southlake, Crowley and Keller, and the surrounding Dallas area. I write these because they are the questions I answer on the phone every week, and most people never get a straight answer to them. If you have one I have not covered, ask me — I will probably turn it into the next post.
