Average property tax bill in Travis County expected to go up $1,123 from year prior

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- When you get your property tax bill this winter, you're likely to see an increase from the year prior. The average bill for homesteads in Travis County is expected to go up by $1,123 from 2023, according to data from the Travis County Tax Assessor. That's roughly $94 more a month, or an 11% increase.

"Last year because of what the legislature did increasing the homestead exemption, most residential bills actually went down," said Bruce Elfant, the outgoing Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar. "This year, with the propositions that were on the ballot that passed — the county had a proposition and the school district did — that will increase taxes some. And then of course the entities have to address community services."

In other words, local governments' approved tax rates and budgets for fiscal year 2024-25 are now impacting your wallet.

"Most of the property owners we talk to on a day in, day out -- they don't fully understand the bill, they're paying it through their mortgage or their escrow service and they don't actually see the increase until that monthly bill hits," said Colton Pace, the CEO and co-founder of Ownwell, a tech company that helps people reduce property taxes. "It's $100 and you don't really think about it, but at the end of the day, it's $1,200 if it's $100 a month."

So where is your money going on the tax rate side? Let's break it down.

City of Austin

Austin City Council signed off on a $5.9 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2024-25. It’s the largest budget in city history.

A “typical Austin homeowner” will see property taxes go up nearly $16 a month, or roughly $188 per year due to that budget, according to the city of Austin. Add rates and fees (including things like trash, water and electric), and you’ll see a roughly $30 increase every month shaking out to $361.92 per year.

The new budget will include a 4% pay increase for civilian employees, millions for sheltering people experiencing homelessness, money for staffing new fire and EMS stations and additional funding for the police department. You can find more on the city of Austin's budget here.

Travis County

The county's portion of your property tax bill will go up for the average homeowner by roughly $287 for the year, in part because voters approved a tax rate increase in November.

Travis County Commissioners unanimously voted to send a property tax rate hike to your ballot this November and voters passed it with broad support. The 2.5-cent property tax rate increase will go toward creating new affordable child care.

According to county staff, the tax rate increase will generate roughly $75 million in the first year. It will cost the average homeowner roughly $125 in the same time period.

Austin Independent School District

AISD also sent a tax rate increase to your November ballot, which was also approved by voters, and is intended to help chip away at the budget deficit the school district is predicting it will see next fiscal year.

Because of that increase, the average homeowner will pay $412 additional dollars, or $34 extra a month.

AISD has a tax rate calculator. You can find it here.

Austin Community College

The ACC Board of Trustees signed off on a $534 million budget in July. Much of the college's funding, roughly 67%, comes from property taxes, but the board did not consider a bump in tax rate this fiscal year.

"The board is considering a no-new-revenue tax rate of $0.1013 (10.13 cents) per $100 valuation, consisting of $0.0881 for Maintenance and Operations and $0.0132 for Debt Service. The proposed rate would mean the average property tax bill would not increase," ACC staff wrote.

Central Health

Central Health approved, and Travis County signed off on, a tax rate of 10.7969 cents per $100 of property valuation.

"This increase, amounting to $66 for the average taxable homestead in Travis County, will help fund bold initiatives to transform healthcare access for our community. We are grateful for the trust taxpayers place in Central Health as we work to create a more equitable healthcare system," Central Health wrote previously.

You can find more details on Central Health's budget here.

Paying your bill

Property tax bills are in the mail, but if you haven't received it, you can find it online. You can also find a list of deadlines here. Generally, bills are due at the end of January.

"We would encourage people to pay online by e-check so they get an immediate receipt. Our concern with mailing property tax checks are twofold; one, they're not all going to get a timely postmark and those taxes that aren't paid in time will receive a 7% penalty in interest right off the bat...the other concern we have about mailing property tax checks is over the past several years we've seen more property tax checks stolen out of the mail," Elfant said.

If you can't pay your bill, you can reach out to the tax assessor's office to set up a payment plan. The penalty for not paying your bill can be up to 24% interest.