Texas property tax guide

Texas has no state property tax. Instead, every county, city, school district and special district sets its own rate, and your bill adds up the ones your property sits in. This guide explains how appraisal, exemptions, protests and payment work.

Taxing units covered
4,5482024 rates
Median city rate
0.473per $100
Median school district rate
0.9827per $100
Rates published by
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

How the bill is built

The Comptroller puts it plainly: "Texas has no state property tax." Property tax is local. Each taxing unit sets its own rate: the county, the city, the school district, and often a community college, hospital district, emergency services district, or municipal utility district (MUD). Your bill applies each unit's rate to your value and adds the results.

That's why two homes in the same city can pay different totals: they can sit in different school districts or MUDs. This site lists all 4,548 taxing units with a 2024 rate, by county. Rates are per $100 of value. In 2024, the middle city rate is 0.473 and the middle school district rate is 0.9827.

Appraisal

Your county's appraisal district values your property, not the taxing units. Fort Bend Central Appraisal District's guide sums up the rule: property is "appraised at 100% of market value as of January 1st of a tax year." The governing body of each taxing unit then sets its tax rate.

Homestead exemption and cap

If the home is your principal residence, apply to your appraisal district for the residence homestead exemption. The Comptroller says state law "requires school districts to provide a $140,000 exemption on a residence homestead," and "an additional $60,000 residence homestead exemption" for owners aged 65 or older or disabled. Other units may offer their own optional exemptions.

A homestead also gets an appraisal cap. As Harris Central Appraisal District explains it, "the appraised value can go up a maximum of 10% each year until it reaches the full market value."

Because exemptions differ by unit, your taxable value for the school district is usually lower than for the city or county. That's why this site shows each unit's rate separately and lets you enter your own values.

Protesting your value

If you disagree with your appraised value, you can protest to your county's appraisal review board (ARB). The Comptroller says "the usual protest filing deadline is May 15 or 30 days after the appraisal district mails" your notice of appraised value, whichever is later.

If you disagree with the ARB's decision, the options include an appeal to state district court within 60 days of receiving the written order, regular binding arbitration (for homesteads of any value, or property appraised at $5 million or less), or, for property valued above $1 million, the State Office of Administrative Hearings in some cases.

When the bill is due

Your county tax assessor-collector usually sends one bill covering the units it collects for. The Fort Bend guide notes bills go out "by October 1st of the tax year or as soon after as practicable," and owners must pay "by February 1st of the following tax year." Penalties and interest apply after that.

About these rates

  • Source. Every rate is the total tax rate the Comptroller lists for each unit in its statewide report, copied as printed.
  • No combined city rate. The state doesn't publish which units overlap at an address, so this site never adds them up for you. Use the add-up tool on each county page with the units on your bill.
  • 2024 is the latest year shown. The Comptroller's 2025 file lists at least one rate that voters rejected in a November 2025 tax rate election (the City of Austin at 0.574017; the city then adopted 0.524017). Until 2025 rates are checked against election results, this site shows 2024.
  • A few historical years are held back. Where one year jumps far from the years either side, which agree with each other, that year isn't shown until it's confirmed.

A worked example with real rates

The City of Meridian, in Bosque County, sits near the middle of Texas's city rates. Its 2024 rate is 0.473 per $100.

On a taxable value of $350,000, the city's part of the bill is $350,000 × 0.473 ÷ 100 = $1,656 a year. The county, the school district and any special districts each add their own amount on top, and each can apply different exemptions. The Bosque County page lets you tick the units on your bill and add them up.

Sources

Every statement in this guide comes from one of these publications. Rates on this site are copied from the state file listed first, exactly as published.

  1. Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, 2024 Statewide Report of Tax Rates
  2. Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Assistance
  3. Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Exemptions
  4. Texas Comptroller, Property Tax Protests and Appeals
  5. Fort Bend Central Appraisal District, Understanding the Property Tax System
  6. Harris Central Appraisal District, The 10% Homestead Cap
  7. Community Impact, Austin adopts lower tax rate after Proposition Q (Nov. 21, 2025)

This guide explains how the system works. It isn't legal or tax advice, and local rules and dates can change. Your assessor, tax collector or the agency linked above has the final word. Last reviewed 2026-10-26. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].