GEORGETOWN — Williamson County’s chief appraiser is working to clear up some confusion about homestead-audit legislation, which requires verification of homestead exemptions at least every five years to confirm recipients still qualify.
“The opinion out there is we’re going to yank your exemption if you don’t apply once every five years, but that is not what’s happening,” said Alvin Lankford, chief appraiser for the Williamson Central Appraisal District. Lankford, who made his comments during a June 3 Commissioners Court meeting, added, “Social media being what it is, and tax agents and Realtors out there talking about this, the process has been misconstrued.”
Some counties require an annual homestead exemption to be filed, but Lankford noted Williamson County is not one of those entities. Williamson County only requires a onetime filing of a homestead exemption unless residents move to a new home, need to apply for additional exemptions (such as over the age of 65 or a disability), or if WCAD specifically asks for reapplication.
An outside company audits all the homesteads in the county annually. That company flags any properties that might have a dual homestead or another homestead in another county or state.
The flagged properties, which Lankford said represent less than 4% of the properties in Williamson County, are then sent a letter asking for reapplication.
Lankford noted that while there are companies making a business of monitoring residents’ homestead exemptions and willing to intercede, their services might not always be needed.
“They’re signing up a lot of people … They will also apply for your homestead exemption for you. Seems like a great service, right?” Lankford said.
However, the process for a resident to do that on the appraisal district website, wcad.org, takes three to five minutes, he
“
Process ‘misconstrued’ by social media, others”
-Alvin Lankford, Chief Appraiser for the Williamson Central Appraisal District
said. If there are questions or concerns, videos are also available on the website.
“This is not a hard process … Don’t pay someone $250 or more to file to your homestead,” Lankford said.
The new appraisal notices for 2025 have the addition of a QR code. If a resident doesn’t know how to fill out something on the application, “the QR code is their friend,” Lankford said.
If a resident has lost their appraised value notice, that can also be located on the website. Lankford also added when Williamson County homeowners receive an appraisal notice, they also receive a sales-comparison grid.
“We’re the only county in the state of Texas that is transparent with our values. We’re letting everyone know that these are the three to five comparable sales that we use to value your property,” Lankford said.
This information can also be viewed on the website under Market Data Map on the Property Owner Dashboard page.
As one of the fastest growing counties in the state, Williamson County property taxes have increased rapidly, officials said, but relief could be coming too.
Homeowners this November will be asked to vote on state Senate Bill 4, which raises the amount of homestead exemptions from $100,000 to
$140,000. In addition, House Bill 9 will raise exemptions to $125,000 for business-owned properties.
Meanwhile, in the previous Commissioners Court meeting May 20:
• An agreement between Coupland and Williamson County Sheriff’s Department for off-duty deputy services was approved by
the court.
• In Taylor, an agreement was reached between Williamson County and the city for Community Development Block Grant funding for construction of water-line improvements and a SmartWave Wi-Fi project for the Williamson County Expo Center on Bill Pickett Trail.
