Austin Property Tax Rates for 2026: What You'll Pay

Austin Property Tax Rates for 2026: What You’ll Pay

There is no single Austin property tax rate. Your bill combines several taxing units, and for 2026 the City of Austin adopted $0.579948 per $100 of taxable value, Austin Community College approved $0.103643, and the school district and county figures were still proposals in the sources we reviewed. Stacked together, they put a typical Austin address at roughly $2.10 per $100 before exemptions. This guide shows each piece, which numbers are final, and how to turn them into a bill for a specific home.

TL;DR

• Texas has no state property tax. Local units such as the city, county, school district and others each tax your property, and you get one combined bill.
• The City of Austin adopted $0.579948 per $100 for FY 2026-27, up from $0.524017 the year before.
• Homestead exemptions matter as much as rates: the school district exemption is now $140,000 and the city’s is 20%.
• Bill = (assessed value minus exemptions) ÷ 100 × rate, calculated separately for each unit, then added.

Table of Contents

• How Austin’s property tax rate is built
• 2026 rates by taxing unit
• Why the city can raise rates the way it did
• Exemptions that change your taxable value
• How to calculate a 2026 bill
• How to check the real numbers for a specific home
• Why bills feel high even when values fall
• Our perspective
• Need a tax-aware home search?
• FAQ
• Sources

How Austin’s property tax rate is built

Texas has no state property tax. Local governments set the rates and collect the money, and multiple units tax each property. For an Austin home inside the city limits, that usually means five layers: the City of Austin, Travis County, Austin ISD, Central Health and Austin Community College (ACC). Some addresses add an emergency services district or a municipal utility district, which is why two homes with the same value can have different bills.

Rates are quoted per $100 of taxable value. A rate of $0.50 means $5 of tax per $10,000 of taxable value.

In Austin, roughly 48% of a typical bill goes to Austin ISD, 25% to the City, 17% to Travis County, and about 10% is split between Central Health and ACC. That split is from 2025, but the school district’s dominant share is why the school homestead exemption changes so much.

2026 rates by taxing unit

Some 2026 figures are final and some are not. The table separates them.

Sources for each row are below. Treat the proposed rows as the likely range, and confirm final numbers on the unit’s own page before you make an offer.

City of Austin

The City adopted $0.579948 per $100 for FY 2026-27, up from $0.524017, against a no-new-revenue rate of $0.535466. The council’s ordinance splits it into $0.135312 for debt service and $0.444636 for maintenance and operations. The council approved the budget 9-2 and the rate 8-2, and Mayor Kirk Watson called it effectively an 8.3% increase in the tax rate.

What that means in dollars depends on the home. One estimate, using a projected median home value of $471,603 after the 20% homestead break, puts the city bill rising from $2,074 to about $2,190. Another reported figure is roughly $285.84 more per year in the city portion for the typical homeowner. The two differ because they use different assumptions about the typical home and its value. Use them as a range, not a promise.

Longer term, the rate is about 31% above the 2017 rate, which that report estimates is about $550 more per year in city taxes on a $400,000 property.

Austin ISD

Austin ISD’s proposed 2026 rate is $0.9184 per $100, and its estimate for the median homeowner’s bill falls from $3,525 to $3,461. A lower rate and a bigger homestead exemption are the main reasons the school share can shrink even when values are flat.

If school district boundaries are part of your search, our comparison of Eanes ISD and Austin ISD in West Austin shows how the district line changes both schools and the tax bill.

Travis County and Central Health

Travis County adopted $0.375845 for the 2025 tax year, up slightly more than 3 cents from the year before. For 2026 the county proposed $0.386210, equal to its voter-approval rate and a 2.8% increase. Central Health’s most recent figure we reviewed is $0.118023 from the county’s FY 2026 Budget in Brief.

Austin Community College

ACC’s board approved $0.103643 per $100 ($0.0900 for operations plus $0.013643 for debt). On an average home of about $537,358, that is roughly $557 a year, and ACC estimates average bills will fall about 2.2% as values decline.

Why the city can raise rates the way it did

Texas lets cities and counties raise the rate 3.5% for operations without voter approval. The no-new-revenue rate is the rate that would raise about the same revenue as last year from the same properties. Anything above these thresholds triggers rules that can include an election. Travis County’s 2025 rate was calculated differently: as a Special Taxing Unit at 8% above the no-new-revenue operations rate plus debt service.

For a buyer, the practical point is that the headline rate and your bill can move in opposite directions. Austin’s net taxable value is projected to drop 3.1% to $210.6 billion in 2026, so a higher rate can land on a lower base.

Exemptions that change your taxable value

Exemptions come off the value before the rate is applied, and each unit has its own. Travis County’s budget document lists these homestead exemptions:

Those are from the FY 2026 Budget in Brief. Two updates since then:

• The City’s senior and disabled exemption rises to $204,000 for the 2026 tax year from $192,000, on top of the 20% general exemption.
• The school district homestead exemption rose to $140,000 from $100,000 under Senate Bill 4 and Proposition 13, with an extra $60,000 for homeowners over 65 or disabled.

Exemptions apply to a primary residence you have applied for, not to a second home or an investment property. Our guide to the Texas homestead exemption walks through who qualifies and how to file once you own the home.

How to calculate a 2026 bill

The method is the same for every unit:

1. Start with the appraised value from the appraisal district.
2. Subtract that unit’s exemptions.
3. Divide by 100 and multiply by that unit’s rate.
4. Add the results for all units.

A worked example

Take a $600,000 home inside Austin city limits with a homestead exemption. This is an illustration, not a quote: it uses the City and ACC rates above, Austin ISD’s and Travis County’s proposed rates, and Central Health’s last figure, and it applies the 20% exemption for the city, county and Central Health, $140,000 for Austin ISD and the 1% ACC exemption.

Without a homestead exemption, the same $600,000 at a combined $2.106 per $100 is about $12,637. That gap of roughly $2,600 is why the exemption matters, and why an investor and an owner-occupant pay different amounts on the same house. If you are weighing a rental, see this Austin short-term rental operator guide for the local layers that affect income properties.

Escrow is a separate matter. Lenders typically collect one-twelfth of the estimated annual tax each month, and the estimate is reset when the bill changes.

How to check the real numbers for a specific home

Rates are only half of it, so look up the property itself.

1. Find the appraised value. The Travis Central Appraisal District property search lets you search by owner name, address or account number. Search by street name without suffixes such as St or Dr for better results.
2. Check which units tax it. The property record lists the taxing jurisdictions. Look for an ESD or MUD, which add to the bill.
3. Look at the exemptions on record. A seller’s homestead exemption disappears when they sell. Your bill after closing can be higher than theirs, so calculate it without their exemptions and then add yours.
4. Get current rates from each unit. Use the City’s tax-rates page, the county’s budget pages and each district’s notice.
5. Ask your agent for a calculation, not a seller’s bill. A past bill reflects the previous owner’s exemptions and last year’s rates.

If you believe the appraised value is too high, you can protest it. Our guide to filing a property tax protest in Austin covers the process.

Why bills feel high even when values fall

Texas funds schools, roads and public safety locally, so property tax carries a large load. Analysts point out that after years of higher valuations, homeowners still carry a burden that feels large, while local governments balance relief against funding for schools and emergency services. For 2026, Travis County’s own estimate is total taxes of $10,823 on the average taxable homestead, with the county’s share at $1,936.

For a buyer coming from another state, the useful comparison is the all-in monthly cost, not the rate alone. Our piece on moving from California to Austin shows how taxes sit alongside other costs.

Our perspective

Buyers often ask us for “the” Austin tax rate, and the honest answer is that the rate follows the address. Two houses a mile apart can sit in different school districts, with or without an ESD or MUD, and with different exemptions in place.

When we work with a buyer, we build the tax estimate into the search from the start. We pull the appraised value, identify every taxing unit, and calculate the bill as if the buyer owned the home with their own exemptions. That keeps a listing’s advertised tax figure from setting expectations it can’t meet.

This matters most at the luxury end, where a one-cent difference in a combined rate is real money, and for off-market and pre-construction homes, where the first appraisal may not reflect the finished property yet. Our architectural background helps us read what a home is likely to be appraised at, not just what it lists for.

Mike

Need a tax-aware home search?

If you are comparing Austin neighborhoods or school districts, we can build the tax estimate into your search. Learn about buyer representation with Mogavero Group, see private listing access, or browse luxury Austin properties for sale.

FAQ

How much is property tax in Austin, Texas, in 2026?

It depends on the address, but the combined rate for a typical home inside the city is roughly $2.10 per $100 of taxable value before exemptions. With a homestead exemption, our worked example on a $600,000 home comes to about $10,000 a year. The unit-by-unit rates above show where that comes from.

Is Austin’s property tax rate final for 2026?

Partly. The City of Austin’s $0.579948 and ACC’s $0.103643 were adopted or approved. Austin ISD’s $0.9184 and Travis County’s $0.386210 appeared as proposals in the documents we reviewed, so check each unit’s page for the final figure.

Do I get the seller’s tax exemptions when I buy?

No. Homestead exemptions belong to the owner who applied for them on a primary residence. When you buy, you apply for your own, so estimate your bill without the seller’s exemptions and then subtract yours.

Does Texas have a state property tax?

No. Local governments set and collect property taxes, including cities, counties and school districts, and most owners receive one combined bill.

Sources

• Property Tax Transparency in Texas, Texas.gov
• Tax Rates, City of Austin Budget Office
• City of Austin ordinance, File ID 26-2238
• Austin adopts budget with 8.3% tax rate increase
• Homeowners in Austin could pay $170 more
• Austin City Council adopts $6.6B budget for FY2026-27
• Austin’s property tax rate is up 31% since 2017
• Austin ISD Taxpayer Impact Statement
• Travis County Taxpayer Impact Statement
• Travis County Notice of Public Hearing on Tax Increase
• Travis County FY 2026 Budget in Brief
• ACC approves new property tax rate for FY2026-27
• Austin raises senior, disabled homeowner property tax exemption
• Austin Proposes Tax Rate at the Legal Maximum
• Episode transcript on Texas property taxes
• Travis Central Appraisal District property search

Recommended

• How to File a Property Tax Protest in Austin
• Cap Rates in Austin: What Investors Should Expect in 2026
• Austin Real Estate Market October 2026: What Central Austin Buyers and Sellers Need to Know Right Now
• Avoid DSCR Tax Traps: 4 Ways to Finance Austin Investment Property