The petition to abolish homestead property tax is stalled at the Supreme Court
The petition to abolish homestead property tax is stalled at the Supreme Court
2026-09-15 · Oklahoma · Legislation · Pending — not yet law
An Oklahoma initiative petition would eliminate property tax on owner-occupied homes entirely by 2029. It has been frozen at the Oklahoma Supreme Court since April, argued in June, and as of today no ruling has issued and no signature has been gathered.
State Question 843 is an initiated statute, not a constitutional amendment. It would exempt owner-occupied homes from ad valorem taxation in stages: 33.33% in tax year 2027, 66.67% in 2028, and 100% in 2029 and after. It would not reach bonded indebtedness incurred before December 31, 2026, so bills would not fall to zero until those bonds retire.1
Who filed it and where it stands
Filed by Sen. Shane Jett (R-Shawnee), Rep. Jay Steagall (R-Yukon) and former Rep. Mike Reynolds (R-OKC). A first version was filed with the Secretary of State on November 21, 2025, withdrawn and refiled December 5, 2025, then refiled as a statute and docketed January 12, 2026. The 90-day constitutional protest window opened January 20.
On April 15, 2026, ten homeowners and education advocates from seven counties filed a challenge. The Oklahoma Supreme Court heard oral argument on June 2, 2026. No ruling has issued, and signature gathering remains on hold. If it clears, proponents need 92,263 valid signatures.
The money
The Oklahoma Tax Commission estimates the statewide impact at $1.52 billion, of which $1.03 billion is schools. Proponents put it around $1.2 billion a year at full phase-in. The challengers note that ad valorem supplies 68% of school general-fund revenue and 88% of CareerTech building funding.
The argument being made against it
Robert McCampbell, counsel for the challengers, framed the constitutional objection at argument: that the right at issue “would be significantly infringed because ad valorem taxes on homesteads would be removed from the system.”
One of the challengers, Caedmon Brooks, a college student and Republican activist, put the practical case: “If you just look at the tax exemption at face value, it looks great…but I know what my property taxes fund. It funds my school, roads and county health institutes.”2
Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton, a Republican, has said the proposal “is not the answer” and called it “immature.”
Why the homestead line matters to an association
Every one of these measures runs through homestead status, and homestead status is exactly the line that runs through a community association.
SQ 843 would exempt the owner-occupied home and leave the rental unit next door fully taxed. In a community that is half owner-occupied and half investor-held — which describes a great many Oklahoma condominiums — that is a permanent and widening divergence in carrying cost between neighbours who pay the same assessment for the same services.
It also changes what a board is competing with. An owner whose property tax bill is falling by a third a year has more room for an assessment increase. An investor owner in the same building has none of that relief.
A date that keeps circulating and is wrong
SQ 843 is not on the November 3, 2026 ballot. At least one Oklahoma outlet listed it as a November item in April. That is not supportable — the measure has not gathered a single signature, because the Supreme Court has not released it to do so. Anyone told they can vote on abolishing homestead property tax this November has been misinformed.
The third measure, which did stall in the legislature
Separately, Senate Bill 1809, by Pro Tem Paxton, would have raised Oklahoma's homestead exemption from $1,000 to $5,000 of assessed valuation beginning in tax year 2027. It passed Senate Revenue and Taxation 9–2 in February 2026 with the title stricken — a deliberate legislative brake — presented by Sen. Warren Hamilton, who said he did not know the fiscal impact. It never cleared the full Senate. A fiscal estimate published later put it at $34.3 million in FY 2029 rising to $137.2 million by FY 2032.3
For context on the exemption's current size: Oklahoma's homestead exemption is $1,000 of assessed valuation, with an additional $1,000 for owners 65 and over under an income threshold or for totally disabled owners under a lower one.
What did change on property tax this year
Two small but real things, both about notice rather than money. Senate Bill 681 (2025) requires a valuation-increase notice to carry information on the homestead fair-cash-value limitation. Senate Bill 1579 (2026), effective November 1, 2026, requires that notice to include a taxpayer bill of rights beginning “As an Oklahoma Taxpayer:” followed by an enumerated list starting “1. You have the right to equal and uniform taxation.”4
Every member of every Oklahoma association will receive that notice. It is not association law, but it is the document through which most owners encounter the valuation cap at all.
What to watch next
The Supreme Court's ruling, which could come at any time. If the petition is released, proponents then have to gather 92,263 valid signatures — a separate and substantial hurdle — before anyone votes on anything.
Related Oklahoma HOA Topics
- Ballotpedia, Oklahoma State Question 843, Eliminate Property Taxes on Homesteads Initiative (2026) ↩
- Oklahoma ACTE, analysis of State Questions 843 and 847 ↩
- Reporting on SB 1809, raising the Oklahoma homestead exemption (February 2026) ↩
- Enrolled Senate Bill No. 1579 (2026) — amending 68 O.S. § 2876, valuation increase notice; Ch. 28, O.S.L. 2026 ↩
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