Stafford, Texas Property Tax: No City Rate, Exemptions, Caps

Stafford is the largest city in Texas that charges no city property tax, a status it has held since 1995, but a home in Stafford is not tax-free. Property owners still owe the Stafford Municipal School District, Fort Bend County, Fort Bend County Water Control and Improvement District No. 2, a drainage levy, and Houston Community College. Added together, those rates come to roughly $1.73 per $100 of taxable value before any exemptions.

Why the City Rate Is Zero

Stafford’s city government dropped its property tax rate to zero in 1995 and shifted to sales tax and commercial revenue to fund municipal services.¹ The commercial corridor along U.S. 90 and the Southwest Freeway generates enough retail activity to cover city operations, and the zero rate applies to both residential and commercial property inside city limits.² Texas has no state-level property tax either, so the only levies on your statement come from the overlapping districts below.

What You Actually Owe: Rates by Jurisdiction

The city publishes the following rates for property inside Stafford:²

Stafford Municipal School District: $1.002121 per $100 of taxable value
Fort Bend County General Obligation Fund: $0.412000 per $100
Fort Bend County Water Control and Improvement District No. 2: $0.212500 per $100
Drainage: $0.010000 per $100
Houston Community College: $0.096183 per $100

The school district accounts for more than half the total bill, which is typical across Texas. A small number of Stafford parcels fall within Harris County rather than Fort Bend County; those owners deal with a different county rate and the Harris Central Appraisal District instead of the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District. Your tax statement names the exact jurisdictions that apply.

Exemptions That Lower Your Bill

The residence homestead exemption is the biggest break available to a Stafford homeowner. If you owned and lived in your home as your primary residence on January 1, you qualify for a $140,000 reduction in taxable value for school district taxes under Texas Tax Code Section 11.13(b).³ On a home appraised at $350,000, that drops the value subject to the school district rate to $210,000, saving roughly $1,404 a year at the current school rate.

Any taxing unit can also adopt an additional local-option homestead exemption of up to 20 percent of appraised value, with a $5,000 floor.³ Whether Fort Bend County and the other Stafford-area entities have adopted it varies by year, so confirm current details with the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District.

To claim any homestead exemption, file Form 50-114 with the appraisal district in the county where your property sits. The general deadline is before May 1 of the tax year.⁴ If you bought your home after January 1, you can still receive the exemption for the applicable portion of the tax year as long as the previous owner did not already claim it.

Over 65 and Disabled Homeowners

Homeowners aged 65 or older and those who meet the Social Security Administration’s disability standards get an additional exemption on top of the general homestead. The bigger benefit is the tax ceiling: in the year you turn 65 or qualify as disabled, the school district freezes your school tax bill at that year’s amount. It cannot rise above that ceiling as long as you own and live in the home, even if your property value climbs.⁴ Some counties and other taxing units offer a ceiling of their own, though they are not required to.

You cannot claim both the over-65 and the disability exemption from the same taxing unit in the same year. Someone who is both 65 or older and disabled can, however, take one from one taxing unit and the other from a different unit.⁴

Caps on Annual Appraisal Increases

Texas limits how fast your appraised value can rise, which in turn limits how fast your bill can grow.

Homestead Cap: 10 Percent

With a homestead exemption in place, the appraisal district cannot raise your appraised value more than 10 percent over the prior year, plus the market value of any new improvements you added.⁵ If the market jumps 25 percent in a year, you only see a 10 percent bump. The gap between capped value and full market value builds over time, which is helpful while you live there and resets to market when a new owner takes over.

Non-Homestead Circuit Breaker: 20 Percent

Starting in 2024, Texas added a 20 percent annual cap for real property that is not a residence homestead, including rental houses, commercial buildings, and vacant land. For 2026, the cap applies to properties with an appraised value at or below $5,320,000 in the first year they qualified.⁶ Properties above that threshold have no cap and can rise to full market value in a single year.

The non-homestead cap is set to expire on December 31, 2026. Unless the Texas Legislature extends it, the 2027 tax year will have no cap for non-homestead property.⁶

How Your Bill Is Calculated

The Fort Bend Central Appraisal District sets the market value of most Stafford properties each year, based on what the property would sell for under current conditions.⁷ The Harris Central Appraisal District handles the handful of Stafford parcels on the Harris County side.

Taxable value equals appraised value minus any exemptions and caps that apply. Each taxing entity then multiplies your taxable value by its own rate (expressed per $100) and bills you for its share. A home with a $250,000 taxable value owes the school district $250,000 ÷ 100 × $1.002121, or about $2,505. Add the county, water district, drainage, and community college levies on top, and the full bill on that taxable value comes to roughly $4,332 at current rates.

Paying On Time

Tax bills go out in October, and the deadline to pay without penalty is January 31.⁸ Fort Bend County accepts payment several ways:⁹

Online e-check at no extra charge; credit and debit cards carry a 2.29 percent convenience fee (minimum $2.75), charged by a third-party processor
Mail — the postmark date counts as the payment date
In person at the Tax Assessor-Collector’s office or sub-stations, with cash, check, or card

You need your property account number (sometimes labeled Quick Ref ID or R-number) to look up the bill. The statement breaks out the amount owed to each jurisdiction. Confirm the parcel and tax year before you hit submit, especially if you own more than one property nearby.

What Late Payment Costs

Taxes unpaid on February 1 are delinquent, and the penalties stack quickly:⁸

February 1: 6 percent penalty plus 1 percent interest added immediately
March through June: an additional 1 percent penalty each month
July 1: total penalty jumps to 12 percent, and interest keeps running at 1 percent per month with no cap

Taxing units that have contracted with a collection attorney can tack on an additional penalty on July 1 to cover attorney fees. Under Section 33.07, that extra charge can equal the full amount of the attorney’s contracted compensation, and Section 33.48 sets that compensation at 15 percent of the total taxes, penalties, and interest owed.¹⁰ A $5,000 bill left unpaid through July can generate over $1,600 in combined penalties, interest, and attorney fees in under six months. Even a day late in February triggers costs that never go away.

Installment Plans and Deferrals for Seniors and Disabled Owners

If you are 65 or older, disabled, or a disabled veteran, you can split your bill into four equal installments with no penalty or interest. Pay the first installment and submit written notice of intent before the delinquency date, usually February 1. The remaining three are due before April 1, June 1, and August 1.¹¹ Miss any installment and only the unpaid portion becomes delinquent at the standard 6 percent penalty and monthly interest.

The same group of homeowners can also defer all property tax collection on their homestead indefinitely by filing an affidavit with the chief appraiser. Once it’s on file, no taxing unit can sue or sell the property at a tax sale while you own and live in the home.¹² The lien stays on the property and interest accrues at 5 percent per year during the deferral. Collection resumes 181 days after you move or sell, so the balance eventually comes due, but foreclosure is off the table while you live there.

Protesting Your Appraisal

If you think your appraised value is too high, you can protest. The deadline is May 15 or 30 days from the date the appraisal district mails your notice of appraised value, whichever is later.¹³ The clock starts on the mailing date printed on the notice, not the day it arrives.

Protests usually start with an informal meeting where you present evidence to a staff appraiser. Recent comparable sales, photos of damage or deferred maintenance, and repair estimates all help. Most protests settle at this stage. If you don’t reach an agreement, the case moves to the Appraisal Review Board, a panel of local citizens independent from the appraisal district, which hears both sides and issues a determination that is binding for that tax year.¹⁴

You can also protest on grounds of unequal appraisal, arguing your property is assessed higher than comparable properties nearby. The Texas Constitution requires property taxation to be equal and uniform. Pulling data from the appraisal district’s own rolls to show that comparable homes carry lower appraisals is one of the strongest arguments available. If you disagree with the ARB’s final ruling, you can appeal to district court, though most homeowners settle during the informal or ARB stages.

1
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. On Point with Stafford Mayor Leonard Scarcella
2
City of Stafford, Texas. Tax Structure
3
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Title 1 – Section 11.13
4
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions
5
Fort Bend Central Appraisal District. Homestead Exemption and Homestead Cap Explained
6
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Valuing Property
7
Fort Bend Central Appraisal District. Fort Bend Central Appraisal District
8
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Paying Your Taxes
9
Fort Bend County. Property Taxes
10
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Opinion KP-0483
11
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Payment Options
12
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code Title 1 – Section 33.06
13
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal Protests and Appeals
14
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal Review Boards