HOUSTON (KIAH) — The tornado damage to hundreds of Harris County homes and businesses could actually lead to savings for their owners on their property tax bills.

State lawmakers created Temporary Disaster Exemptions after Hurricane Harvey caused widespread devastation.

Since then, they’ve been utilized a few times in several communities — including Harris County — and they’re available right now to the victims of last week’s severe weather.

Storm victims need to fill out a form on the Harris Central Appraisal District’s website and submit repair estimates and pictures of the damage.

That agency would then decide if the home or business qualifies for a 15%, 30%, 60%, or 100% exemption that would be applied to bills from taxing entities.

“They would subtract the amount of the exemption from that bill,” HCAD Chief Communications Officer Jack Barnett said. “So it ultimately then lowers the taxes that people are going to be paying at the end of 2023.”

The deadline to apply for Temporary Disaster Exemptions is 105 days after the governor declares a disaster.

That means, victims of Tuesday’s tornadoes have until May 11 to submit their documents.

“If you have a home that you can’t live in for a couple of weeks, a couple of days, a couple of months — I mean it’s tough,” Barnett said. “There’s always a lot of out-of-pocket expenses. So this would help that property owner.”