MOVING TO TEXAS? 

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

Driver’s License

As a new Texas resident, you have 30 days to register your vehicle and get your Texas driver’s license. Before you register your vehicle, though, it must pass the state inspection process. In order, here are the three steps to follow:

1. Take your vehicle to a state inspection station. You can find a list of what types of inspections are required in your county and an inspections-station locator at the Department of Public Safety Web site. When you go, make sure you take your current driver’s license and proof of insurance. If your insurance policy wasn’t issued in Texas, you may need to show proof that you carry the minimum coverage required by the state: $20,000 bodily injury or death to one person; $40,000 bodily injury or death to two or more persons; and $15,000 injury or destruction to other property.

2. When your vehicle passes inspection, the inspection station will give you a verification form to bring to the county tax assessor-collector’s office. This is where you obtain a Texas vehicle registration sticker and license plates. You’ll need proof of ownership, such as registration or title from your previous home state, as well as proof of insurance. Again, you may need to show that you carry minimum coverage amounts.

3. Apply for a Texas driver’s license at the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) office in your area. Bring an ID, proof of Social Security number, proof of liability insurance, and proof of Texas vehicle registration. Expect to provide a thumbprint and surrender any valid out-of-state license you currently have.

Homestead exemption

There is no fee to file a property-tax homestead exemption, so don’t be misled by solicitations on official-looking stationery offering to file your homestead exemption for you for a fee. Even some people who have lived in Texas their entire lives confuse these letters as a form from a state agency requiring a mandatory fee. Don’t fall for it. The process is simple and costs nothing; download the application, fill out the form, and send it in to your appraisal district.

Taxes

Texas is one of seven states that does not tax individual wage income. The state's constitution restricts passage of a personal income tax, but certain businesses are subject to a gross-receipts tax.

There are a variety of other taxes that the State of Texas collects. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts offers a complete list of all taxes.

Register to vote

While at the driver’s license office, you can register to vote – or you can pick up a voter-registration application from the county voter registrar’s office, a library, post office, or from the secretary of state’s Web site. The application must be received 30 days before an election to vote in that election.

UTILITIES