Rates, exemptions and deadlines are stated as of October 30, 2026, for tax year 2026. This guide is updated when a rate or rule changes.

Every tax bill is built from separate taxes, one per taxing unit

A Harris County property tax bill is the sum of separate taxes, one for each taxing unit whose boundary includes the property. Each unit sets a rate per $100 of taxable value and applies its own exemptions to the value the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD) sets, so taxable value can differ from line to line on one bill.

Texas Tax Code section 26.09 sets the arithmetic: subtract the unit’s exemptions from the appraised value, multiply by the rate and divide by 100. A rate of $0.519190 collects $519.19 for every $100,000 of taxable value. HCAD sets values and administers exemptions but sets no rate.

The calendar that produces the bill

• January 1: HCAD appraises property at its market value on that date (section 23.01), and exemptions generally follow the owner’s qualifications on that date (section 11.42).
• By April 1 for a homestead, May 1 for other property, or as soon after as practicable: HCAD delivers a notice of appraised value when, among other reasons, the value rose (section 25.19).
• May 15, or 30 days after the notice was delivered, whichever is later: the protest deadline (section 41.44).
• By July 20 the Appraisal Review Board approves the records, and by July 25 HCAD certifies each unit’s roll (sections 41.12 and 26.01).
• August to October: each unit adopts its rate before the later of September 30 or the 60th day after it receives the certified roll (section 26.05).
• October: bills are mailed by October 1 or as soon after as practicable (section 31.01).
• January 31: the last day to pay without penalty and interest; unpaid taxes are delinquent on February 1 (section 31.02).

Tax year 2026 rates, place by place

For tax year 2026 the combined rate runs from $1.822333 per $100 in the Houston ISD part of Hunters Creek Village to $2.251757 in Houston’s Spring Branch area. The county-wide units are the same everywhere; the school, city and college lines are what move.

The units every place shares

Every property pays the same five county-wide units; the last two rows apply only where noted.

Combined 2026 rate by city and school district

Each total is the city rate plus the school rate plus the county-wide $0.676267, plus Houston City College’s $0.098802 in Houston ISD: adopted 2026 rates per $100 of taxable value, before exemptions.

The taxing units on any one property, with each unit’s 2026 adopted rate, are listed for that address in the Harris County property tax database linked from HCAD’s site. A property inside another special district adds that district’s rate to these totals.

Which school district serves each place

Houston ISD serves River Oaks, Afton Oaks, Tanglewood and West University Place. Spring Branch ISD’s boundaries include the six Villages and part of the City of Houston, where Houston’s Spring Branch neighborhoods fall. The school line does not follow every Village line: small southern parts of Hunters Creek Village and Piney Point Village, in ZIP code 77063, are in Houston ISD and pay Houston City College too. The school district is the largest single rate on the bill, and Spring Branch ISD’s 2026 rate is $0.214200 per $100 higher than Houston ISD’s.

What changed from 2025

Against 2025, Harris County rose from $0.380960 to $0.417500 and Spring Branch ISD from $1.023100 to $1.056300, while Houston ISD fell from $0.878300 to $0.842100. A lower rate is not a lower bill: the bill also moves with the appraised value and the exemptions.

Why the Villages’ city rates differ

Each Village is its own city with its own council, budget and tax base, so each sets its own rate; for 2026 they run from $0.205164 in Hunters Creek Village to $0.509702 in Hilshire Village. Part of the spread is debt: four of the six rates include a debt service part, and the Spring Branch ISD tax office, which collects for all six Villages, publishes the split.

Services cross Village lines. The Memorial Villages Police Department serves Bunker Hill, Hunters Creek and Piney Point Villages, and the Village Fire Department serves all six, according to the City of Bunker Hill Village. The Memorial Villages Water Authority, whose board seats represent Hedwig, Hunters Creek and Piney Point Villages, levies its own 2026 tax of $0.021503 per $100.

The number that matters is the combined rate. All six Villages adopted 2026 city rates below the City of Houston’s $0.519190, but the Villages lie mostly in Spring Branch ISD, whose rate is $0.214200 higher than Houston ISD’s. So the Spring Branch ISD part of Hunters Creek Village, at $1.959234 with the Water Authority, is $0.177125 below River Oaks’s $2.136359, while Hilshire Village’s $2.242269 is $0.105910 above it. Lots, deed restrictions and city rules are compared in our guide to River Oaks vs the Memorial Villages.

Exemptions lower the taxable value, unit by unit

A homestead exemption’s amount differs by unit. School districts must exempt $140,000 of a homestead’s appraised value, and Houston ISD and Spring Branch ISD each add a 20 percent local exemption; the county-wide units and the City of Houston exempt 20 percent; West University Place, Bunker Hill, Hunters Creek and Piney Point grant no general homestead exemption at the city level.

The school figures combine the State’s $140,000 homestead exemption and $60,000 more for an owner 65 or older or disabled (Tax Code section 11.13, as amended effective November 4, 2025) with each district’s local additions. A percentage exemption is never less than $5,000 (section 11.13(n)). Owners 65 or older or disabled also get a school tax ceiling, which generally holds the school tax at the amount imposed in the first year they qualified (section 11.26). Eligibility, Form 50-114 and the 10 percent homestead cap are covered in our guide to the Texas homestead exemption in Harris County.

A hypothetical $2,000,000 home in River Oaks and in Bunker Hill Village

Hypothetical: a home with a $2,000,000 appraised value, taxed at the 2026 adopted rates, owes about $42,727 a year in River Oaks and $40,071 in Bunker Hill Village before exemptions. With the general homestead exemption and no other exemption, the bills fall to about $33,062 and $31,662.

How one line works: for Houston ISD, $2,000,000 less $140,000 and less 20 percent ($400,000) leaves $1,460,000, and $1,460,000 at $0.842100 per $100 is $12,295. Bunker Hill Village’s city tax is $5,420 either way, because the city grants no homestead exemption. Amounts are rounded to the dollar and apply the general homestead exemption only, not the 65-or-older or disability exemptions, the school tax ceiling or the 10 percent cap. This is not a calculation of the tax on any actual property.

Protesting your HCAD value

Any property owner can protest HCAD’s appraised value, an unequal appraisal compared with similar properties, or a denied exemption to the Appraisal Review Board (Tax Code section 41.41). The written notice of protest is due by May 15 or 30 days after HCAD delivered the appraisal notice, whichever is later (section 41.44).

Filing and the informal meeting

HCAD’s iFile takes a protest online with the account number and iFile number printed on the notice; choosing iSettle and giving your opinion of value gets an appraiser’s decision by email, with the comparable sales HCAD used (HCAD, iFile and iSettle). A paper notice is valid if it identifies the owner and the property and shows dissatisfaction with an HCAD determination (section 41.44(d)). HCAD then schedules an informal meeting with an appraiser, in person or by video; an owner who rejects a settlement offer goes straight to the formal hearing.

The Appraisal Review Board hearing

At least 14 days before the hearing, HCAD must tell you that you can request the data, schedules and formulas it will present (section 41.461). HCAD describes formal hearings as about 15 minutes before a three-member panel, recorded and under oath, and not bound by the informal meeting. The board’s documentation standards, printed in HCAD’s protest guide, list the evidence a panel expects: a signed closing statement for a recent purchase, a complete independent appraisal, confirmed comparable sales with their details, and third-party repair or construction cost records. The written order arrives by certified mail.

After the board’s order

An owner who disagrees with the order can take it to binding arbitration or to district court, and appealing to court gives up arbitration (section 41A.03(b)). Arbitration of a value or unequal appraisal protest is open for a residence homestead of any value, or other property valued at $5 million or less under the order (section 41A.01). The request goes to the Texas Comptroller within 60 days after the owner receives notice of the order, with a deposit of $450 for a homestead valued at $500,000 or less, $500 for a homestead valued above that, and $500 to $1,550 for other property, by value (section 41A.03). A district court appeal needs a petition within 60 days after notice of the order (section 42.21).

Paying the bill

Harris County property tax bills go out in October, are due on receipt and must be paid by January 31 to avoid penalty and interest, which start on February 1 (Tax Code sections 31.01 and 31.02). January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, so a payment made on the next regular business day, Monday, February 1, 2027, is timely (Tax Code section 1.06); the Harris County Tax Office honors the next business day whenever January 31 falls on a weekend or county holiday.

Penalties after January 31

A delinquent tax incurs a penalty of 6 percent in the first month plus 1 percent for each additional month, reaching 12 percent on July 1, and interest of 1 percent a month (Tax Code section 33.01). A unit that uses a collection attorney can add a penalty to taxes still delinquent on July 1, capped by the attorney’s contract (section 33.07); the Harris County Tax Office puts that fee at 15 to 20 percent.

Installments and deferral for owners 65 or older or disabled

An owner with the 65-or-older or disability homestead exemption can pay the homestead tax in four equal installments without penalty or interest if the first is paid before February 1 with notice of the plan; the others are due before April 1, June 1 and August 1 (Tax Code section 31.031). The same owners can defer collection by filing an affidavit with HCAD (section 33.06); the Harris County Tax Office notes deferred taxes accrue 5 percent interest a year and come due 180 days after the owner no longer owns or lives in the home. Other owners can request a 12- to 36-month installment agreement once taxes are delinquent.

In the year a home sells, the year’s taxes are split between seller and buyer at closing; see our guide to seller closing costs in Houston.

Frequently asked questions