There is no single Texas property tax rate. The Texas Constitution prohibits a statewide property tax, so every dollar is levied by local entities, and your bill is the sum of rates adopted independently by the county, city, school district, and any special districts your property sits inside.1State of Texas. Texas Constitution Article 8 – Taxation and Revenue Across the state, the average effective rate works out to roughly 1.47% of a home’s value, which puts Texas among the highest-taxed states for real property in the country.2Tax Foundation. Property Taxes by State and County, 2026 What you actually pay depends on where the property sits, what it’s appraised at, and which exemptions you’ve filed for.
Who Actually Sets the Rate
Two different kinds of local bodies are involved, and keeping them straight matters. The county appraisal district decides what your property is worth. It does not set rates and does not collect taxes. The taxing units themselves — school district, county, city, and any special-purpose districts such as municipal utility districts or junior college districts — each adopt their own rate every year based on their budgets.
Most Texas properties fall inside four or five of these units at once. A suburban homeowner may be paying the county, a city, a school district, a community college district, and a utility district on the same parcel. School district taxes are almost always the biggest single piece.
How the Rate Becomes a Bill
Rates in Texas are expressed as dollars per $100 of taxable value.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 26.04 – Submission of Roll, Effective Tax Rate, and Voter-Approval Tax Rate For each taxing unit, divide your taxable value by 100 and multiply by that unit’s rate. A home with $300,000 in taxable value and a combined rate of $2.50 per $100 produces an annual bill of $7,500. Repeat for each unit; the sum is the total.
Taxable value is not the market value the appraisal district assigns. Market value is what the property would sell for. Taxable value is what’s left after exemptions and the homestead appraisal cap are applied. For a homeowner who has filed for every exemption they qualify for, the gap between the two numbers can be large, and closing that gap is the main way to reduce the bill without changing the rate.
Limits on How Fast Rates Can Rise
Texas Tax Code Chapter 26 sets up the Truth-in-Taxation framework, which caps how quickly local governments can raise rates and forces them to hold public hearings when they try. Two reference points drive the system: the no-new-revenue rate and the voter-approval rate.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 26.04 – Submission of Roll, Effective Tax Rate, and Voter-Approval Tax Rate
The no-new-revenue rate is the rate that would raise the same total revenue as the previous year from properties on the roll both years. It strips out the effect of rising appraisals, so a taxing unit can’t quietly collect more just because values went up. The voter-approval rate is the ceiling the unit can adopt without triggering an automatic election. For most cities and counties, that works out to the no-new-revenue M&O rate multiplied by 1.035, plus the current debt rate, which effectively caps M&O revenue growth at 3.5%.3State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 26.04 – Submission of Roll, Effective Tax Rate, and Voter-Approval Tax Rate Special taxing units such as hospital districts use an 8% multiplier. School districts follow a different formula tied to state-compressed rates.4Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Tax Rate Calculation
If a taxing unit wants to go above the voter-approval rate, it has to hold an election, and voters can turn it down. Even a proposed rate below that ceiling but above the no-new-revenue rate triggers public notice and hearing requirements. The notice has to appear on the unit’s website at least seven days before the hearing.5Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Notice Requirements Those hearings are open, and showing up is the direct way to push back before the final vote.
The 10% Homestead Appraisal Cap
Once you have a homestead exemption on file, the appraised value of your home can’t rise more than 10% in a single year above the prior year’s appraised value, plus the value of any new improvements.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 23.23 – Limitation on Appraised Value of Residence Homestead Market value can keep climbing; the cap limits only the appraised number used to calculate your bill. If market value jumped 25% in a hot year, your appraised value still rises just 10%, and taxes are figured on the lower number.
The cap resets when the home changes hands. A new owner is appraised at full market value in year one, and the 10% ceiling only starts limiting increases from that point. That is why buyers in fast-appreciating neighborhoods often see a sudden tax jump compared to the previous owner, whose cap had been holding appraised value down for years.
Exemptions That Shrink the Taxable Value
Exemptions don’t touch the rate; they reduce the value the rate is applied to. The residence homestead exemption is the baseline. Every qualified homestead gets a mandatory $140,000 exemption from school district appraised value. Counties must provide a $3,000 exemption, and cities or other taxing units may add an optional exemption of up to 20% of appraised value, with a floor of $5,000.7State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead You have to apply for the homestead exemption through your county appraisal district. It is not automatic.
Homeowners 65 and Older or Disabled
Qualifying homeowners who are 65 or older, or who meet the legal definition of disabled, get an extra $60,000 school district exemption on top of the standard $140,000.7State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead They also get a tax ceiling on school district taxes: once you qualify, the school district cannot bill you more than it did in your first qualifying year, no matter how much rates or values climb afterward.8State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.26 – Limitation of School Tax on Homesteads of Elderly or Disabled The ceiling only adjusts if you add improvements. File the moment you turn 65 or receive a disability determination.
Homeowners in this group can also defer collection of property taxes on their homestead altogether. Taxes keep accruing with interest at 5% a year instead of the standard penalty rates, and the taxing unit cannot foreclose. The balance comes due when the owner no longer owns or occupies the property.9State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.06 – Deferred Collection of Taxes on Residence Homestead of Elderly or Disabled Person
Disabled Veterans
Veterans with a service-connected disability rating qualify for a partial exemption that scales with the rating:10State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.22 – Disabled Veterans
- 10% to 29% disability: up to $5,000
- 30% to 49%: up to $7,500
- 50% to 69%: up to $10,000
- 70% or higher: up to $12,000
Veterans rated 100% disabled or individually unemployable receive a complete exemption from property taxes on their entire residence homestead.11State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent or Totally Disabled Veteran
Protesting the Appraisal
If your appraised value looks too high, protesting is the most direct way to cut what you owe. File a written notice of protest by May 15, or within 30 days after the appraisal district mails your notice of appraised value, whichever is later.12State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41.44 – Notice of Protest
The appraisal district will usually offer an informal conference first, where you can present evidence and try to settle with a staff appraiser.13Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal Protests and Appeals If that doesn’t work, the protest goes to the Appraisal Review Board, which hears both sides and issues a written order.
The strongest evidence in most residential protests: recent sales of comparable homes near yours, photos of condition problems the appraisal missed, repair estimates, and documentation of anything the district has recorded wrong, like incorrect square footage, a bathroom that doesn’t exist, or a pool that was removed. You can appear in person, by phone, by video, or submit a written affidavit.13Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal Protests and Appeals If you disagree with the Board’s decision, further appeals run through binding arbitration or district court depending on the property’s value.
Payment Deadlines and Penalties
Property taxes are due by January 31 of the year following the tax year. Anything unpaid on February 1 is delinquent. If the bill was mailed after January 10, the delinquency date shifts to give you at least 21 days from mailing.14Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Paying Your Taxes
Penalties stack fast. A delinquent tax takes a 6% penalty in the first month, then another 1% each month through June. On July 1, the total penalty jumps to 12% regardless of how many months have passed. On top of that, delinquent taxes accrue interest at 1% per month.15State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.01 – Penalties and Interest By July, a homeowner who missed January 31 could owe 12% in penalty plus 5% or more in interest, before collection attorney fees are added.
If taxes stay unpaid, the taxing unit can file suit, foreclose, and sell the property at a tax sale. Texas uses judicial foreclosure rather than a tax lien certificate system. Older, disabled, and disabled-veteran homeowners can head off foreclosure by filing for the deferral described above.
Property Taxes and Your Federal Return
Because Texas has no state income tax, property taxes are the main component of most Texans’ state and local tax deduction on the federal return. For tax year 2026, the SALT cap is $40,400 for most filers and $20,200 for married individuals filing separately.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 164 – Taxes That cap covers property taxes combined with either state income taxes or state sales taxes. With no Texas income tax in the picture, the full cap is available for property taxes and sales taxes.
The $40,400 cap came from federal legislation signed in 2025 and runs through tax year 2029, replacing the previous $10,000 limit. The cap phases down gradually for taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income above $500,000. After 2029, it is scheduled to revert to $10,000 unless Congress acts again.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 164 – Taxes The deduction only helps taxpayers who itemize, so if your itemized total doesn’t exceed the standard deduction, the property tax write-off adds nothing.