The North Richland Hills property tax rate for fiscal year 2025–2026 is $0.497841 per $100 of assessed value, split into $0.346946 for maintenance and operations and $0.150895 for debt service.1City of North Richland Hills. Frequently Asked Questions That city rate is only one piece of your bill. Four other jurisdictions tax the same parcel, and the combined rate most homeowners pay lands around $2.18 per $100 of taxable value.
What Makes Up Your Combined Rate
Five separate taxing entities levy property taxes on every parcel inside city limits, and each adopts its own rate after public hearings every fall. The entities are the City of North Richland Hills, Tarrant County, the Tarrant County College District, the Tarrant County Hospital District (JPS Health Network), and your school district. Most homeowners fall within Birdville ISD; properties near the northern edge of the city are served by Keller ISD.2North Richland Hills, TX – Official Website. Taxes
The school district is typically the largest single piece of the bill, often more than half the total. Confirmed rates for the current year, each per $100 of taxable value:
- City of North Richland Hills: $0.4978411City of North Richland Hills. Frequently Asked Questions
- Tarrant County College: $0.1122803Tarrant County College. Taxpayer Information
- Keller ISD (where applicable): $1.0852, made up of $0.7552 for operations and $0.33 for debt service4Keller Independent School District. Finance
- Birdville ISD, Tarrant County, and JPS Hospital District: adopted annually and posted on the city’s tax page once all jurisdictions finalize budgets.2North Richland Hills, TX – Official Website. Taxes
How to Calculate Your Bill
Once you know your taxable value (your appraised value minus any exemptions and any appraisal cap reduction), the math is simple. Divide your taxable value by 100, then multiply by the combined rate. A home with a taxable value of $300,000 at a combined rate of $2.18 comes out to $6,540 for the year.
Tarrant County mails bills by October 1, or as soon after as possible.5State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 31.01 The bill itemizes every taxing entity’s share, so you can see exactly where the money goes.
Exemptions That Lower Your Taxable Value
The general residence homestead exemption is the biggest tax break most owners will claim. Under Texas Tax Code Section 11.13, every school district must exempt $100,000 of a homestead’s appraised value from school taxes. On a home appraised at $350,000, only $250,000 is subject to the school portion of the bill. Other taxing entities can adopt their own optional homestead exemptions of up to 20 percent of appraised value, with a floor of $5,000.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 11.13
Owners who are 65 or older, or who have a qualifying disability, get an additional $10,000 off the taxable value for school purposes on top of the $100,000 general exemption, for a total of $110,000.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 11.13
Applications go through the Tarrant Appraisal District.7Tarrant Appraisal District. Tarrant Appraisal District You’ll need a Texas driver’s license or state ID showing the property’s address. The address match is strict; the district cannot grant the exemption without it.
Disabled Veterans
Veterans with a service-connected disability qualify for a separate exemption under Texas Tax Code Section 11.22, scaled to the VA 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 who are 65 or older with at least a 10 percent 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.8State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11.22 – Disabled Veterans The veteran designates one property for the exemption and applies through TAD.
Limits on How Fast Your Value Can Rise
Once a homestead exemption is in place, the appraised value on that home cannot increase by more than 10 percent per year, regardless of what the market does. The cap applies to appraised value before exemptions are subtracted. New improvements such as an addition or pool fall outside the cap and are added at full market value the first year.9State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 23.23 – Limitation on Appraised Value
Tax Ceiling for Seniors and Disabled Homeowners
The cap limits appraised value. The tax ceiling goes further and freezes the school-tax dollar amount itself. Under Section 11.26, once you qualify for the over-65 or disabled-person exemption, your school district cannot charge you more in school taxes than it charged in the first year you qualified. If you sell and buy another home in Texas, the ceiling transfers; the new school district calculates a proportional ceiling based on what you had been paying. Improvements beyond routine repairs can raise the frozen amount by the tax on the added value.10State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 11.26 – Limitation of School Tax on Homesteads of Elderly or Disabled
When Taxes Are Due
Taxes are due when the bill arrives and become delinquent on February 1 of the following year.11State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 31.02 – Delinquency Date In practice, you have from October through January 31 to pay without penalty. The Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector handles billing and collection for every entity on your bill in a single statement.
Accepted payment methods:12Tarrant County. Payment Information
- Online or by phone: credit cards carry a 2.15 percent convenience fee, debit cards a $2.95 fee, and e-check is free.
- In person at the downtown Fort Worth office (100 E. Weatherford Street): credit (2.15 percent, $2.50 minimum), debit ($2.50), check, or cash.
- By mail: checks or money orders, postmarked by January 31.
- Drop box: checks only, at the Arlington and Mansfield subcourthouses.
Partial prepayments are accepted throughout the year if you’d rather spread the cost.
What a Late Payment Costs
Missing the January 31 deadline triggers an immediate 6 percent penalty and 1 percent interest on the unpaid balance starting February 1. An additional 1 percent penalty accrues each month through June. On July 1 the total penalty jumps to 12 percent no matter when the delinquency began, and a collection penalty of up to 20 percent can be added if the account is referred to an attorney. Interest keeps accruing at 1 percent per month until the balance is paid.13State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Section 33.01 – Penalties and Interest
On a $6,000 bill left unpaid, that progression looks like this:
- February 1: $360 penalty plus $60 interest, for a balance of $6,420.
- April 1: $480 penalty plus $180 interest, for a balance of $6,660.
- July 1: penalty resets to $720 plus $300 interest, for $7,020 before any collection penalty is added.
Unpaid taxes also create a lien on the property that takes priority over mortgages and other debts, and the taxing unit can eventually foreclose and force a tax sale.
Protesting Your Appraisal
Lowering the appraised value is the other way to lower the bill. If you think the Tarrant Appraisal District’s value is too high, or you were denied an exemption you qualify for, you can file a protest. The deadline is May 15 or 30 days after TAD mails your appraisal notice, whichever is later.14State of Texas. Texas Tax Code TAX 41.44 Miss the window and you’re locked in for the year.
The process starts informally. After you file, a TAD appraiser will typically schedule a meeting to review your evidence. If you can’t settle there, the case goes to the Appraisal Review Board, an independent panel that hears both sides and issues a binding determination subject to full-board approval. Comparable sales, photos of condition issues, and repair estimates carry more weight than arguments that the number simply feels too high.
Hiring a residential tax consultant is common. Most work on contingency, typically 25 to 50 percent of the first year’s tax savings, and charge nothing if the value isn’t reduced. You can also file and present the protest yourself at no cost.