Burnet County Property Tax: Rates, Exemptions, and Protests

Burnet County property tax bills are built from several layers stacked on one parcel. The county’s own 2025 rate is $0.3323 per $100 of taxable value, but every property also sits inside a school district and often a city, an emergency services district, and a water district. Depending on which jurisdictions overlap your address, the combined rate usually falls somewhere between about $1.20 and $2.20 per $100.

2025 Tax Rates by Taxing Entity

The Burnet Central Appraisal District publishes the adopted rates for every taxing unit in the county each year. The 2025 figures below are expressed per $100 of taxable value.1Burnet Central Appraisal District. Tax Rates 2025

County

The Burnet County Commissioners Court adopted a total rate of $0.3323 for 2025: $0.2445 for the general fund, $0.0460 for road and bridge, and $0.0418 for debt service.2Burnet County, Texas. Order Adopting Tax Rate for Tax Year 2025

School Districts

School taxes are the largest single line on most bills. Three districts cover territory in the county:

  • Burnet CISD: $0.8710
  • Marble Falls ISD: $0.8855
  • Lampasas ISD: $1.2203 (a small area in the northern part of the county)

Cities

Property inside city limits pays the city’s rate on top of the county and school rates. Unincorporated property skips this layer.

Emergency Services and Special Districts

Nine emergency services districts fund fire protection and EMS across different areas. Their 2025 rates range from $0.0141 (ESD #1) to $0.10 (ESDs #2, #4, #6, #8, and #9). Three municipal utility districts also levy rates, and the Central Texas Water Conservation District adds $0.0055 countywide.1Burnet Central Appraisal District. Tax Rates 2025

How Your Total Rate Depends on Location

Two neighbors on opposite sides of a school district or city line can owe meaningfully different amounts on identically valued homes. A home inside the City of Burnet, within Burnet CISD and ESD #1, faces a combined 2025 rate of roughly $1.83 per $100 ($0.3323 county + $0.8710 school + $0.6131 city + $0.0141 ESD + $0.0055 water). A rural property in unincorporated Marble Falls ISD territory under ESD #5 lands closer to $1.30 per $100. On a $300,000 home that gap adds up fast.

Calculating Your Bill

Start with the appraised market value, subtract any exemptions you qualify for, divide by 100, and multiply by each entity’s rate. Here is a worked example for a home inside the City of Burnet within Burnet CISD, using 2025 rates:

  • Appraised value: $300,000
  • School district homestead exemption: $140,000 (applies only to the school portion)
  • County: ($300,000 ÷ 100) × $0.3323 = $996.90
  • School: ($160,000 ÷ 100) × $0.8710 = $1,393.60
  • City: ($300,000 ÷ 100) × $0.6131 = $1,839.30
  • Water district: ($300,000 ÷ 100) × $0.0055 = $16.50
  • ESD #1: ($300,000 ÷ 100) × $0.0141 = $42.30
  • Total: approximately $4,289

Without the homestead exemption, the school portion alone would jump to $2,613, pushing the total above $5,500. Exemptions do real work on the bottom line.

Exemptions That Lower Your Bill

Texas provides several exemptions that reduce your taxable value before rates apply. You have to apply; none of them are automatic.

General Residence Homestead

If you own and live in your home as your primary residence, school districts must exempt $140,000 of the appraised value from school taxes.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions Counties and cities may offer additional optional homestead exemptions. To apply, you generally need a driver’s license or state ID showing the property address.

Over-65 and Disabled Homeowners

Homeowners who are 65 or older, or who have a qualifying disability, get an additional $10,000 school district exemption on top of the standard $140,000.5State of Texas. Texas Code TAX 11.13 – Residence Homestead They also get their school tax bill frozen at the amount owed in the year they first qualify. If your school taxes were $1,200 the year you turned 65, they stay at $1,200 even as rates and values climb. Counties and cities may offer additional exemptions for these groups.

Disabled Veterans

Veterans with a VA disability rating receive a partial exemption based on their rating level:6State of Texas. Texas Code TAX 11.22 – Disabled Veterans

  • 10% to 29%: up to $5,000 off the assessed value
  • 30% to 49%: up to $7,500
  • 50% to 69%: up to $10,000
  • 70% or higher: up to $12,000

Veterans with a 100% disability rating qualify for a complete exemption on their homestead, meaning zero property taxes on that home.7Texas Veterans Commission. Property Tax Exemptions Available to Veterans Per Disability Rating

The 10 Percent Homestead Cap

Once your homestead exemption is in place, the appraised value cannot increase by more than 10 percent per year over the prior year’s appraised value, plus the value of any new improvements. The cap applies only to your homestead and only takes effect in the second year of ownership. Rental homes, commercial property, and raw land don’t get this protection.

Payment Deadline and Penalties

Tax bills are mailed in the fall and become due on receipt. The delinquency date is February 1 of the following year.8State of Texas. Texas Code TAX 31.02 – Delinquency Date For the 2025 tax year, January 31, 2026 falls on a Saturday, so the effective deadline shifts to Monday, February 2, 2026. Confirm with the Burnet County tax office if you plan to cut it close.

Penalties stack quickly. A 6 percent penalty plus 1 percent interest hits on the first day the tax is delinquent. The penalty grows by 1 percent for each additional month through June. On July 1, the penalty jumps to a flat 12 percent and interest keeps running at 1 percent per month indefinitely.9State of Texas. Texas Code TAX 33.01 – Penalties and Interest If the account is referred to an attorney for collection after July 1, an additional fee of up to 20 percent can be added. On a $4,000 bill, waiting until July could cost an extra $1,280 before collection fees.

Installment Plans for Qualifying Homeowners

Homeowners who are 65 or older, disabled, or the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran can split their payments into four quarterly installments. The first installment of at least 25 percent is due by January 31, with the remaining three due by the last day of March, May, and July. Meet every deadline and no penalty or interest accrues.

Texas Tax Code Section 31.03 also permits a half-payment option in counties that have adopted it by resolution, with half due before December 1 and the balance before July 1. Availability in Burnet County depends on action by the Commissioners Court, so check with the tax assessor-collector before relying on it.

Protesting Your Appraised Value

The Burnet Central Appraisal District (BCAD) sets the market value of every parcel in the county as of January 1 each year.10State of Texas. Texas Code TAX 23.01 – Appraisals Generally BCAD determines value only; it does not set rates or collect payments.11Burnet Central Appraisal District. Burnet Central Appraisal District If your appraised value looks too high, you have the right to protest before the Appraisal Review Board. Grounds include the value itself, unequal appraisal compared to similar properties, denial of an exemption, and other actions that adversely affect you.12State of Texas. Texas Code TAX 41.41 – Right of Protest

The deadline to file is May 15 or 30 days after the appraisal district mails your notice of appraised value, whichever is later. A written protest just needs to identify the property, name the owner, and express disagreement. Form 50-132 is available but not required.13Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal Protests and Appeals

Most districts offer an informal meeting with a staff appraiser before the formal hearing, and a large share of protests get resolved there. Bring recent comparable sales, photos of condition problems, or evidence of errors in the district’s records. If the informal meeting doesn’t produce agreement, you proceed to a hearing before the ARB panel, and you can appeal the ARB’s decision to district court or binding arbitration.

Where the Rates Come From

Each taxing unit sets its own rate every year under the Truth-in-Taxation framework. The no-new-revenue rate is the rate that would raise the same dollar amount as last year on properties taxed in both years, giving taxpayers a baseline for judging whether a new rate is a real increase.14Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Tax Rate Calculation The voter-approval rate is the ceiling above which voters get a say: for most units, exceeding it triggers an automatic election, and for school districts, any rate above it requires voter approval at the ballot box.15Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Elections to Approve Tax Rate Before adopting a rate, each taxing unit must hold a public hearing where residents can speak.16State of Texas. Texas Code TAX 26.06 – Notice, Hearing, and Vote on Tax Increase Proposed rates, hearing dates, and comparison data for every entity that taxes your property are posted at Texas.gov/PropertyTaxes.17Texas.gov. Property Tax Transparency in Texas