Tax rates are up, but some Austin bills may still fall

The Austin Current reports that most of Austin’s taxing entities raised rates this budget cycle, and that a higher rate is not the same thing as a higher bill. Home values are still coming down from the pandemic peak. The Current reports the median taxable homestead in Travis County fell from $391,064 to $372,633, about 4.7 percent.

The Current reports Austin and Travis County both adopted rates at the voter-approval limit. It reports the city’s increase at 3.5 percent, about 58 cents per $100 of taxable value, and the county’s at about 4 percent, about 37 cents per $100. Austin ISD went the other way. The Current reports AISD lowered its rate by about 0.7 percent, from roughly 92.5 cents to 91.8 cents per $100.

The Current reports a static $500,000 value, with no homestead exemption, would owe about $375 more. It also reports that once the drop in values and the exemptions are in the math, some Austin homeowners could owe less in 2027. That example leaves out higher utility rates and any new bond debt if voters approve two November proposals. The Current does not say every bill falls.

Council Member Marc Duchen told the Current that going to the max rate, then putting bonds on the ballot, asks people whether Austin is worth it against Pflugerville, Manor, Kyle, or Buda.

Sources

• Austin Current, Oct. 5 — rates up at the city, county, Central Health, and ACC; AISD rate down; median taxable homestead $391,064 to $372,633; some bills could fall; Duchen