Most homeowners in Fulshear pay a combined property tax rate between roughly $2.00 and $2.80 per $100 of assessed value. The spread is real, and it comes down to two variables: which of two school districts covers your address, and whether your neighborhood sits inside a Municipal Utility District. Fulshear property tax rates are set separately by each taxing entity that reaches your parcel, and the biggest thing you control is the residence homestead exemption, which now removes $140,000 from your taxable value for school district purposes.
Who Actually Taxes Your Property
Your annual bill is not one tax. It’s a stack of independent levies from separate governments, and the first step in reading it is knowing what’s on it.
Every Fulshear property is taxed by at least four entities: the City of Fulshear, Fort Bend County (a general fund levy plus a small drainage district levy), one of two school districts, and Fort Bend County Emergency Services District No. 4, which funds the Fulshear-Simonton Fire Department. The school district is either Lamar Consolidated ISD or Katy ISD, depending on where in Fulshear you live. School taxes are almost always the largest line on the bill.
On top of those four, many homes sit inside a Municipal Utility District. MUDs are special-purpose districts that finance water, sewer, and drainage infrastructure in newer developments, and they carry their own rate. Some neighborhoods also fall inside a Levee Improvement District. Each one shows up as its own line item.
Current Rates by Taxing Entity
Each entity adopts its rate in the fall. The figures below reflect the most recently adopted rates and give a realistic picture of what a Fulshear owner faces.
City of Fulshear
The City of Fulshear’s adopted rate for fiscal year 2025–2026 is $0.1679 per $100 of assessed value.1City of Fulshear. Property and Sales Tax It’s the smallest slice of most bills.
Fort Bend County
Fort Bend County levies two components: a general fund rate of $0.4120 per $100 and a drainage district rate of $0.0100 per $100, for a combined county rate of $0.4220.2Fort Bend County. 2025 Tax Rate and Exemption Worksheet The general fund covers law enforcement, roads, and courts.
School Districts
Lamar Consolidated ISD’s total rate for 2025–2026 is $1.1469 per $100.3Lamar Consolidated ISD. Lamar Consolidated ISD – Tax Information Katy ISD’s total rate is $1.1171, split between $0.7271 for maintenance and operations and $0.3900 for debt service.4Katy Independent School District. Tax Rate Which one applies depends entirely on the district boundary your property falls within.
Emergency Services District
Fort Bend County ESD No. 4 funds fire protection and emergency response for the Fulshear area. The district’s 2025 no-new-revenue rate is approximately $0.0949 per $100.5Fulshear-Simonton Fire Department. Notice of 2025 Tax Rates for Fort Bend Emergency Services District No. 4 Small line, but every Fulshear owner pays it.
Municipal Utility Districts
MUD rates drive the widest variation across Fulshear. These districts carry higher rates in their early years because they’re repaying bonds that built out water, sewer, and drainage. Rates typically drop as the district matures and property values rise. Fulshear MUD No. 1, for instance, charged $0.82 per $100 in 2024.6Fulshear Municipal Utility District 1. Fulshear MUD 1 Financials Rates in the area generally range from roughly $0.50 to over $1.00 per $100. If your home is not inside a MUD, your total bill will be meaningfully lower than a neighbor’s in a MUD-covered subdivision.
What It Adds Up To
Stack the base layers without a MUD — city, county, school district, and ESD — and you’re at around $1.80 per $100. Add a typical MUD, and the combined rate climbs to roughly $2.40 to $2.80 per $100 for most homeowners. You can look up every taxing entity that applies to your specific address on the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District’s website.7Fort Bend Central Appraisal District. Tax Rates
How the Bill Is Calculated
The Fort Bend Central Appraisal District appraises every property in the county as of January 1 each year, setting a market value — what the home would sell for under normal conditions on that date. Market value is the starting point, not necessarily what you’re taxed on.
If you have a homestead exemption, the district subtracts the exemption from your appraised value. What’s left is your taxable value. Each taxing entity applies its own rate: divide taxable value by 100, multiply by the rate. On a home with a $260,000 taxable value for school purposes and a $1.1469 school rate, that’s $260,000 ÷ 100 × $1.1469 = $2,981.94 in school taxes. Run that calculation for each entity that covers the property, add them up, and you have the bill.
You should receive a Notice of Appraised Value from the appraisal district in the spring, typically in April. That notice shows the district’s proposed value and starts the clock on your right to protest.
Exemptions That Lower Your Bill
Exemptions are the most direct way to reduce what you owe. You apply through the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District, and the standard filing deadline is April 30. A late application can still be filed within two years of the delinquency date.8Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Residence Homestead Exemptions
General Residence Homestead Exemption
Texas law requires every school district to exempt $140,000 of a qualified homestead’s appraised value from school district taxes.9State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead On a home appraised at $400,000, only $260,000 is subject to school taxes. Because school taxes are the biggest piece of the bill, this delivers the biggest dollar savings. Some cities and counties layer on their own homestead exemptions, though the amounts are usually much smaller. You qualify if you own and occupy the home as your primary residence.
10 Percent Appraisal Cap
Once a homestead exemption is in place, the assessed value used to calculate your taxes cannot rise more than 10 percent year over year, no matter how much the market moves.10State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 23.23 – Limitation on Appraised Value of Residence Homesteads The cap applies to taxable value, not the appraisal district’s market estimate. In a fast-appreciating area, the gap between market value and capped assessed value can widen substantially after a few years. The cap resets when you buy a new home, since the new property has no prior-year assessed value to limit.
Over-65 and Disability Exemptions
Homeowners age 65 or older, and those who meet federal disability definitions, get an additional $10,000 exemption from school district taxes on top of the general $140,000, bringing the school exemption to $150,000.11Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions
More significant than the extra $10,000 is the school tax ceiling. Once you receive the over-65 or disability exemption, the dollar amount of school taxes you owe is frozen at that year’s level. Even as property values rise, your school district taxes will not go above that ceiling, and it only adjusts upward if you add improvements to the property.12State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.26 – Limitation of School Tax Counties, cities, and other taxing entities may offer optional freezes, but those aren’t guaranteed by state law.
Owners 65 or older also have the option to pay property taxes in four equal quarterly installments without penalty. The first installment and a written notice to the taxing unit must be submitted before the standard delinquency date.13State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 31.031 – Installments
Disabled Veterans
Veterans with a 100 percent disability compensation rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are exempt from property taxes on the total appraised value of their residence homestead.14State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent or Totally Disabled Veteran It’s a full exemption, not a reduction. The exemption can transfer to a surviving spouse who has not remarried and continues to live in the home.15Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. 100 Percent Disabled Veteran and Surviving Spouse Frequently Asked Questions
Protesting Your Appraisal
If the appraisal district’s value looks too high, you have the right to protest. It’s free if you handle it yourself, and a successful protest lowers the value every taxing entity uses, so the savings show up on every line.
File a written notice of protest by May 15 or within 30 days of receiving your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later.16State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41.44 – Notice of Protest Fort Bend Central Appraisal District accepts electronic filing on its website, which is the fastest option.
After you file, you get a hearing date before the Appraisal Review Board. Bring evidence: recent sales of comparable homes in your neighborhood, photos of condition issues that reduce value, and repair estimates. Many owners settle informally with an appraiser before the ARB hearing happens. In most protests, the appraisal district bears the burden of proving its value is correct. If you disagree with the ARB’s decision, you can appeal to binding arbitration (for properties valued under $5 million) or to district court.
Payment Deadlines and Late Penalties
The Fort Bend County Tax Assessor-Collector mails tax statements in the fall, generally in October. Taxes are due upon receipt and become delinquent on February 1 of the following year.17State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 31.02 – Delinquency Date Miss February 1 and penalties start immediately.
A delinquent tax picks up a 6 percent penalty in the first month plus 1 percent for each additional month it goes unpaid, along with 1 percent monthly interest.18State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.01 – Penalties and Interest The escalation month by month:
- February: 7 percent added (6% penalty + 1% interest)
- March: 9 percent total
- April: 11 percent total
- May: 13 percent total
- June: 15 percent total
- July: 18 percent total (the penalty caps at 12% plus accumulated interest), and attorney collection fees typically kick in
By July, with collection fees included, the amount owed can approach 40 percent above the original tax. Penalties apply only to the unpaid balance, so even a partial payment before February 1 is worth making.
You can pay through the Fort Bend County Tax Office’s online portal, by mail, or in person. Most mortgage lenders collect property taxes through an escrow account and pay the bill directly. If you don’t escrow, put January 31 on your calendar — waiting for a reminder is how most late penalties happen.