When your city or county takes in money beyond inflation and population growth, you could see your property tax bill go down.
What it does
HB 819 would require a city or county to use the surplus money it collected last year for property tax relief this year. Surplus means money received beyond the adopted budget after that budget is adjusted for the state's population growth rate and the inflation rate the comptroller publishes each year. The bill would also cap the property tax rate a city or county can adopt, based on money received from all sources the year before, adjusted for population growth and inflation, minus other revenue expected this year. A local government could set a higher rate only if it had already pledged those taxes to pay a debt and a lower rate would break that contract.
What it means for your community
For homeowners and businesses in a growing city, this would push local budget surplus into lower property tax bills. The new cap would also limit how fast your city council or county commissioners court can raise the property tax rate, since revenue would have to keep pace with inflation and population growth. If your local government has already promised property taxes to pay for a debt, it could still set a higher rate. The rules would apply to fiscal years and tax years that begin on or after January 1, 2027.
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