Caldwell County property tax is the combined bill you owe each year on real estate and business personal property, calculated by multiplying the appraisal district’s value of your property by the rates set independently by the county, your school district, your city, and any special districts covering your address. For 2025, Caldwell County itself adopted a rate of $0.439 per $100 of value, but that is only one layer. School district and city rates stack on top, so a homeowner in Lockhart pays a very different total than someone on unincorporated land outside any city.1Caldwell County Appraisal District. Tax Related Information For Entities Located In Caldwell County The bill is due by January 31, and several exemptions can reduce the value the rates are applied to before you ever see the total.
How Your Bill Is Calculated
The Caldwell County Appraisal District sets a market value for every taxable property as of January 1 each year.2State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 23.01 – Appraisals Generally After any exemptions you qualify for are subtracted, the remainder is your taxable value. Each taxing unit then applies its own rate, expressed per $100 of taxable value. A rate of $0.50 produces $500 of tax on a property with $100,000 of taxable value.3Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Tax Rate Calculation
Several of the 2025 adopted rates for major taxing units in Caldwell County:
- Caldwell County: $0.43900 per $100
- City of Lockhart: $0.55410 per $100
- City of Luling: $0.55410 per $100
- Lockhart ISD: $0.93960 per $100
- Luling ISD: $0.84690 per $100
A homeowner inside the City of Lockhart and Lockhart ISD faces roughly $1.93 per $100 from those three units alone, before adding emergency services districts, municipal utility districts, or any other special district covering the parcel.1Caldwell County Appraisal District. Tax Related Information For Entities Located In Caldwell County Rural property outside any city skips the city rate entirely. Your bill will itemize every unit charging you, so you can see exactly where the money goes.
Exemptions That Lower What You Owe
Exemptions reduce the value the tax rate is applied to, so they have real dollar impact. You apply through the Caldwell County Appraisal District, not the tax office.
Residence Homestead
If you own your home and live in it as your primary residence, $140,000 of its appraised value is excluded from school district taxes.4State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead On a $300,000 home, the school district only taxes $160,000. You apply once and the exemption stays in place until you move or your eligibility changes. The deadline is April 30 of the tax year, though late applications may be accepted up to two years after that in some circumstances.
If you bought a home that already had a homestead exemption, the previous owner’s exemption does not transfer to you. File your own application, or you will be taxed on the full value until it is in place.
Over 65 or Disabled
Homeowners who are 65 or older or who have a qualifying disability get an additional $60,000 off their school district taxable value on top of the $140,000 base, so the first $200,000 of appraised value is exempt from school taxes.4State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead Other taxing units may adopt an additional exemption of at least $3,000 for this group, depending on what each governing body has authorized.
Qualifying also freezes your school district tax amount at that year’s level. School taxes cannot rise above that ceiling as long as you own and live in the same home, even if the appraised value or school rate goes up. If you move elsewhere in Texas, a proportional ceiling can transfer to the new home.
Disabled Veterans
Veterans with a service-connected disability receive a partial exemption that scales with the rating:
- 10% to 29%: up to $5,000 off assessed value
- 30% to 49%: up to $7,500
- 50% to 69%: up to $10,000
- 70% or higher: up to $12,000
Veterans who are 65 or older with at least a 10% rating, who are totally blind in one or both eyes, or who have lost the use of one or more limbs qualify for the full $12,000 regardless of rating.5State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.22 – Disabled Veterans
Veterans rated 100% disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs pay zero property tax on their residence homestead. The benefit extends to surviving spouses who have not remarried and continue living in the same home, and a dollar-amount exemption equal to what was received on that home can transfer if the spouse later moves.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent or Totally Disabled Veteran
Each of these exemptions beyond the general homestead requires its own application with supporting documentation: proof of age, a Social Security disability determination, or a VA disability letter.
When and How to Pay
Tax bills are mailed by October 1 or as soon after as possible.7Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Bills Taxes are due on receipt and become delinquent on February 1, which makes January 31 the practical deadline. Your property account number is on the bill and is required for online payment.
You can pay online through the tax office portal using a credit card or electronic check, by mail with a check or money order to the Caldwell County Tax Assessor-Collector at 110 S. Main St., Lockhart, TX 78644, or in person during business hours.8Caldwell County, TX. Caldwell County Tax Assessor-Collector For mailed payments, the postmark date counts, so a check postmarked January 31 is on time. Lines at the counter get long in the last week of January.
What Happens If You Pay Late
Missing January 31 triggers an escalating structure. February adds a 6% penalty on the unpaid amount. Each additional month adds another 1%: 7% in March, 8% in April, through 11% in June. On July 1 the penalty jumps to 12% regardless of how long the balance has been overdue. Interest of 1% per month also accrues on the unpaid amount.9State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.01 – Penalties and Interest
A $4,000 bill left unpaid until July would carry a $480 penalty plus roughly $280 of accumulated interest. If the account is referred for collection or a lawsuit is filed, attorney fees of 15% of the total taxes, penalties, and interest owed are added.10State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 33.48 – Recovery of Costs and Expenses A tax lien attaches automatically to every taxable property on January 1 each year, and sustained delinquency can lead to a foreclosure suit with the property sold at auction.
Payment Options for Seniors, Disabled Homeowners, and Disabled Veterans
Texas law gives these groups two options other owners do not have.
Quarterly Installments
Qualifying homeowners can split the bill into four equal payments without penalty or interest. The first is due by January 31, and you must tell the tax office at that time that you are paying in installments. The remaining payments are due before April 1, June 1, and August 1. Miss an installment and only that missed amount takes the 6% penalty and monthly interest; the others stay on track.11State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 31.031 – Installment Payments
Tax Deferral
Homeowners who are 65 or older, disabled, or disabled veterans can defer all property tax collection on their homestead indefinitely by filing an affidavit with the appraisal district. During the deferral, the county cannot sue for delinquency or foreclose on the home. Interest accrues at 5% per year, and no monthly penalties are added.12State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 33.06 – Deferred Collection of Taxes The deferred taxes plus interest become due 181 days after the deferral ends, which is typically when the property is sold, the owner moves out, or the owner passes away. The debt does not disappear; it is eventually settled from the property’s value.
Protesting Your Appraised Value
Each spring the appraisal district mails a notice of appraised value showing the new market value and any change from the prior year. If you believe the value is too high or incorrect, you can file a protest with the Appraisal Review Board. The deadline is May 15 or 30 days after the notice was delivered, whichever is later.13State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41.44 – Notice of Protest You can look up your value and file online through the appraisal district’s taxpayer portal.14Caldwell County Appraisal District. Caldwell County Appraisal District
Common grounds include a value higher than what the home would actually sell for, unequal treatment compared to similar nearby properties, and errors in the property description such as wrong square footage or lot size. Useful evidence: recent sales of comparable homes, photos of conditions that reduce value, a recent independent appraisal, and if you bought recently for less than the appraised value, your closing documents. The hearing is relatively informal. Miss the filing deadline and you lose the right to protest for that tax year. If you disagree with the board’s decision, you can appeal to district court, or pursue binding arbitration if the property is appraised at $5 million or less.
If You Have a Mortgage
Most owners with a mortgage do not pay the tax office directly. The lender collects a share of the estimated annual tax each month as part of the mortgage payment, holds it in escrow, and pays the bill when it arrives. Your servicer must perform an annual escrow analysis and send a statement showing projected payments, actual disbursements, and any shortfall or surplus.15Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation 1024.17 – Escrow Accounts
When Caldwell County values rise and your tax bill grows, the servicer raises the monthly escrow payment to cover the difference. This is the most common reason a fixed-rate mortgage payment goes up. The servicer can hold a cushion, capped by federal law at one-sixth of the estimated annual escrow disbursements, and any surplus above that must be refunded.15Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation 1024.17 – Escrow Accounts Even when the servicer handles payment, review the tax bill when it arrives. Confirm your exemptions are applied and that payment was made on time. If the servicer pays late, the lien is on your property, not theirs.