Austin Property Taxes Explained 2026: Rates by City, County and School District

I am Johnny Ronca, a SERHANT. Luxury Associate Broker in Austin. Property tax is the single most underestimated number in an Austin purchase, and it is the one that most often surprises buyers relocating from states with income tax. Below are the actual adopted rates by taxing entity, the combined math for three common situations, and the exemptions that reduce it. Rates are tax year 2025, the most recent fully adopted cycle for every entity, billed in October 2025 and due January 31, 2026.

What is the property tax rate in Austin, Texas?

There is no single Austin property tax rate. Your bill is the sum of several independent taxing entities, and which ones apply depends on your exact parcel.

Adopted rates per $100 of assessed value. County, Central Health, ACC, City of Austin, City of Lakeway, City of Bee Cave, Austin ISD, Leander ISD and Dripping Springs ISD figures come from those entities' own published materials; the West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, Eanes ISD and Round Rock ISD figures come from local reporting of the adopting votes. Confirm your own parcel's exact rate and entity list with the Travis Central Appraisal District.

Notice what is and is not driving the difference. Eanes ISD, the highest-rated district in the metro, has a lower school rate than Austin ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Leander ISD and Dripping Springs ISD. The reason is the state's compression formula and local enrichment pennies, not district quality. What actually separates the bills is whether you are inside a city, which city, and whether your parcel sits inside the community college taxing district.

What does that add up to on a $1 million home?

Between roughly $13,261 and $20,465 a year, depending on jurisdiction, before exemptions.

Tax year 2025 adopted rates, before homestead or other exemptions. Examples exclude any MUD, emergency services district or other special district that may apply to a specific parcel.

That spread is $7,200 a year on the same $1,000,000, which capitalizes into real money over a hold period. It is also the single clearest financial argument for the Westlake area beyond the schools: a West Lake Hills address carries a city rate of about 17.7 cents against the City of Austin's 52.4 cents.

What about MUDs and emergency services districts?

They are parcel-specific, they are not on the table above, and in newer subdivisions they can be the second-largest line on your bill.

Two real examples. Travis County Emergency Services District No. 6, which funds Lake Travis Fire Rescue, adopted $0.090399 per $100 for tax year 2025. Travis County MUD No. 18 in the Bee Cave area was at $0.7500 per $100 for tax year 2024 — that is not a typo, and it is typical for a newer planned community still retiring its infrastructure bonds.

MUD rates generally decline over time as the district's debt is paid down, but a buyer comparing two similar homes in Bee Cave or Lakeway can easily be looking at a five-figure annual difference that has nothing to do with the house. Always pull the parcel's tax unit list from the appraisal district before you write an offer.

What homestead exemptions can I claim in 2026?

The general school homestead exemption is now $140,000, and the additional over-65 or disabled exemption is $60,000, both raised by constitutional amendments Texas voters approved on November 4, 2025.

• General residence homestead exemption (school taxes): $140,000, up from $100,000. This comes off your taxable value for school district taxes only.
• Over-65 or disabled additional exemption: $60,000, up from $10,000. You can claim one or the other, not both, if you qualify for both — so a qualifying owner can take up to $200,000 off school taxable value.
• The 10% homestead appraisal cap limits how fast your assessed value can rise once the exemption is in place. Critically, it applies starting January 1 of the year after your own homestead exemption is granted. A buyer is not protected by it in year one.
• Filing deadline: April 30. File it. Every year I run into a buyer who closed, moved in, and never filed.
• 2026 Travis County protest deadline: May 15, 2026, or 30 days after your Notice of Appraised Value is mailed, whichever is later.

Run the math on the exemption and it is real money. On a home in Austin ISD, $140,000 off the school taxable value at a $0.9252 school rate saves about $1,295 a year. In Eanes ISD at $0.8322, about $1,165. For a qualifying over-65 owner claiming the additional $60,000, add roughly another $500 to $555.

Will my tax bill jump after I buy?

Very possibly, and this is the single most expensive surprise for buyers moving to Texas.

Texas is a non-disclosure state, so the appraisal district does not automatically reset your assessed value to your purchase price the day you close. What it does do is reappraise every property annually as of January 1 using the market evidence it has. In a neighborhood where comparable homes are selling well above the old assessed values, that evidence exists.

The practical pattern I see: a buyer purchases a home that was assessed at $1.4M for $2.0M, pays the first year's tax on something close to the old number, and then sees the assessed value move toward the purchase price in year two — without the 10 percent cap protecting them, because their own homestead exemption had not yet been in place for a full year.

So when you are underwriting a purchase, model the tax bill at your purchase price and your actual jurisdiction, not at the seller's current bill. I do this for every client before they write an offer, because a $600,000 difference in assessed value at roughly 2 percent is $12,000 a year.

How do Austin property taxes compare with California?

Roughly double the effective rate — offset by Texas having no state income tax.

California's Proposition 13 sets the base property tax at 1 percent of assessed value plus voter-approved local add-ons, and caps annual assessment increases at 2 percent while you own the home. Travis County combined rates land between about 1.33 and 2.05 percent depending on jurisdiction, and Texas has no equivalent long-run assessment cap outside the homestead 10 percent limit.

On the other side of the ledger: no Texas state income tax, against a top California marginal rate of 13.3 percent. For a high earner the income tax difference usually dominates. For a retiree living off assets with modest taxable income, the property tax difference may dominate instead. I walk through both in the Austin vs California price comparison.

How do I lower my Austin property tax bill?

• File your homestead exemption by April 30 of the year after you buy. It is free and it is the largest single lever most owners have.
• Protest your appraised value by May 15, or 30 days after your notice, whichever is later. You can do it yourself with comparable sales, or hire a protest firm that works on contingency.
• Check that the appraisal district has your home right. Square footage, condition, pool, finish level. Errors are common and they are worth correcting.
• Claim over-65, disability, veteran or agricultural exemptions if you qualify. The over-65 school exemption also freezes the school portion of your bill in most cases.
• Look at the tax unit list before you buy. A MUD or ESD can add more to your annual cost than a $100,000 difference in purchase price.

Frequently asked questions

What is the property tax rate in Austin, Texas in 2026?

There is no single rate. For tax year 2025, a home inside the City of Austin and Austin ISD pays a combined rate of about $2.046 per $100 of taxable value. The City of Austin portion is $0.524017, Austin ISD is $0.9252, Travis County is $0.375845, Central Health is $0.118023 and Austin Community College is $0.1034.

How much are property taxes on a $1 million home in Austin?

About $20,465 a year inside the City of Austin and Austin ISD, before exemptions. The same taxable value in West Lake Hills and Eanes ISD runs about $15,029, and in unincorporated Travis County inside Eanes ISD, about $13,261.

Why are property taxes lower in West Lake Hills?

Mostly the city rate. West Lake Hills adopted about $0.1768 per $100 for tax year 2025 against the City of Austin's $0.524017. Parcels there also generally sit outside the Austin Community College taxing district, which removes another $0.1034.

What is the Texas homestead exemption in 2026?

$140,000 off school-district taxable value for a general residence homestead, raised from $100,000 by a constitutional amendment approved November 4, 2025. Owners who are 65 or older or disabled can claim an additional $60,000, for up to $200,000 total off school taxable value.

When is the property tax protest deadline in Travis County?

May 15, 2026, or 30 days after your Notice of Appraised Value is mailed, whichever is later. The homestead exemption filing deadline is April 30.

Does my property tax go up when I buy a house in Texas?

Often, in the second year. Texas is a non-disclosure state, so the appraisal district does not automatically reset value to your purchase price at closing, but it reappraises annually using market evidence. The 10 percent homestead cap does not protect you until January 1 of the year after your own exemption is granted.

Do Eanes ISD homeowners pay higher school taxes?

No. Eanes ISD's tax year 2025 rate was about $0.8322 per $100, lower than Austin ISD at $0.9252, Lake Travis ISD at $1.0397, Round Rock ISD at $0.8931, Leander ISD at $1.0869 and Dripping Springs ISD at $1.1052. What makes Westlake expensive is the home price, not the school tax rate.

What is a MUD tax in Austin?

A municipal utility district tax that funds water, wastewater and drainage infrastructure in newer developments, usually outside city limits. Rates are parcel-specific and can be large — Travis County MUD No. 18 in the Bee Cave area was at $0.75 per $100 for tax year 2024 — and they typically decline as the district's bonds are paid off.

How do I find the exact tax rate for a specific address?

Pull the property up on the Travis Central Appraisal District's property search. It lists every taxing unit that applies to that parcel. That is the only reliable way to know, because ESDs, MUDs and city limits do not follow ZIP codes.

Can you estimate my tax bill before I make an offer?

Yes, and I do it for every buyer. I will pull the parcel's tax unit list, apply the current adopted rates to your likely purchase price, and show you what the bill looks like in year one and in year two after reassessment.

Source: Unlock MLS (ACTRIS) closed-sale data, pulled September 22, 2026. Figures are medians for closed single-family sales unless stated otherwise. Tax rates are tax year 2025 adopted rates, the most recent fully adopted cycle for every entity listed, billed October 2025 and due January 31, 2026. Exemption amounts reflect the constitutional amendments Texas voters approved November 4, 2025. Rates change annually and vary by parcel; confirm your specific property with the Travis Central Appraisal District before relying on any figure here. This is general information, not tax advice. Market statistics are reported in aggregate and are not a substitute for a written valuation of a specific home.