Property Tax Resources · Austin County, Texas
Austin County
Property Taxes
Rolling post oak savanna between Houston and the Hill Country — where colonial-era land grants meet modern appraisal pressure on Washington County’s doorstep.
Property Tax Resources · Austin County, Texas
Rolling post oak savanna between Houston and the Hill Country — where colonial-era land grants meet modern appraisal pressure on Washington County’s doorstep.
Source: County debt — Texas Bond Review Board, FY2025.
🔴 2026
Austin County covers 656 square miles of fertile coastal prairie west of Houston, with Bellville as its county seat. This is some of the oldest Anglo-settled territory in Texas — Stephen F. Austin’s original colonists received land grants here in the 1820s, and that history shows in the landscape: sprawling ranches, cotton fields, and small towns that predate the Republic. Today the county sits in the orbit of both the Houston metro and the growing Washington County corridor, and that proximity has pushed land values higher than many longtime residents expected.
In 2023, the county’s total market value reached $9.36 billion. In 2024, 29% of written ARB determinations in Austin County lowered the appraised value, and 68% of protests resolved through the informal process received a value reduction (Texas Comptroller, 2024 Appraisal District Operations Survey). Only about 5% of parcels were protested in 2024 (Texas Comptroller, 2024 Appraisal District Operations Survey), which means the overwhelming majority of Austin County property owners simply accepted whatever value the appraisal district assigned. You don’t have to. Online protest filing is available — file before May 15, 2026.
Official CAD site — appraisal notices, exemption applications, and contact information. Chief Appraiser: Greg Cook, RPA.
Search your property record, view current appraised value, and verify exemption status on the CAD’s online portal.
Online protest filing available. Deadline: May 15, 2026 or 30 days after your notice was mailed, whichever is later.
Every taxing entity’s proposed rate, adopted rate, and public hearing schedule for Austin County.
Enter the date your Notice of Appraised Value was mailed to find your exact filing deadline.
Every taxing unit in Austin County — your school district, city, county — must publish its proposed rate and hold a public hearing before adopting any rate exceeding the no-new-revenue rate. These meetings are open to the public. Your voice is on the record.
View Austin County Tax Rates →Photo: Austin County Courthouse, Bellville, Texas. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
| Taxing Entity | Type | Rate (2025 adopted) |
|---|---|---|
| Austin County | County | $0.5038/$100 |
| Bellville ISD | School District | $0.9804/$100 |
| Brazos ISD | School District | $0.9238/$100 |
| Brenham ISD | School District | $0.7684/$100 |
| Burton ISD | School District | $0.8047/$100 |
| Columbus ISD | School District | $0.7631/$100 |
| Sealy ISD | School District | $0.9905/$100 |
2025 adopted rates per Texas Comptroller Tax Rates & Levies (source). City, MUD, college and other special-district rates may also apply depending on your parcel. Your total depends on which districts your property falls in — verify current rates at your county appraisal district.
What your Notice means and exactly what to do — and by when — after it arrives.
How the Texas homestead exemption lowers your taxable value, including recent changes.
When a property tax consultant is worth it for protesting your appraisal.
Lesser-known special valuations that can cut the taxable value of qualifying land.
The state office that oversees appraisal districts and protects taxpayers.
Who sets your county’s values and why that role matters to your bill.
Search your account at esearch.austincad.org. Know your Notice of Appraised Value and the deadline printed on it.
File online or in person at Austin Central Appraisal District: 906 E. Amelia St., Bellville, TX 77418. Hours: Mon–Fri 8:30am–4:00pm. Deadline: May 15, 2026 or 30 days after your notice mailing date.
Recent sales of comparable properties, your purchase price, photos of property condition issues, and repair estimates all strengthen your case at the ARB.
Before your ARB hearing, a CAD appraiser may offer to settle informally. Review any offer carefully — you can accept or proceed to the formal hearing.
The Appraisal Review Board is independent of the CAD. Present your evidence clearly and concisely. Most hearings run 15–30 minutes.
Disagree with the ARB ruling? You may appeal to district court, binding arbitration, or SOAH (properties over $1 million).
“No person’s particular services shall be demanded, nor property taken or applied to public use, unless by the consent of himself or his representative, without just compensation being made therefor.”
— Section 13, Declaration of Rights, Republic of Texas, 1836Austin County was settled by men and women who came to Texas specifically to own land — and to keep it. The colonists who took up grants in this very soil understood that the right to hold property free from arbitrary seizure was worth fighting for. Today the threat is slower but just as real: appraisals that climb faster than income, rates set by entities most property owners never think to attend. In 2023 alone, those who protested recovered $6.65 million that would otherwise have gone to the tax rolls. Most didn’t protest. Look up your value. File before May 15. Attend the rate hearings. The land is yours — act like it.
