Wise County, Texas Property Tax Rates and Exemptions

Wise County, Texas property tax rates and exemptions work in layers: the county itself charges $0.26500 per $100 of assessed value for the 2025 tax year, but that figure is only the smallest piece of what most homeowners actually pay. School districts, cities, and special districts each add their own rates on top, so your total depends entirely on where the property sits. A home inside Decatur city limits in the Decatur ISD will owe far more than a rural tract outside any city or MUD. Exemptions, especially the $140,000 school homestead exemption and the benefits for homeowners 65 and older or with disabilities, can cut thousands off the bill.

The County’s 2025 Rate

The Wise County Commissioners Court sets two levies that apply to every taxable property in the county:

Wise County General Fund: $0.21750 per $100
Farm-to-Market / Lateral Road: $0.04750 per $100

Combined, that’s $0.26500 per $100 of assessed value.¹ Rates for the 2026 tax year are adopted each fall after the appraisal district certifies values, so this number updates when the Commissioners Court votes on next year’s budget.

What Else Stacks On Top

The county rate is usually the smallest line on the bill. The real weight comes from the school district, and often a city.

School Districts

Seven ISDs overlap with Wise County, and 2025 rates vary considerably:

Bridgeport ISD: $0.66690
Alvord ISD: $0.86700
Chico ISD: $0.84302
Boyd ISD: $0.89420
Decatur ISD: $0.89680
Slidell ISD: $0.97260
Paradise ISD: $1.08920

The spread between Bridgeport ISD and Paradise ISD is more than $0.42 per $100. On a $300,000 home, that’s roughly $1,260 a year in extra tax before any other difference is counted.¹

Cities

Property inside city limits adds a municipal rate. For 2025, Lake Bridgeport sits at the low end at $0.20000, Decatur at $0.56571, Bridgeport at $0.64366, Boyd at $0.69078, and Rhome at the high end at $0.77367.¹ Property outside any city limits skips this layer.

Special Districts

Fire districts, water districts, and municipal utility districts can add more. Fire district rates in the county run from $0.03000 to $0.10000 per $100. Some MUDs, typically serving newer developments, carry rates as high as $1.00000 per $100. Most rural parcels see only one or two of these levies, if any.¹

Homestead and Other Exemptions

Exemptions reduce the taxable value before any rate is applied. You file for them with the Wise County Appraisal District, and most are one-time filings as long as your situation doesn’t change.

General Homestead Exemption

If you own and occupy the property as your primary residence, you qualify. For school district taxes, the exemption removes $140,000 from your appraised value, an increase from $100,000 that Texas voters approved effective with the 2025 tax year.² The county adds a smaller $3,000 homestead exemption for county purposes. Individual cities and special districts may adopt their own optional homestead exemptions, which is why the total exemption package varies.

Over-65 and Disability

Homeowners 65 or older, or those who are disabled, receive an additional $60,000 school district exemption on top of the general $140,000. That means the first $200,000 of appraised value is fully exempt from school taxes.²

Qualifying also triggers a tax ceiling on school district taxes. Once you qualify, the dollar amount you owe to the school district is frozen at that year’s level, even if your appraised value climbs or the ISD raises its rate. Other taxing units may adopt their own optional ceilings.

Disabled Veteran Exemptions

Veterans with a service-connected disability rating from the VA receive exemptions tied to the rating:

10% to 29%: $5,000
30% to 49%: $7,500
50% to 69%: $10,000
70% to 99%: $12,000
100% disability or individually unemployable: full exemption on the homestead

A veteran rated 100% disabled pays zero property tax on their primary residence regardless of its value, and surviving spouses may qualify to continue the exemption.³

The 10% Appraisal Cap on Homesteads

Texas limits how fast the appraisal district can increase the appraised value of a homesteaded property. The annual cap is 10%, plus the value of any new construction. A home valued at $250,000 last year cannot be appraised above $275,000 this year regardless of what comparable sales show, unless you added square footage.⁴

One catch: the cap applies only if you had a homestead exemption on the property for both the current and preceding tax year. New owners, or anyone who just filed the homestead exemption, pay on full market value the first year. The cap takes effect the year after.⁵

A Worked Example

For a $300,000 home inside the City of Decatur, in Decatur ISD, with a general homestead exemption:

Appraised value: $300,000
School district taxable value: $300,000 − $140,000 = $160,000
County and city taxable value: $300,000 − $3,000 county homestead = $297,000
Decatur ISD: ($160,000 ÷ 100) × $0.89680 = $1,434.88
Wise County: ($297,000 ÷ 100) × $0.26500 = $787.05
City of Decatur: ($297,000 ÷ 100) × $0.56571 = $1,680.16
Approximate total: $3,902.09, before any special district levies

The school portion drops hard because the school exemption is so much larger than the county’s. A rural property outside any city, with no MUD, would skip the city line entirely and come in substantially lower.

Protesting Your Appraisal

The appraisal district sets your value; it never sets the rate. That makes challenging an inflated value one of the few real levers you have on your bill. File a written protest with the Wise County Appraisal District by May 15 or the 30th day after your appraisal notice was mailed, whichever is later.⁶ Missing the deadline doesn’t always end things; the Appraisal Review Board can grant a late hearing for good cause as long as the records aren’t finalized.

You’ll typically meet with an appraiser informally first, where many disputes settle. Unresolved cases go to a formal hearing before the ARB, where you present evidence. Hearings generally run from May through July. The strongest cases bring recent comparable sales from your neighborhood, photographs of condition issues the appraiser didn’t see, or an independent appraisal. The district’s value is presumed correct until you show otherwise, so specific data is what moves it.

When Taxes Are Due and What Late Costs

Bills are due on receipt and go delinquent on February 1 of the following year.⁷ Penalties and interest start the moment the account goes delinquent and compound monthly:

February: 7% total (6% penalty + 1% interest)
March: 9%
April: 11%
May: 13%
June: 15%
July: 18% (penalty jumps to a flat 12% plus 6% interest)

After July 1, the penalty stays at 12% while interest keeps growing at 1% per month.⁸ The taxing unit can also refer the account for collection and tack on attorney fees of up to 20% of the amount owed. By December, the total surcharge on an unpaid bill can exceed 40% of the original tax.

Installment Payments for Seniors, Disabled Homeowners, and Veterans

If you are 65 or older, disabled, or a disabled veteran with a homestead exemption, you can split the bill into four equal payments without penalty or interest. The first installment is due before February 1, and you must notify the tax office in writing that you intend to use the plan. The remaining three are due before April 1, June 1, and August 1.⁹ Miss an installment and that specific payment picks up a 6% penalty and 1% monthly interest, but the full escalating schedule doesn’t apply.

Where to Pay

The Wise County Tax Assessor-Collector handles all property tax payments. Three locations accept them in person, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.:

Decatur (main office): 404 W. Walnut, Decatur, TX 76234, (940) 627-3523
Boyd: 125 FM 730 N., Boyd, TX 76023, (940) 433-2886
Bridgeport: 1007 13th Street, Bridgeport, TX 76426, (940) 683-2299

Online payment is available through the county’s tax portal, and payments by mail are accepted at the Decatur address.¹⁰

1
Wise County Appraisal District. 2025 Tax Rates
2
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead
3
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent or Totally Disabled Veteran
4
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 23.23 – Limitation on Appraised Value of Residence Homestead
5
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Valuing Property
6
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 41.44 – Notice of Protest
7
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 31.02 – Delinquency Date
8
State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 33.01 – Penalties and Interest
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State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 31.031 – Installment Payments of Certain Homestead Taxes
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Wise County, TX. Tax Office