Texas woke up to a new map this morning.

James Talarico beat Ken Paxton in the race for the US Senate. He's the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Texas since 1988.

Gina Hinojosa beat Greg Abbott in the race for governor. She's the first Democrat to win that office in 36 years, and she's the first Latina elected governor of Texas.

Democrats led the rest of the statewide ballot late into the night too.

You can love it or hate it. If you own a home in North Texas, there's one fight you need to watch now, and it's the fight over your property tax bill.

Both Sides Ran on Your Tax Bill

Here's what most people missed in this race.

Both candidates for governor ran on cutting property taxes. They just picked two different ways to pay for it.

Abbott wanted to end school property taxes on homes. He also wanted to cap appraisal growth at 3 percent a year.

Hinojosa wants to end corporate tax breaks and use the savings to cut taxes on homes. Her stated goal is to end residential property taxes for good.

She also wants to send Texas households a one time payment of $1,500.

And she's put corporate home buyers on notice. In 2025, she filed a bill that would have stopped big corporate owners from holding more than 10 single family rental homes in Texas.

That bill didn't pass. The idea didn't die. It just won an election.

The Part Nobody Is Saying Out Loud

A governor can't cut your tax bill with a pen.

Texas has no state property tax. Your bill comes from your county, your city, and your school district.

The state can raise your exemptions. The state can cap what local governments charge. But each change takes a vote in the Texas Legislature, and the big ones take a change to the state constitution and a vote of the people.

Replacing just the school taxes that fund day to day operations would cost about $8.6 billion a year. Nobody has shown the full math on where that money comes from yet.

So here's the honest read. The direction in Austin changed last night. Your bill did not. Not yet.

The new governor takes office in January 2027. The next legislative session opens that same month. What happens in that building over the next two years will decide what you pay for the next ten.

Your 2026 Bill Is Already Set

The bill hitting mailboxes across North Texas right now was locked in months ago.

Last year, voters raised the school homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000. Homeowners who are 65 and older, or who live with a disability, get another $60,000 on top of that.

That's real money off your school taxes. But it only counts if the exemption is on file with your county appraisal district.

If you bought your home and never filed, you're paying tax on value the law says you don't owe tax on. Filing is free, and it takes one form.

Your 2026 bill is due when you get it. The last day to pay with no penalty is January 31, 2027.

The Dates That Decide Your 2027 Bill

Here's the calendar that matters now.

Your home's value for 2027 gets set on January 1. That's the number everything else builds on.

Your appraisal notice shows up in the spring. Read it the day it lands.

You have until about May 15 to protest that value. Miss that date and you live with the county's number for a full year.

Cities, counties, and school districts set their tax rates in late summer. That's when your real bill gets built.

And in January, the new session starts in Austin, with a new governor pushing to rewrite the whole system.

Protest your value. Watch the session. Those are your two levers, and both of them are free.

What This Means If You're Buying or Selling

Taxes are a monthly payment issue, not just a once a year bill.

On a North Texas home, property taxes can add hundreds of dollars a month to what you really pay. That's why two homes at the same price can cost two very different amounts to own.

If relief passes in Austin, homes get cheaper to hold, and buyers can stretch further. If it stalls, today's bills stay, and they keep climbing with values.

Smart buyers are already asking one question on every home. What are the taxes, and what's the plan to fight them?

What I'd Do This Week

Check that your homestead exemption is on file. It takes five minutes on your county appraisal district's site.

Pull your home's real value before the county picks a number for you. If the county's value runs high in the spring, you want your own proof ready.

And don't wait on Austin to save you. Protest every year. The homeowners who win are the ones who show up with proof, year after year.

Want to know what your home is really worth before the next appraisal lands? Get a free home value check from my team, and you'll have your number ready when tax season starts.