Cameron County Property Tax: Rates, Exemptions & Payment Deadlines

Cameron County property tax is not a single rate but a stack of rates from every taxing entity whose boundaries cover your parcel. The county itself charges $0.424393 per $100 of taxable value for 2025.¹ Add a school district, a city if you’re inside one, a college district, and any drainage, navigation, or utility district that reaches your address, and the combined rate for a Brownsville homeowner lands near $2.00 per $100. Two homes a few miles apart can carry noticeably different totals depending on which entities tax them.

2025 Rates by Taxing Entity

Cameron County has more than 40 separate taxing entities, each adopting its own rate. The figures below are the adopted 2025 rates per $100 of taxable value.²

County and College

Every property in the county pays the county rate of $0.424393. Properties inside the Texas Southmost College District also pay $0.111809 toward the community college.¹

Cities

Municipal rates vary widely. Common ones include:

Brownsville: $0.603504
Harlingen: $0.526060
San Benito: $0.708125
Los Fresnos: $0.685000
La Feria: $0.735000
Port Isabel: $0.790416
South Padre Island: $0.262159

Smaller towns range from $0.250000 in Bayview to $0.820000 in Santa Rosa. Properties outside any city limits pay no municipal rate.²

School Districts

The school district is usually the single biggest piece of a Cameron County tax bill. For 2025, rates run from $0.730300 at Point Isabel ISD up to $1.341900 at Rio Hondo ISD:

Brownsville ISD: $0.831460
Harlingen CISD: $0.918200
San Benito CISD: $1.050600
Los Fresnos CISD: $0.880272
La Feria ISD: $1.030683
Rio Hondo ISD: $1.341900
Point Isabel ISD: $0.730300

South Texas ISD, a regional magnet district, adds $0.049200 on top of your local school district rate.¹

Special-Purpose Districts

Depending on location, a property may also fall within one or more special districts. The county has six drainage districts with rates between $0.026983 and $0.157615, an emergency services district at $0.062736, and several municipal utility districts between $0.250000 and $0.438500. Navigation districts for the ports of Brownsville ($0.025589) and Harlingen ($0.019110) apply in certain areas.²

How the Bill Is Calculated

Texas rates are expressed per $100 of taxable value.³ Divide your property’s taxable value by 100, multiply by each entity’s rate, and add the results together.

Take a Brownsville home with a taxable value of $200,000 after exemptions. The overlapping 2025 rates are Cameron County ($0.424393), City of Brownsville ($0.603504), Brownsville ISD ($0.831460), Texas Southmost College ($0.111809), and the Brownsville Navigation District ($0.025589). Combined, that’s roughly $1.9968 per $100. Two thousand units at $1.9968 produces an annual bill of about $3,994. If the same property also sits in Drainage District No. 1, add roughly $54 for that entity’s $0.026983 rate.

How Appraisals Drive Your Bill

The Cameron Appraisal District sets each property’s market value as of January 1.⁴ That appraisal, not the rate alone, drives what you owe. If values rise, your bill rises too, even when every entity holds its rate flat. A rate cut can be wiped out by a jump in assessed value.

For a home with a homestead exemption, Texas caps annual appraisal increases at 10 percent of the prior year’s appraised value, plus the value of any new improvements.⁵ The appraisal district still records full market value, but taxes are calculated on the capped figure. The cap only kicks in after a homestead exemption is on file, so new owners should apply as soon as possible.

Each spring, owners whose market value increased by at least a dollar receive a Notice of Appraised Value showing market value, capped appraised value, and taxable value after exemptions. If you disagree, you have until May 15 or 30 days after the notice is mailed, whichever is later, to file a protest.⁴ Grounds include a market value that exceeds actual market value, unequal appraisal compared to similar properties, and denial of an exemption you believe applies.⁶ Most protests start with an informal meeting with an appraiser, and unresolved cases go to the Appraisal Review Board. Bring recent comparable sales, photos of condition issues, repair estimates, or an independent appraisal.

Exemptions That Lower Your Taxable Value

Several Texas exemptions reduce taxable value before rates are applied. Applications go to the Cameron Appraisal District and are generally due before May 1.⁷

General Homestead

Any owner using the property as a principal residence can file for the general homestead exemption. Under Section 11.13, school districts must exempt $100,000 of appraised value from school taxes.⁸ S.B. 4 of the 89th Legislature increases that amount to $140,000 for tax years beginning January 1, 2025, contingent on voter approval of a related constitutional amendment. Cities and counties may adopt additional homestead exemptions but are not required to.

Over-65 and Disabled Homeowners

Homeowners 65 or older or with a qualifying disability receive an additional $10,000 school district exemption on top of the general homestead.⁸ Other entities may adopt an additional exemption of at least $3,000 for these owners.

The larger benefit for many is the school tax ceiling. Once you qualify, the school district freezes your school taxes at the amount owed in the first year the exemption applied. The ceiling cannot be raised unless you add improvements.⁹ County and city entities may adopt their own ceilings, though not all do.

Disabled Veterans

Veterans with a service-connected disability receive a partial exemption tied to their rating:¹⁰

10% to 29% disability: 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 rated 100 percent disabled by the VA receive a complete exemption on their residence homestead and owe zero property taxes on that home. The exemption carries to a surviving spouse who does not remarry and continues to live in the home.¹¹

When and How to Pay

Tax bills are mailed in the fall, and payment is due by January 31 of the following year. For 2025 taxes, the county’s stated deadline is January 31, 2026. Because that date falls on a Saturday, the effective delinquency date is Monday, February 3, 2026.¹² Taxes not paid by that date begin accruing penalties and interest.

Payments can be made online through the county’s tax portal, in person at any Cameron County tax office, or at participating Lone Star National Bank locations with the bill in hand. Online electronic check payments carry a $1.00 fee for bills of $5,000 or less and $3.00 for larger bills. Credit and debit cards carry a 3 percent convenience fee.¹²

Quarterly Installments

Homeowners who are 65 or older, disabled, or disabled veterans can split the bill into four equal installments without penalty or interest, as long as the first installment is paid by January 31 and the owner notifies the tax office of the election.¹³ The Cameron County schedule:¹²

First installment: January 31
Second installment: March 31
Third installment: May 31
Fourth installment: July 31

Missing an installment triggers penalties and interest on the remaining balance.

What Happens If You Pay Late

Texas law stacks penalties and interest quickly. A delinquent tax takes a 6 percent penalty in the first month, plus another 1 percent for each additional month through June. Interest runs separately at 1 percent per month.¹⁴ The combined cost by month:

February: 7% (6% penalty + 1% interest)
March: 9%
April: 11%
May: 13%
June: 15%

On July 1 the penalty jumps to a flat 12 percent regardless of how many months have passed, with interest continuing to accumulate.¹⁴ If the taxing entity has contracted with a collection attorney, an additional penalty of up to 20 percent of the total tax owed can be added to cover attorney fees.¹⁵ By midsummer, a homeowner who ignored a $4,000 bill could owe well over $5,600.

Unpaid taxes also create a lien that attaches automatically on January 1 each year. A taxing unit can sue to foreclose on that lien any time after the tax becomes delinquent.¹⁶ Foreclosure over a single year is uncommon, but the risk climbs when multiple years go unpaid. Contacting the tax office early about a payment arrangement costs far less than letting the account reach a delinquent-tax attorney.

1
Cameron County. Truth in Taxation Summary
2
Cameron Appraisal District. Cameron County 2025 Adopted Tax Rates
3
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Tax Rate Calculation
4
Cameron Appraisal District. The Protest Process
5
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 23.23 – Limitation on Appraised Value of Residence Homesteads
6
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41.41 – Right of Protest
7
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions
8
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead
9
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.26 – Limitation on School District Taxes
10
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11.22 – Disabled Veterans
11
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent Disabled Veteran
12
Cameron County. Cameron County Tax Assessor Collector
13
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 31.031 – Installment Payments of Certain Homestead Taxes
14
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.01 – Penalties and Interest
15
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.07 – Additional Penalty for Collection Costs
16
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Opinion No. KP-0483