Texas Property Tax Basics
Texas has no statewide income tax and no statewide property tax. All property taxes are assessed and collected at the local level, which is why Texas homeowners pay some of the highest effective property tax rates in the country.
Two types of local entities are involved in your bill:
- The county appraisal district (CAD) decides your property's taxable value each January 1. There is one CAD per county.
- Taxing units (school districts, counties, cities, hospital districts, junior college districts, MUDs, etc.) set their own tax rates and levy taxes against that value.
A single home typically falls inside the boundaries of several overlapping taxing units. In some counties the county tax assessor-collector consolidates billing into one statement; in others you receive separate bills from each entity.
How a Typical Texas Property Tax Bill Is Split
The exact split varies by city and district, but a typical Texas homeowner's property tax bill breaks down roughly like this:
| Taxing entity |
Share of bill |
What it funds |
| Independent School District (ISD) |
40% to 60% |
Public schools, teacher salaries, school facilities, transportation |
| County government |
15% to 25% |
Sheriff and jail, county roads, courts, public health, elections |
| City government (if inside city limits) |
15% to 25% |
Police, fire, EMS, parks, libraries, street maintenance, code enforcement |
| Special districts (hospital, junior college, MUD, road, ESD) |
5% to 15% |
Hospitals, community colleges, water and sewer, drainage, fire ESDs |
Some cities and counties carry tax rates well outside this range. For an entity-by-entity look at a specific area, see our county-level rate breakdowns linked below.
What Specific Services Property Taxes Pay For
Because property taxes are the largest funding source for local Texas government, they touch nearly every public service you interact with day to day:
- Education - K-12 public schools, special education, school facilities
- Public safety - police, fire, EMS, county sheriff, 911 dispatch
- Roads and infrastructure - road maintenance, drainage, bridges, traffic signals
- Health - county hospital districts, public health departments, indigent care
- Parks and recreation - city parks, libraries, community centers, pools
- Utilities - water, sewer, garbage, in MUDs and special utility districts
The Texas Comptroller's office maintains a more detailed FAQ on what each type of taxing unit funds.
Why Two Bills Look So Different
Two homeowners in the same county can owe wildly different amounts on similarly-priced houses. That is because:
- Different ISDs - bills move dramatically based on which school district your home is in
- Inside vs outside city limits - a city tax (and city services) only applies if you are within the municipal boundary
- MUDs and ESDs - newer suburban developments often sit inside a MUD or fire ESD that adds 0.50% to 1.50% to the tax rate
- Exemptions you have filed - the homestead exemption alone removes $140,000 from school taxable value
The single biggest line item on most bills is the school district. That is also where Texas voters have driven the largest tax cuts: Prop 4 in 2023 raised the school homestead exemption from $40,000 to $100,000, and Prop 13 in 2025 raised it again to $140,000. See the detail in our guide to Texas property tax law changes.
What if My Property Taxes Are Too High?
Texas property taxes fund vital services, but that does not mean you should pay more than your fair share. The Texas Constitution gives every property owner the right to protest their appraised value every year.
Here is the lever you can actually pull: you cannot vote your tax rate down on your own, but you can challenge your appraised value. A lower value reduces what you owe to every taxing entity on your bill.
How appraisals work, in short:
- The CAD is supposed to use your home's market value as of January 1.
- Because districts must value every property in the county, they rely on mass-appraisal models rather than visiting each house.
- These models often miss property-specific issues (deferred maintenance, comparable sales below model output, equity disparities with similar homes), so values run high for many homeowners.
- You file a protest, the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) holds a hearing, and they can lower your value based on evidence.
Texas law also lets you hire a professional to handle the protest for you. Ballard Property Tax Protest files, gathers evidence, and negotiates on your behalf - and there is no fee unless we lower your value.
Estimate your 2026 savings in under a minute.
Protest in Your County
The protest process is local. Pick your county for the deadlines, evidence playbook, and CAD-specific tips:
Sources
- Texas Comptroller - Property Tax FAQ
- Texas Constitution - Article 8: Taxation and Revenue
- Texas Comptroller - Property Tax System Overview
- Texas Tax Code - Chapter 26: Assessment (Tax Rate Setting)
- Texas Education Agency - School Finance Overview
