Property taxes in Kleberg County are the combined total of rates set by the county, your school district, the City of Kingsville if you live inside city limits, and any special districts that cover your property, all applied to your appraised value minus exemptions. Bills go out in the fall and are due by January 31. Homestead, over-65, disability, veteran, and agricultural exemptions can meaningfully cut what you owe, and the deadline to apply for most of them is May 1.
2025 Tax Rates by Entity
Each taxing unit adopts its own rate per $100 of assessed value. The most recent adopted rates are:
- Kleberg County: $0.771870
- City of Kingsville: $0.769180
- Kingsville ISD: $1.410400
- Ricardo ISD: $0.755200
- Riviera ISD: $0.767700
- Santa Gertrudis ISD: $0.628400
- South Texas Water Authority: $0.059699
- Kenedy County Groundwater: $0.017138
A homeowner inside Kingsville city limits in Kingsville ISD faces a combined rate of roughly $3.01 per $100 of taxable value before exemptions.1Kleberg County Appraisal District. 2025 Tax Rates Someone in an unincorporated part of the county served by Ricardo ISD pays considerably less because they skip the city rate and have a lower school rate. Rates change each year as entities adopt new budgets, so check the current schedule before estimating a bill.
How Your Property Is Valued
The Kleberg County Appraisal District values every property at its market value as of January 1 — what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller in an arm’s-length transaction under normal conditions.2State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 23.01 – Appraisals Generally If your home has a homestead exemption, the chief appraiser must send a notice of appraised value by April 1 or as soon as practicable. For all other property, the deadline is May 1.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 25.19 – Notice of Appraised Value You only receive a notice when the value increased, when a prior exemption was reduced or canceled, or when the property is new to the roll. No notice usually means your value stayed flat or dropped.
Exemptions That Lower Your Bill
Exemptions are the single easiest way to cut what you owe, and plenty of eligible homeowners never file.
General Residence Homestead
If you own the home and live in it as your primary residence, every Texas school district must exempt $140,000 of appraised value from school taxes.4State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead On a home appraised at $200,000 within Kingsville ISD, you pay the school rate on only $60,000. Counties that collect farm-to-market or flood control taxes must also provide a $3,000 exemption, and any taxing unit may adopt a local-option exemption of up to 20 percent of appraised value (with a $5,000 floor).5Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions
Over-65 and Disability
Homeowners 65 or older or with a qualifying disability get an additional $60,000 school exemption on top of the $140,000, for a combined $200,000 off school value.4State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead Other taxing units can adopt their own additional exemption of at least $3,000 for these groups. Qualifying also locks in a tax ceiling on your school district taxes: once set, your school bill cannot rise unless you add improvements.
Disabled Veterans
Veterans with a service-connected VA disability rating receive an exemption that scales with the rating:
- 10 to 29 percent: up to $5,000 off assessed value
- 30 to 49 percent: up to $7,500
- 50 to 69 percent: up to $10,000
- 70 percent or higher: up to $12,000
Veterans 65 or older with at least a 10 percent rating, those who are totally blind, or those who have lost the use of one or more limbs also qualify for the $12,000 exemption regardless of percentage.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.22 – Disabled Veterans Veterans rated 100 percent disabled or individually unemployable receive a complete exemption from all property taxes on their homestead, which extends to a surviving spouse who has not remarried.7State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent or Totally Disabled Veteran
The 10 Percent Appraisal Cap
With a homestead exemption in place, the appraisal district cannot increase your home’s appraised value by more than 10 percent per year, plus the value of any new improvements, regardless of how much the market moves.8State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 23.23 – Limitation on Appraised Value of Residence Homestead The cap resets only if the property stops being your homestead.
Agricultural (Open-Space) Appraisal
Land currently devoted to agricultural use at the intensity generally accepted in the area, and used that way for at least five of the preceding seven years, can be appraised based on its agricultural productivity rather than market value.9State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 23.51 Qualifying activities include raising livestock, cultivating crops, keeping bees on 5 to 20 acres, and wildlife management. If you later take the land out of agricultural use, expect a rollback tax covering the difference between what you paid under ag valuation and what you would have owed at market value for the previous five years, plus interest.
When to File
Applications for all exemptions must be filed with the Kleberg County Appraisal District before May 1 of the tax year you want them to take effect.5Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions You file once and don’t need to refile unless you move, ownership changes, or the appraisal district requests a new application. You can submit a late application up to two years after the delinquency date for that year’s taxes, but you lose the benefit for any year you don’t apply.
Payment Deadline and How to Pay
Tax bills go out in the fall and are due upon receipt. The critical date is January 31. Any tax unpaid on February 1 is delinquent.10State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 31.02 – Delinquency Date A mailed payment counts as timely only if postmarked January 31 or earlier.
The Kleberg County Tax Assessor-Collector accepts payments online, by mail, and in person. Online payments through the county portal accept credit cards and electronic checks, with a convenience fee charged by the third-party processor. You can look up your account on the Tax Assessor-Collector’s website if you haven’t received a statement or have misplaced it.11Kleberg County Texas. Kleberg County Tax Assessor-Collector Keep your confirmation receipt or canceled check as proof of timely payment.
Quarterly Installments for Seniors and Disabled Homeowners
If you are 65 or older, disabled, or a disabled veteran with a homestead exemption, you can split your tax into four equal installments without penalty or interest. The first is due before February 1, and you must notify the tax office that you’re using the plan. The remaining three are due before April 1, June 1, and August 1.12State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 31.031 – Installment Payments of Certain Homestead Taxes If you miss February 1, the statute lets you still enter the plan by paying before March 1.
Missing any installment triggers a 6 percent penalty on the unpaid amount and 1 percent monthly interest going forward, but only on that installment, not your whole bill.
What Late Payment Costs
Penalty and interest on delinquent taxes climb each month and jump sharply on July 1. The combined schedule:
- February: 6% penalty + 1% interest = 7%
- March: 7% + 2% = 9%
- April: 8% + 3% = 11%
- May: 9% + 4% = 13%
- June: 10% + 5% = 15%
- July: 12% + 6% = 18%
The penalty is 6 percent in February and rises 1 percent each month, except that on July 1 it jumps to a flat 12 percent. Interest accrues separately at 1 percent per month for as long as the tax remains unpaid.13State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.01 – Penalties and Interest
July 1 also brings an additional collection penalty if the taxing unit has contracted with a collection attorney. The tax office must send a delinquency notice at least 30 days before that date.14State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.07 – Additional Penalty for Collection Costs for Taxes Due Before June 1 In practice this attorney fee often adds roughly 15 to 20 percent of the base tax.
If taxes stay unpaid long enough, the taxing unit can sue to foreclose and sell the property. For a homestead or agricultural land, the former owner has two years from the date the buyer’s deed is recorded to redeem, which requires reimbursing the buyer in full plus a 25 percent premium if redeemed in the first year or 50 percent in the second.15State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 34.21 – Right of Redemption For non-homestead, non-agricultural property, the redemption window is six months.
Protesting Your Appraised Value
If your notice of appraised value looks too high, you can protest to the Appraisal Review Board.16State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41.41 – Right of Protest The deadline to file a written notice of protest is the later of May 15 or 30 days after your notice was delivered.17State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41.44 – Notice of Protest Miss that window and you’re stuck with the value for the year.
After you file, the appraisal district usually schedules an informal meeting first. Bring comparable sales for similar homes, photos of condition issues, and documentation of needed repairs. Many protests settle at this stage. If not, the case goes to a formal hearing before the Appraisal Review Board, which issues a written order; no attorney is required.
If the board rules against you, you can file a petition in district court. For disputes primarily about value, you can request binding arbitration within 45 days of receiving the order. Arbitration requires a $500 deposit; if the arbitrator rules closer to your proposed value, you get $450 back. It tends to be faster and less expensive than court.
If You Own Business Equipment
Owners of tangible personal property used to produce income — equipment, inventory, furniture, vehicles — must file a rendition statement with the Kleberg County Appraisal District each year.18State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 22.01 – Rendition Generally The rendition lists property type, location, and either a good-faith estimate of market value or original cost and year of acquisition. The deadline is April 15, with extensions available on written request. Failing to file, or filing late, carries a 10 percent penalty on the taxes owed on the unreported property; a fraudulent rendition carries 50 percent.