Harris County, TX, April 29, 2026, Qualifying child care centers seeking the Child Care Facility Property Tax Exemption for Tax Year 2026 must apply by Thursday, April 30, 2026. Child care providers can find more information about eligibility requirements and apply at cjo.harriscountytx.gov/prop2.
In 2023, Texas voters approved Proposition 2 (Prop 2), a constitutional amendment allowing cities and counties the option to provide a property tax exemption to qualifying child care providers. Following the statewide passage of Prop 2, Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously adopted a 100% property tax exemption that qualifying child care providers can apply for. The exemption is estimated to save eligible child care providers in Harris County thousands of dollars per year.
“As Harris County’s ARPA-funded early childhood programs that have helped more than 97,000 kids and families are set to end beginning this summer, Prop 2 is one of Harris County’s strongest remaining tools to help support providers and families. The tax exemption helps providers pay and retain staff, keep tuition rates affordable and ultimately keep their doors open. There’s still a lot more work to be done, and I hope that all of us will continue working together to expand early childhood education in Harris County going forward,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.
To be eligible for the exemption, providers must 1) participate in the Texas Workforce Commission’s Texas Rising Star Program and 2) maintain a minimum 20% enrollment of children receiving subsidized services through the Texas Workforce Commission. Child care providers who received the exemption for Tax Year 2024 and/or Tax Year 2025 do not need to reapply to receive it again this year.
Texas ranks among the lowest for early childhood education quality, according to a 2023 study from the National Institute for Early Education Research. In Harris County, 16 zip codes are considered ‘child care deserts’ where the demand for child care is at least three times greater than the supply for working families.
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