Oklahoma Homestead Exemption: Amount, Deadline and How to Apply

Oklahoma's homestead exemption takes $1,000 off the assessed valuation of a qualifying owner-occupied home for all ad valorem (property) taxes, under 68 O.S. 2889. Households with gross income of $30,000 or less can claim an additional $1,000 under 68 O.S. 2890. You apply once with your county assessor on Oklahoma Tax Commission Form 921, by March 15 or within 30 days after receiving a notice of valuation increase, whichever is later. For other states, see our guide to homestead exemptions by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-07. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Oklahoma's property tax homestead exemption and additional homestead exemption (68 O.S. 2888 to 2892), the 3 percent valuation cap and senior valuation limitation (Okla. Const. art. X, secs. 8B and 8C), the 100 percent disabled veteran exemption (art. X, sec. 8E), the line-of-duty surviving spouse exemption (art. X, sec. 8F), State Question 847, the creditor homestead (31 O.S. 1, 2 and 5), and a short note on the probate homestead in 58 O.S. 311. It does not cover other exemptions for business, agricultural or nonprofit property, county-specific millage, or any other state's law.

How much is the homestead exemption in Oklahoma?

The regular exemption is $1,000 of assessed valuation. Under 68 O.S. 2889, "each homestead, as defined by Section 2801 et seq. of this title, shall be exempted from all forms of ad valorem taxation to the extent of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) of the assessed valuation."

Two points matter. The $1,000 comes off assessed value, which is lower than market value, so it is not $1,000 off the home's price. And it applies to "all forms of ad valorem taxation" on the home, so every levy on the bill is calculated on the reduced figure. How much tax that saves depends on the local millage.

Who is eligible for the Oklahoma homestead exemption?

The home must be the actual residence of a natural person who is a citizen of Oklahoma and who is the record owner, residing and domiciled there. The deed must be of record with the county clerk on January 1, or recorded by February 1 if it was signed on or before January 1 (68 O.S. 2888(A)(1)).

Oklahoma allows one homestead exemption per household (68 O.S. 2888(A)(1)): "Any single person of legal age, married couple and their minor child or children or the minor child or children of a deceased person, whether residing together or separated, or surviving spouse shall be allowed under Section 2801 et seq. of this title only one homestead exemption in this state."

The homestead's size is limited. A rural homestead can be up to 160 acres; an urban homestead is one acre (a lot or unplatted tract). Members of the armed services in wartime or a national emergency need not be domiciled in the home (68 O.S. 2888).

How and when to apply

68 O.S. 2892(F) says: "The application for homestead exemption shall be filed with the county assessor of the county in which the homestead is located." The application is sworn, and you do not have to appear in person. The current form is Oklahoma Tax Commission Form 921, Application for Homestead Exemption (2026-2027 version, revised 3-2026).

The deadline is March 15. Under 68 O.S. 2892(A), the assessor grants the exemption for a tax year "only if the application is filed on or before March 15 of such year or within thirty (30) days from and after receipt by the taxpayer of notice of valuation increase, whichever is later." An application filed after that is granted beginning the following tax year. A separate exception for homes lost to a tornado appears in 68 O.S. 2892(B).

Do you have to reapply every year?

Not for the regular exemption. 68 O.S. 2892(C) provides: "Any taxpayer who has been granted a homestead exemption and who continues to occupy such homestead property as a homestead, shall not be required to reapply for such homestead exemption." That holds while ownership stays vested and recorded in your name and no delinquent personal property tax appears on the county lien docket (68 O.S. 2892(D)).

The exemption does not follow the house to a buyer (68 O.S. 2892(E)): "Any purchaser or new owner of real property must file an application for homestead exemption as herein provided."

The additional homestead exemption for lower-income households

Under 68 O.S. 2890, "an additional exemption is hereby granted, to the extent of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) of the assessed valuation on each homestead of heads of households whose gross household income from all sources for the preceding calendar year did not exceed Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00)." Combined with the regular exemption, that is $2,000 of assessed valuation.

Head of household. The statute defines one as "a person who as owner or joint owner maintains a home and furnishes support for the home, furnishings, and other material necessities." There is no age requirement for this exemption itself.

What counts as income. Gross household income includes items such as Social Security, pensions and capital gains. It excludes gifts, and "The term 'gross household income' shall not include any veterans' disability compensation payments or the amount of any federal stimulus or relief payments related to the COVID-19 virus."

How to apply. You file OTC Form 994, Application for Property Valuation Limitation and Additional Homestead Exemption (Tax Year 2026, revised 11-2025), at the county assessor's office. The Tax Commission's rules state: "To qualify for the additional homestead exemption, the individual must apply at the county assessor's office by completing form OTC 994."

Deadline and renewal. "The application for the additional homestead exemption shall be made each year on or before March 15 or within thirty (30) days from and after receipt by the taxpayer of notice of valuation increase, whichever is later." The exception is for older owners: "For persons sixty-five (65) years of age or older as of March 15 and who have previously qualified for the additional homestead exemption, no annual application shall be required." Those owners must notify the assessor if household income exceeds $30,000 in any year.

The 3 percent valuation cap

Article X, Section 8B of the Oklahoma Constitution limits how fast taxable value can grow. As the Tax Commission's rules state it, "the fair cash value of any parcel of locally assessed real property which constitutes homestead property or agricultural land shall not increase by more than 3% in any taxable year. The fair cash value of all other locally assessed real property shall not increase by more than 5%."

The cap is not applied in a year when title to the property is transferred or improvements are made, according to the Tax Commission's rules (citing 68 O.S. 2817.1 and 2802.1).

Senior valuation limitation (the "senior freeze")

Under Article X, Section 8C, a qualifying owner 65 or older can stop the fair cash value of the homestead from increasing while the owner continues to own and occupy it.

Who is eligible. You must be 65 or older as of January 1, own and occupy the home as your homestead, and have gross household income at or below the income threshold. The Tax Commission's rules set that threshold by reference to federal figures: it "shall not exceed the amount determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to be the estimated median income for the preceding year for the county or metropolitan statistical area which includes such county." Because the figure is set county by county, ask your county assessor for the current limit.

How to apply. File OTC Form 994 with the county assessor between January 1 and March 15, or within 30 days after a notice of valuation increase. Once the limitation is approved, you do not reapply each year (68 O.S. 2890.1(B)), but you must notify the assessor if your income exceeds the limit or you make improvements. Improvements are added to the value. A denial can be appealed: "The taxpayer may appeal any denial of a senior valuation limitation application by the county assessor to the county board of equalization in the same manner as an appeal of the denial of a homestead exemption."

When it ends. The limitation ends if you stop owning and occupying the home or title is transferred, so it does not carry to a new home. When the limitation ends, whether because income rises above the limit or you stop owning and occupying the home, the constitution says the value is then set "as if" the general valuation limits "had been in effect during the time the property was valued" under the freeze (Okla. Const. art. X, sec. 8C(A)). So the taxable value can rise by more than 3 percent in that one year.

Watch out: The senior valuation limitation freezes value, not the tax bill. The Tax Commission's rules say "tax increases may occur under the specific situations outlined as follows: (A) If an additional millage such as a bond issue or other levy is added," and improvements also add value.

100 percent disabled veteran exemption

Article X, Section 8E of the Oklahoma Constitution (effective January 1, 2006, State Question 715) exempts the whole homestead for qualifying veterans. Form 998 states that an eligible veteran "shall be entitled to claim an exemption for the full amount of the fair cash value of the homestead."

Who is eligible. A head of household honorably discharged from the Armed Forces or the Oklahoma National Guard who is certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as 100 percent permanently disabled from service (or receives compensation at the 100 percent rate), or the veteran's surviving spouse. The claimant must already qualify for the regular homestead exemption and have the deed recorded. Form 998 adds: "The 100% disabled veterans cannot be approved if you do not own and occupy the homestead property as your place of residence on January 1 each year the exemption is applied."

How to apply. File OTC Form 998, Application for 100% Disabled Veterans Real Property Tax Exemption (revised 11-2025), with the county assessor between January 1 and March 15. If the 100 percent rating is effective on or before the date you apply, the home is exempt for that entire year, but you cannot file for past years. If the VA reduces your rating below 100 percent, you must notify the assessor immediately; the Tax Commission's rules say failing to do so results in loss of any future homestead exemption (OAC 710:10-14-5).

Moving. Unlike the senior freeze, this exemption can follow you. "To transfer the exemption to a newly acquired homestead property the qualified veteran or surviving spouse of the veteran must file Form 998-B," according to the Tax Commission's rules.

A separate provision, Article X, Section 8F (State Question 771), exempts the full fair cash value of the homestead of the surviving spouse of a head of household whom the U.S. Department of Defense or a branch of the military determined died in the line of duty, until the surviving spouse remarries. The surviving spouse must prove Oklahoma residency and must have previously qualified, or be eligible, for the regular homestead exemption. If that homestead is transferred, a newly acquired homestead is exempt to the same extent. Ask your county assessor how to claim it.

Losing the exemption and penalties

You must notify the county assessor in writing of a change in the home's use, at any time on or before March 15 of the following year. Filing a deed counts as notice (68 O.S. 2892(I)).

The penalties for letting an improper exemption continue are steep. An owner who fails to notify the assessor owes "An amount equal to twice the amount of the taxes lawfully due but not paid by reason of such unlawful and improper allowance of homestead exemption," plus interest and penalty, secured by a lien on the property (68 O.S. 2892(K)). Anyone who intentionally or knowingly permitted the improper exemption loses the right to a homestead exemption anywhere in Oklahoma for the next two years (68 O.S. 2892(L)).

If the assessor denies your application, you can appeal to the county board of equalization.

State Question 847 on the November 2026 ballot

State Question 847 (Legislative Referendum 381) is on the November 3, 2026 ballot. It would amend Article X, Sections 8B and 8C. It is not law unless voters approve it; if approved, it would take effect January 1, 2027.

Lower caps. For tax year 2027 and later, the annual limit on fair cash value growth would drop to 4 percent for most locally assessed real property (from 5 percent) and to 1.75 percent for homesteads and agricultural land (from 3 percent). The measure's text reads: "any increase to the fair cash value of such locally assessed real property in a taxable year shall be limited to three percent (3%) for tax years 2013 through 2026 and one and seventy-five-hundredths percent (1.75%) for tax year 2027 and subsequent tax years."

Senior freeze replaced. The measure's explanation says: "Instead of prohibiting any increase in fair cash value for these homesteads, there would be an annual limit of one and seventy-five-hundredths percent (1.75%)." That limit would be scaled by gross household income compared with the HUD median:

If voters reject it, the current 3 percent cap and senior freeze described above stay in place. If they approve it, the changes apply from tax year 2027.

The creditor homestead: a different law

Oklahoma's homestead exemption from creditors, in Title 31 (31 O.S. 1 and 2), is separate from the $1,000 property tax exemption. 31 O.S. 1(A) provides that the homestead "shall be reserved to every person residing in the state, exempt from attachment or execution and every other species of forced sale for the payment of debts." The protected property, under 31 O.S. 1(A)(1), is "The home of such person, provided that such home is the principal residence of such person."

No dollar cap, but a land limit. State law sets no dollar cap on the home itself (see the federal bankruptcy limit below). Outside a city or town, the homestead can be up to 160 acres (in one or more parcels). In a city or town, under 31 O.S. 2(C), it "shall consist of not exceeding one (1) acre of land, to be selected by the owner," and at least 75 percent of the improvements' square footage must be the principal residence. If more than 25 percent of the square footage is used for business, the exemption is limited to $5,000.

Filing. Sections 1, 2, 3 and 5 of Title 31 contain no requirement to record a homestead declaration, and neither does Article XII of the Oklahoma Constitution, which repeats the same acreage and exception rules; the protection attaches to a principal residence.

Debts it does not stop. Under 31 O.S. 5, "The exemption of the homestead provided for in this chapter shall not apply where the debt is due: 1. For the purchase money of such homestead or a part of such purchase money. 2. For taxes or other legal assessments due thereon. 3. For work and material used in constructing improvements thereon." It also does not protect a nonresident or a debtor who has removed or absconded with the family (31 O.S. 3). And it does not stop foreclosure of a mortgage the owner gave on the homestead, with the spouse joining if married (Okla. Const. art. XII, sec. 2). Other statutes, such as those on child support or federal liens, may create further exceptions that this page does not cover.

In bankruptcy. Oklahoma has opted out of the federal exemptions in 31 O.S. 1(B): "No natural person residing in this state may exempt from the property of the estate in any bankruptcy proceeding the property specified in subsection (d) of Section 522 of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978." Oklahoma residents use the state exemptions, except as state law expressly permits otherwise.

The federal bankruptcy limit. Federal bankruptcy law caps the unlimited state homestead in two situations. If you acquired the home, or added equity to it, within 1,215 days before filing, you cannot exempt more than $214,000 of the interest acquired in that period, for cases filed on or after April 1, 2025 (11 U.S.C. 522(p)). Equity rolled over from a previous Oklahoma home bought before that period does not count toward the limit. A $214,000 limit can also apply to a debtor with certain felony convictions or debts from securities-law violations, fraud and some other misconduct (11 U.S.C. 522(q)). This limit applies only in bankruptcy; it does not change the property tax exemptions above. For how this plays out in a case, see our Oklahoma bankruptcy guide. Section 1 of Title 31 was last amended by Laws 2024, chapter 70, effective November 1, 2024.

The probate homestead

Oklahoma has no fixed-dollar probate homestead allowance. 58 O.S. 311 provides that "Upon the death of either husband or wife, the survivor may continue to possess and occupy the whole homestead, which shall not in any event be subject to administration proceedings, except as in this title provided, until it is otherwise disposed of according to law." After both spouses die, the children may occupy it until the youngest reaches majority. See our Oklahoma probate guide.

To look up the parcel record your assessor uses, see Oklahoma property records.

Related

• Homestead exemptions by state
• Oklahoma bankruptcy exemptions and process
• Oklahoma probate
• Oklahoma property records

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Oklahoma law, including 68 O.S. 2888 to 2892, Okla. Const. art. X, secs. 8B, 8C and 8E, State Question 847, 31 O.S. 1, 2 and 5, and 58 O.S. 311, as verified on 2026-10-07. It is not tax or legal advice. For your specific situation, contact your county assessor, the Oklahoma Tax Commission, or a lawyer licensed in Oklahoma.

Last updated: 2026-10-07.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the homestead exemption in Oklahoma?

The regular exemption is $1,000 of assessed valuation from all forms of ad valorem taxation (68 O.S. 2889). Heads of household with gross household income of $30,000 or less for the preceding calendar year can claim an additional $1,000 (68 O.S. 2890).

When is the deadline to file for homestead exemption in Oklahoma?

March 15, or within 30 days after you receive a notice of valuation increase, whichever is later. An application filed after that is granted beginning the following tax year.

Do I have to reapply for homestead exemption every year in Oklahoma?

Not for the regular exemption, as long as you keep occupying the home as your homestead. The additional $1,000 exemption must be applied for each year on Form 994 unless you are 65 or older as of March 15 and have previously qualified.

How do I apply for homestead exemption in Oklahoma?

File Oklahoma Tax Commission Form 921 with the county assessor in the county where the home is located. Use Form 994 for the additional exemption or the senior valuation limitation and Form 998 for the 100 percent disabled veteran exemption.

Does Oklahoma freeze property taxes for seniors?

Oklahoma freezes the home's fair cash value, not the tax bill, for owners 65 or older as of January 1 with gross household income at or below the HUD median for their county (Okla. Const. art. X, sec. 8C). New millage such as a bond issue can still raise the bill, and State Question 847 on the November 3, 2026 ballot would replace the freeze with an income-scaled limit starting tax year 2027 if voters approve it.

Do disabled veterans pay property tax in Oklahoma?

Veterans certified by the VA as 100 percent permanently disabled from service, and their surviving spouses, can exempt the full fair cash value of the homestead (Okla. Const. art. X, sec. 8E). Apply on Form 998 with the county assessor between January 1 and March 15.

Does the Oklahoma homestead exemption protect my house from creditors?

A separate law, 31 O.S. 1, exempts a principal residence from forced sale with no dollar cap outside bankruptcy, up to one acre in a city or town or 160 acres elsewhere. In bankruptcy, federal law limits the exemption to $214,000 for equity acquired within 1,215 days before filing (11 U.S.C. 522(p), cases filed on or after April 1, 2025). It does not apply to purchase money debt, taxes on the home, or work and materials for improvements (31 O.S. 5).