Austin Property Taxes Explained: What You'll Really Pay

How much are property taxes in Austin, Texas?

Combined 2025 property tax rates across the Austin area run roughly 1.7 to 2.15 percent of taxable value before exemptions: about 1.94 percent inside the City of Austin and Austin ISD, and about 1.68 percent in Round Rock, the lowest of the major suburbs. On a $400,000 home in Austin, that's roughly $8,200 a year, or about $680 a month in escrow, before the homestead exemption takes $140,000 off the school district value. Texas also has no state income tax, so compare your total tax picture, not just the property tax line.

Watch on YouTube: Austin Property Taxes Explained: What You Will Actually Pay

By Carmen Reese | The CLR Sales Group | November 3, 2026

"Carmen, aren't the property taxes in Austin insane?"

I get that question in almost every relocation call. So here are the real numbers: how an Austin property tax bill is built, the actual rate in Austin and seven suburbs, what a $400,000 home costs per month in taxes, the exemption that just got a lot bigger, and the one thing almost half of Travis County homeowners do every spring that most newcomers don't know exists.

I'm Carmen Reese with The CLR Sales Group at Real Broker. I'm an Austin native and a former data analyst, and I've been selling homes here for almost a decade. I'm not a CPA, though.

This is how it works, not tax advice. Your lender, your CPA, and the appraisal district run your exact number.

How a Texas property tax bill is built

Texas has no state property tax. None. The state doesn't send you a bill (Texas Comptroller).

Your property tax is a stack of local rates: your city, your county, your school district, and then a few smaller ones like the community college district or a hospital district, depending on where you live. Each one sets its own rate every fall, in cents per hundred dollars of value. Add them up, multiply by your taxable value, and that's your bill.

The school district is almost always the biggest slice, followed by the county and the city.

And here's the half newcomers miss. The rate is set by those local governments, but the value is set by the appraisal district: Travis Central Appraisal District in Austin, Williamson Central Appraisal District in Round Rock. Two different bodies. You can fight the value. You can't fight the rate, except at the ballot box.

The real rates, city by city

Here's the table I wish someone had shown me. These are the 2025 combined rates (city, county, and school district) per $100 of value, from the Neuhaus Real Estate compilation of adopted rates (September 2026):

• Round Rock: $1.68, the lowest on this list
• Georgetown: $1.82
• Cedar Park: $1.86
• Buda: about $1.91
• Leander: $1.92
• Austin (inside Austin ISD): about $1.94
• Pflugerville: $2.14
• Kyle: about $2.15

If your address is in the Austin Community College district, add about ten cents to any of these.

So the honest range across the Austin area is roughly 1.7 to 2.15 percent of taxable value before exemptions. That's the number to put in your head. Not "insane." About 2 percent, give or take, and we're about to shrink it.

Now the hard part, out loud. Texas is high. The effective rate on owner-occupied homes here is about 1.25 percent, ninth highest in the country, against a national average under 0.9 percent (Construction Coverage, Census data, February 2026). If you're coming from California, Prop 13 caps your base rate at 1 percent and your assessed value can only grow 2 percent a year. So yes, the property tax line itself goes up when you move here. I'm not going to hide that. What I'm going to show you is the rest of the math.

The rest of the math, with a $400,000 example

Three things Texas does not charge you:

• No state income tax, period.
• No state property tax. The state doesn't take a cut of your house.
• No annual property tax on your personal car, which surprises a lot of people coming from Virginia or California.

So here's how I run it with every relocating client. Take the state income tax line off your last pay stub, add your current property tax, and compare that total to the Austin number. For most people coming from a high-income-tax state, the total goes down, sometimes by a lot. For some it's close to a wash. It depends on your income and the house. But compare totals, not just the property tax line, or you'll scare yourself out of a move that would have saved you money.

The worked example

A $400,000 home inside the City of Austin, in Austin ISD, with the community college rate included, is about 2.05 percent all-in. That's about $8,200 a year, or roughly $680 a month in escrow, before any exemptions.

The same $400,000 house in Round Rock, inside Round Rock ISD with ACC, is about 1.78 percent. That's roughly $7,100 a year, about $590 a month.

That's close to a hundred dollars a month difference on the same price, and it's exactly why I never let a client compare suburbs on list price alone. These are illustrations at 2025 rates, not quotes. But now you can estimate any house in about ten seconds: price times the city's rate, divided by twelve.

If you want to see how the loan side of this works, make sure to attend our next live Homebuyer Webinar (register here). I cover the loan programs that can offset a lot of this.

The homestead exemption just got bigger

If the house is your primary residence, you file a homestead exemption, and this is the part newcomers leave on the table.

Last fall, Texas voters raised the school district homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, and it applied to the 2025 tax year. If you're 65 or older or disabled, you get another $60,000 on top, so $200,000 total (Texas Comptroller).

On our Austin example, the school district rate is about 92.5 cents, and you take $140,000 off the value it's applied to. That's roughly $1,300 a year back, about $108 a month. The city and county each give you a percentage off too, so the real savings are larger.

The homestead does one more thing that matters even more over time: it caps how much your taxable value can rise at 10 percent a year, no matter what the market does. In a year like 2021, that cap saved Austin homeowners a fortune.

Filing is free. You do it once with the appraisal district, and if you forget, you can file late and get up to two years back. If you buy with me, it's on your closing checklist. Don't pay a company to do this for you.

Protesting your value, and the two traps

You can protest your appraised value every single year, and in Travis County a huge share of homeowners do.

This spring, Travis Central Appraisal District sent out more than 427,000 notices. The median homestead was valued at about $493,000 on the market side, with a median taxable value around $385,000 after exemptions and the cap (TCAD, March 2026). The protest deadline is May 15 or 30 days after your notice arrives, whichever is later. You start with an informal review, and if that doesn't land, you go to the appraisal review board.

Does it work? One property tax firm's study of Travis County found that around 46 percent of residential properties protested last year, and about 89 percent of those protests got a reduction, averaging 9 percent off the value (Ownwell study via Neuhaus, August 2026; not an official TCAD figure). That matches what I see with my clients. If your value looks high, protest it. I pull the comps for my clients every April. It's free, and the worst case is they say no.

Two traps actually hurt people:

1. New construction. When you buy a brand-new home, the appraisal district has often only valued the lot for that first year. So the first tax bill, and the escrow your lender sets up from it, can be based on dirt. The next January they value the finished home, and your payment jumps. Have your lender estimate the full-value tax from day one, and ask for it in writing.
2. MUDs. Many newer subdivisions on the edges of the Austin area sit in a municipal utility district, a separate tax that pays off the bonds for the neighborhood's water and sewer. It goes on top of everything above, sometimes by a lot. It's disclosed, and it's the first line I look at on any new-build community.

What I would do if I were buying right now

1. Compare totals, income plus property, there versus here.
2. Estimate every house with price times the city's rate divided by twelve, and compare suburbs on that monthly number.
3. File the homestead the week you close.
4. Set a reminder every April to check your notice and protest if it's high.

And in this market, I'd use the tax number in the negotiation. Sellers are paying closing costs and buying down rates right now, and a buyer who knows their real monthly all-in, taxes included, negotiates from strength.

The free Moving to Austin Guide has the full tax comparison worksheet, there versus here, plus the area breakdowns.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the property tax rate in Austin, TX?

Inside the City of Austin and Austin ISD, the 2025 combined rate is about $1.94 per $100 of value, or about 1.94 percent, and about 2.05 percent with the Austin Community College rate. That's before the homestead exemption, which lowers the school district portion on a primary home.

Which Austin suburb has the lowest property taxes?

Among the major suburbs, Round Rock has the lowest 2025 combined rate at about $1.68 per $100, followed by Georgetown at $1.82 and Cedar Park at $1.86. Pflugerville ($2.14) and Kyle (about $2.15) are at the high end. MUD taxes in newer subdivisions can change the picture for a specific address.

How much is the Texas homestead exemption?

The school district homestead exemption is $140,000 off your home's value as of the 2025 tax year, up from $100,000. Homeowners 65 or older or disabled get an additional $60,000. The homestead also caps annual increases in your taxable value at 10 percent.

When is the deadline to protest property taxes in Travis County?

The protest deadline is May 15 or 30 days after your appraisal notice arrives, whichever is later. Notices usually go out in late March or April, and the process starts with an informal review before the appraisal review board.

Why did my property tax go up after buying a new build?

In the first year, the appraisal district has often valued only the lot, so your first bill and escrow can be based on land alone. Once the finished home is valued the next January, the bill and your mortgage payment rise. Ask your lender to estimate the full-value tax from the start.

Your next step

Austin property taxes are high, but they're not a mystery. About 2 percent before exemptions, a $140,000 homestead exemption, no state income tax, and a free protest every spring add up to a number you can plan around.

Make sure to attend our next live Homebuyer Webinar (register here). And if you want me to run the real number on a specific house, book a free 15-minute consult with Carmen.

About Carmen Reese
Carmen Reese is an Austin native and the founder of The CLR Sales Group at Real Broker, LLC. She has been selling homes in the Austin area for almost a decade. Before real estate she worked as a data analyst, and she is a Certified Negotiation Expert, so every pricing and offer decision starts with the numbers. Carmen and her team are RealTrends Verified in the top 1.5% of real estate professionals nationally. She hosts the weekly Homebuyer Webinar and The Austin Homebuyer Academy on YouTube.

Carmen Reese, REALTOR® | The CLR Sales Group | Real Broker, LLC | Texas License #711211