By VJ Muthuraman · EverKin Realty Group · Brokered by eXp Realty. I'm a DFW realtor, not a veteran or a lender. Built from VA and Texas Comptroller sources.
The Texas Veteran Homebuyer Checklist
Every step in order, from your VA loan to your property tax exemption.
Get your Certificate of Eligibility first.
Before you shop for homes or lenders, find out what benefit you have.
Request your COE.
Your Certificate of Eligibility shows your entitlement. You can request it online at VA.gov, then go over it with a VA-approved lender.
You can use it more than once.
With entitlement left, or entitlement the VA restores after you sell and pay off the old loan, you may be able to use the benefit again, even while you still have another VA loan. It's for a home you'll live in, and the lender's requirements still apply.
No VA loan limit with full entitlement.
With full entitlement, the VA sets no loan limit. Your lender still decides what you can afford, and the appraisal has to support the price. With partial entitlement, your county's loan limit affects how much entitlement you have left.
Compare at least two VA lenders.
Rates, payments and what you qualify for come from a VA lender, not from me. Talk to more than one.
The VA doesn't set a minimum credit score.
Lenders do, and they're not all the same. 620 is a number you'll hear a lot: it's a lender's number, not a VA rule.
No PMI.
VA loans have no private mortgage insurance. And eligible veterans with a service-connected disability, and eligible surviving spouses, usually don't pay the VA funding fee.
2025 data: 8.2% of VA purchase applications were denied.
vs 15.0% conventional, 12.8% FHA and 12.5% USDA (2025 HMDA data). That describes who applied, not your odds: VA applicants are a different group.
Texas has its own veteran home loans.
The Texas Veterans Land Board offers home loans for veterans. Ask your lender whether one fits you.
Ask each lender
Check the home's tax districts before you offer.
Find out which taxing districts this home sits in. It changes what your exemption covers.
MUD and MMD taxes: covered by the 100% exemption.
The 100% exemption applies to special districts as well as cities, counties and school districts, so the MUD or MMD tax rate on your homestead is covered. Some MMDs also charge assessments, and a district's water or sewer bill isn't a tax: the exemption doesn't cover either.
A PID is different.
A PID charges an assessment, not a tax, and Texas PID law has no veteran exemption. Expect to still pay it, and read the PID's assessment plan for the amount.
Ask the builder or seller's agent
Know which exemption fits your rating.
Texas has two disabled veteran exemptions. Which one you get depends on your VA rating.
100% rating: the full value of your home.
If the VA pays you 100% disability compensation, based on a 100% rating or individual unemployability, Texas exempts the total appraised value of the home you live in, your residence homestead. Not other property you own.
Lower rating: $5,000 to $12,000 off the value.
Surviving spouse? Ask about these.
A surviving spouse who hasn't remarried may also qualify for the 100% exemption. On a newly bought home it's capped at the dollar amount of the previous home's exemption, so it may not cover the full value: ask your appraisal district.
Apply at your appraisal district.
Once you own the home and live in it, file with the appraisal district in the county where the home is.
Use the form for your rating.
The 100% exemption doesn't wait for January.
Buying mid-year? It can start once the new home qualifies as your homestead.
Ask your appraisal district
This is what the rules say and where to file. Your lender decides your loan; your appraisal district decides your exemption.
Have a Texas home in mind?
Bring it, or the community, to a 15–20 minute Zoom call with me, no obligation. We'll go through:
- Whether it sits in a MUD, MMD or PID, and which questions to take to your appraisal district.
- Which questions to take to your VA lender.
- Which parts of DFW fit what you want.
214-727-6680 text or call
vj@everkinrealtygroup.comVJ Muthuraman · EverKin Realty Group · Brokered by eXp Realty
Know a veteran who's buying a home in Texas? Send them this checklist. And to everyone who served: thank you.
Every line has a source.
VA loan
- VA News, "Veterans can use their VA-guaranteed home loan benefit more than once" (news.va.gov).
- VA.gov, VA home loan entitlement and limits: COE, no VA minimum credit score, no loan limit with full entitlement.
- VA Loan Guaranty Service, VA Home Loan Overview (one page): no PMI or MIP; no funding fee for eligible service-connected disabled veterans and eligible surviving spouses.
- 2025 HMDA Modified LAR, home-purchase loans, analyzed by Vetted VA with Polygon Research (2026 VA Loan White Paper).
Texas property tax
- Texas Comptroller, 100 Percent Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse FAQ (Tax Code §11.131).
- Texas Comptroller, Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Exemptions FAQ (Tax Code §11.22, Form 50-135); the 100% FAQ (§11.131, Form 50-114).
- Texas Comptroller, Residence Homestead Exemptions table (Jan 2026): the 100% exemption is mandatory for special districts.
- Texas Local Government Code ch. 372 (public improvement districts).
- Texas Veterans Land Board, Loans for Veterans (vlb.texas.gov).
All sources read and saved Nov 11, 2026. Rules change; check with your lender and appraisal district.