How does the Texas homestead exemption work?

If the home is your primary residence, the school-district portion of your taxable value is reduced by a state homestead exemption (commonly $100,000 off the school taxable value), with smaller exemptions from the city and county. The tool subtracts an estimated exemption before applying the rate.

Is there extra relief for seniors?

Yes. Homeowners who are 65 or older or disabled qualify for an additional exemption and a school-tax ceiling that freezes the school portion. The tool applies an extra over-65 exemption to approximate this; check with your appraisal district for the exact ceiling.

Why is Texas property tax so high?

Texas funds local government and schools largely through property tax because it has no state income tax. That pushes effective rates near 2% — high by national standards — but it is offset by the absence of state income tax on wages.

Is this estimate exact?

No. It uses a blended effective rate and estimated exemptions. Your actual bill depends on the precise rates each taxing unit adopts each year, your exact appraised value, and the specific exemptions you qualify for. Treat it as a close planning estimate.

Austin Property Tax Estimator

Q: What is the property tax rate in Austin?

Austin's effective combined property tax rate is roughly 1.97% of appraised value once city, Travis County, the school district and special districts are stacked together. Texas has no state property tax, so all of it is local.

The Austin Property Tax Estimator projects your annual bill using Austin’s effective combined rate of about 1.97% of appraised value. Texas has no state property tax, so your bill is a stack of local levies — city, Travis County, the school district and special districts — that together approach 2%. The tool applies the homestead and over-65 exemptions to your assessed value first, so the rate hits the correct taxable amount.

How it works

The estimate starts from your appraised value set by the appraisal district. Exemptions reduce the taxable value before the rate applies:

Homestead (primary residence): subtracts an estimated $100,000 from school taxable value plus smaller city/county amounts, blended here as a single reduction.
Over-65 / disabled: an additional exemption on top of homestead.

Then annual tax = taxable value x effective rate, with the default effective rate at 1.97%, adjustable to match your exact jurisdiction. Monthly tax is simply the annual figure divided by 12, useful for budgeting an escrow payment.

Tips and example

A $450,000 home with the homestead exemption has a taxable value near $350,000. At 1.97% that is about $6,895 a year, or roughly $575 a month into escrow. Add the over-65 exemption and the taxable value — and the bill — drop further.

Because each taxing unit sets its own rate annually and exemptions vary, confirm the exact figures with the Travis Central Appraisal District before relying on the number for a closing or budget.