If you own a home inside a Municipal Utility District in Montgomery County, your Montgomery County MUD tax is an additional ad valorem property tax that typically runs between about $0.44 and $1.50 per $100 of assessed value, depending on which district you’re in.1Montgomery County Tax Office. Tax Rate Information and Truth in Taxation It sits on your tax bill alongside the county, school, and any city taxes, and it pays for the water, sewer, and drainage infrastructure that serves your subdivision. On a $350,000 home, the difference between the low and high ends of that range works out to roughly $3,710 a year, so the specific district matters a great deal.
How to Find Your MUD and Your Rate
Start with the Montgomery Central Appraisal District’s online property search at mcad-tx.org. Enter your address or the owner name and the results list every taxing jurisdiction tied to the parcel, including the specific MUD number. Once you have the number, the Montgomery County Tax Office publishes a complete table of adopted rates for every taxing unit in the county, updated annually.1Montgomery County Tax Office. Tax Rate Information and Truth in Taxation
If you’re shopping for a home rather than looking at your own, do this before you make an offer. Two houses on opposite sides of a county road can sit in different districts with very different rates.
Why MUD Rates Vary So Much
Every MUD tax rate has two pieces: a debt service rate and a maintenance and operations rate.1Montgomery County Tax Office. Tax Rate Information and Truth in Taxation
The debt service piece pays principal and interest on bonds the district issued to build water lines, sewer systems, drainage, and roads. In a brand-new MUD with only a handful of completed homes, this rate is high because a small tax base is carrying a large debt load. As more homes are built and total assessed value grows, the cost spreads across more properties and the debt service rate tends to decline. When all the bonds are retired, this component goes to zero.
The M&O piece covers day-to-day operations: water treatment, sewer repairs, mowing and maintaining drainage facilities, insurance, and administration. It doesn’t automatically shrink over time. Aging pipes and pumps often cost more to maintain, so this rate can creep up even as debt service falls.
Put together, a newly developed MUD will usually sit near the top of the countywide range, while a mature district with its bonds paid off can run well under $0.50 per $100.
Current Rate Examples Across Montgomery County
Based on adopted 2025 rates published by the Montgomery County Tax Office, the spread looks like this:1Montgomery County Tax Office. Tax Rate Information and Truth in Taxation
- East Plantation UD — $0.4440 per $100
- Corinthian Point MUD 2 — $0.5288 per $100
- Conroe MUD 1 — $0.6000 per $100
- Montgomery County MUD 147–149 — $0.9000 per $100
- Montgomery County MUD 142 — $1.0000 per $100
- East Montgomery County MUD 6 — $1.1700 per $100
- Montgomery County MUD 141 — $1.2200 per $100
- Decker Prairie MUD and East Montgomery County MUD 13 and 14 — $1.5000 per $100
Several districts on the county’s rolls show “No Tax Levied” for 2025. Those MUDs either haven’t begun development or have retired their obligations and are not currently collecting.
Homestead Exemptions on MUD Taxes
The large residence homestead exemption that most Montgomery County homeowners see on their bill applies only to school districts, not to MUDs or other special districts.2Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions That’s the single most common misunderstanding about MUD bills.
State law does let a MUD adopt its own local-option homestead exemption of up to 20 percent of appraised value, with a $5,000 floor, under Tax Code Section 11.13(n).3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead The district’s board has to adopt it before July 1 of the tax year for it to apply. In practice, most Montgomery County MUDs don’t offer one, because the district’s primary job is generating enough revenue to cover bond payments and utility operations. If your MUD has adopted a local-option exemption, it will show up as a separate line item on your appraisal district record.
When the Bill Is Due and What Happens If You’re Late
Tax bills go out in October and are due by January 31 of the following year.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Paying Your Taxes If your mortgage has an escrow account, the lender collects the MUD tax as part of your monthly payment and sends it in for you. Confirm your lender has the right MUD assignment if you recently bought the home or if your district’s boundaries have shifted. Escrow miscalculations are a common source of year-end shortfalls.
Miss January 31 and the penalty-and-interest clock starts under Texas Tax Code Section 33.01. On February 1, a 6 percent penalty plus 1 percent interest is added to the unpaid balance. The penalty rises by 1 percent each additional month, and interest accrues at a separate 1 percent per month.5State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.01 – Penalties and Interest By July 1 the penalty caps at 12 percent, but interest keeps running until the balance is paid. Once the account is referred for collection, the taxing entity can add up to another 20 percent to cover attorney fees.
On a $5,000 MUD bill, waiting until July means roughly $1,600 in penalties and interest before any attorney-fee surcharge, and the taxing authority holds a lien on the property from the day the taxes become delinquent. If paying on time is going to be a problem, call the Montgomery County Tax Office before the deadline and ask about partial payments or installment options for qualifying homeowners.
What Happens to Your Rate Over Time
A new MUD sits at the high end of the county range because a small base of homeowners is carrying the full infrastructure bond. As the subdivision builds out and the tax base grows, the debt service rate usually drops. Once all bonds are paid off, the debt service piece disappears entirely, and the district continues levying only an M&O rate to keep water, sewer, and drainage running.
A different outcome arrives if a nearby city annexes the district. Under Texas law the city must annex the entire MUD and typically assumes any remaining bond debt. The MUD dissolves, residents start paying the city’s property tax rate instead, and the city takes over utility service. Whether that helps or hurts depends on how the city’s combined rate compares to what you were paying as a MUD resident, and utility rates can shift for years afterward.