The Austin housing market is insane. And with Texas getting a large chunk of their income from property taxes, there's going to be some very major effects when everyone's homes start getting reappraised for tax reasons.
Yeah. The homestead exemption limits tax increases to "only" 10% per year, but it will still be a lot for people who count on their home payment staying static. And, getting the homestead exemption isn't automatic, so anyone who forgot to file it will be ... surprised.
The homestead cap limits annual appraised value increases to 10% over the previous year. In theory, if the taxing units maintained the same rate as last, yes, it would result in a 10% jump in tax amount too. Many taxing units reduced their rates a bit this year, given the higher appraisal values. Surprisingly, many Austin area homeowners reported their estimated tax amount stayed the same as last.
The owner has to live on the property and make it their primary residence, to claim homestead exemption. CADs will not know that until the owner applies for Homestead exemption. Not sure they can make it automatic.