Property taxes in Wichita Falls are set by several jurisdictions that stack on the same home. For the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, the City of Wichita Falls rate is $0.6825 per $100 of assessed value,1City of Wichita Falls. Property Tax Rate and the Wichita Falls Independent School District adds $1.075287 per $100.2Wichita Falls Independent School District. Finance – Wichita Falls Independent School District Add Wichita County and the Wichita County Hospital District and the combined rate reaches roughly $2.50 per $100 of taxable value. On a $150,000 home with a standard homestead exemption, that works out to several thousand dollars a year, and the exemptions you claim and the appraisal you accept both move that number significantly.
Who Taxes Your Home and at What Rate
The Wichita County Tax Office collects on behalf of eight separate jurisdictions and disburses close to $120 million a year across them.3Wichita County Texas Official Tax Office Website. Wichita County Texas Official Tax Office Website Four entities drive most of what you owe:
- Wichita Falls ISD at $1.075287 per $100, split between $0.6822 for maintenance and operations and $0.393087 for debt service.2Wichita Falls Independent School District. Finance – Wichita Falls Independent School District
- City of Wichita Falls at $0.6825 per $100.1City of Wichita Falls. Property Tax Rate
- Wichita County, which funds county government operations including law enforcement and the courts.
- Wichita County Hospital District, which funds local hospital services and indigent health care.
The city and school district rates alone account for roughly $1.76 per $100. Each entity sets its own rate, applies exemptions independently, and shows up as a separate line on your statement.
How Your Property Gets Valued
The Wichita Appraisal District develops uniform market value appraisals for every property in the county.4Wichita Appraisal District. Wichita Appraisal District Under the Texas Tax Code, all taxable property is appraised at market value as of January 1 each year, using mass appraisal methods that compare recent sales of similar properties.
If your appraised value went up from the prior year, the chief appraiser must mail you a Notice of Appraised Value by April 1 for a single-family residence, or May 1 for other property types.5Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Valuing Property The notice shows current and prior-year values, exemptions on file, the taxing units involved, and protest instructions. You won’t get a notice if the value stayed flat or dropped, which can catch homeowners off guard later when the bill arrives.
Your tax is each unit’s rate multiplied by your taxable value, which is appraised value minus the exemptions that unit grants. A $200,000 home with a $140,000 school homestead exemption gets taxed by the school district on only $60,000. Because exemptions differ across entities, your taxable value differs across the lines on your bill.
Exemptions That Lower What You Owe
The residence homestead exemption is the biggest tax break most Wichita Falls owners will qualify for. To get it, you need to own the property and live in it as your primary residence as of January 1. Once on file, it removes value from the tax rolls and triggers an annual cap on how fast the appraised value can grow.
Every Texas school district must exempt $140,000 of a homestead’s appraised value.2Wichita Falls Independent School District. Finance – Wichita Falls Independent School District Non-school taxing units may adopt an optional local exemption of up to 20 percent of appraised value, with a $5,000 floor.6State of Texas. Texas Code Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead Not every local entity adopts one, so check your statement to see what applies.
The appraisal cap matters just as much in a rising market. Once you have a homestead exemption, the appraisal district cannot increase your appraised value by more than 10 percent per year over the prior year’s appraised value, plus the value of any new improvements.7State of Texas. Texas Code Tax Code Section 23.23 – Limitation on Appraised Value of Residence Homestead If market value jumps 25 percent in a hot year, the taxable appraised value can only move 10 percent. The gap compounds in your favor.
Over-65 and Disability
Homeowners who are 65 or older, or who have a qualifying disability, get additional benefits on top of the standard homestead. The most valuable is the school district tax ceiling: once you qualify, school taxes on your home are frozen at that year’s amount. If the district raises its rate later, your bill doesn’t move. If the rate drops, the ceiling drops with it. You can transfer the ceiling proportionally if you move to another Texas home.
Disabled Veterans
Veterans with a service-connected disability receive a separate exemption tied to their 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 $12,0008State of Texas. Texas Code Tax Code 11.22 – Disabled Veterans
Veterans rated 100 percent disabled from a service-connected condition, or classified as individually unemployable, qualify for a total exemption on the full appraised value of their homestead.9State of Texas. Texas Code Tax Code Section 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent or Totally Disabled Veteran That means zero property taxes on the home. Every exemption requires a formal application filed with the Wichita Appraisal District. Nothing gets added to your account automatically, so if you’ve never applied, file.
Protesting an Appraisal
If the value on your notice looks too high, filing a protest is the single most effective way to push it down. You don’t need a lawyer, though you can hire one or use a consultant.
File a written notice of protest with the Wichita County Appraisal Review Board by May 15, or within 30 days after the Notice of Appraised Value was mailed, whichever is later.10State of Texas. Texas Code Tax Code 41.44 – Notice of Protest The Texas Comptroller’s Form 50-132 works. Miss the deadline and you wait another year.
After filing, the appraisal district typically offers an informal review with a staff appraiser. Most protests get resolved there. Bring comparable sales for similar homes nearby, photos of condition issues the appraisal doesn’t reflect, and your own estimate of market value. If the informal review doesn’t land somewhere you can accept, you move to a formal hearing before the Appraisal Review Board. You can appear in person, by phone, by videoconference, or by written affidavit.5Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Valuing Property
If you disagree with the ARB’s order, you have 60 days to file a petition in district court. Binding arbitration is a less expensive alternative. A successful protest also compounds: the lowered value becomes the baseline for future years.
Payment Deadlines and Penalties
The Wichita County Tax Office mails tax statements by October 1 each year, or as soon after as practicable.11Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Bills Taxes are due on receipt and become delinquent on February 1, so the working deadline is January 31.3Wichita County Texas Official Tax Office Website. Wichita County Texas Official Tax Office Website
Penalties escalate quickly. In the first month of delinquency, you owe a 6 percent penalty plus 1 percent interest. Each additional month adds another 1 percent to each. On July 1, if the taxes are still unpaid, the penalty jumps to a flat 12 percent regardless of the number of months, an additional collection penalty may apply on top, and interest keeps running at 1 percent per month.12State of Texas. Texas Code Tax Code 33.01 – Penalties and Interest On a $3,000 bill, waiting until July adds roughly $500 or more in penalties and interest alone.
You can pay online through the tax office website by credit card or electronic check (a small processing fee applies), mail a check, or pay in person. For mailed payments, the postmark date counts, so don’t drop a check in the box on January 31 and assume you’re safe.
Installment and Deferral Options
Homeowners who are 65 or older, disabled, or a disabled veteran can split the bill into four equal installments with no penalty or interest. Pay the first installment before February 1 and notify the taxing unit that you’re using the installment option. The remaining three are due before April 1, June 1, and August 1.13State of Texas. Texas Code Tax Code 31.031 – Installment Payments by Certain Taxpayers Miss an installment and only the unpaid portion gets hit with the 6 percent penalty and 1 percent monthly interest.
A deferral goes further. Qualifying homeowners (over 65, disabled, or a disabled veteran) can file an affidavit with the chief appraiser to postpone all tax collection on the homestead indefinitely. During the deferral, no taxing unit can sue you or sell the property. The trade-off: interest accrues at 5 percent per year on the deferred amount, and the lien stays attached. Once you no longer own and occupy the home, the taxing units have 181 days after delivering a delinquency notice to begin collecting.14State of Texas. Texas Code Tax Code 33.06 – Deferred Collection of Taxes on Residence Homestead of Elderly or Disabled Person or Disabled Veteran Deferral works best for someone on a fixed income who plans to stay long-term, but the balance can grow substantial over a decade.
If Taxes Go Unpaid
Unpaid property taxes create a lien that is senior to almost every other claim on your home, including your mortgage. If the balance stays delinquent long enough, the taxing unit can sue for a court order to sell the property. Proceeds from a tax sale pay the delinquent taxes, penalties, interest, and court costs first.
Texas law gives you a right of redemption after the sale. For a homestead or agricultural land, you have two years from the date the purchaser’s deed is recorded, and the cost is the purchase price plus everything the buyer paid in taxes, penalties, and interest, plus a redemption premium of 25 percent in the first year or 50 percent in the second. Non-homestead property has only 180 days with a maximum 25 percent premium.15State of Texas. Texas Code Tax Code 34.21 – Right of Redemption Redemption is an expensive last resort. Staying current, or using the deferral if you qualify, costs far less.
Mortgage Escrow and the Federal Deduction
Most owners with a mortgage never pay the tax office directly. The lender collects a portion of the estimated annual bill with each monthly payment and holds it in escrow, then pays the Wichita County Tax Office when the bill comes due.
Federal rules require your servicer to analyze the escrow account once every 12 months and send you a statement within 30 days of that analysis.16Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation 1024.17 – Escrow Accounts If the account is short, a shortage greater than one month’s escrow payment gets spread over the next 12 monthly payments. Smaller shortages can be paid within 30 days or spread over at least two months. A tax rate increase in Wichita Falls usually shows up as a bump in your monthly mortgage payment the following year, so read the annual escrow statement when it arrives.
Property taxes you pay are deductible on your federal return if you itemize. The IRS treats real estate taxes as part of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, which also covers state income or sales taxes and personal property taxes.17Internal Revenue Service. Publication 530 – Tax Information for Homeowners For the 2026 tax year, the SALT deduction is capped at $40,400 for most filers and $20,200 for married filing separately, with phase-downs at higher incomes. Charges for specific services (separately billed trash collection, for example) and homeowners’ association dues are not deductible as real estate taxes, even when they appear on the same bill.