Property taxes in Williamson county? (Austin, Round Rock: homes, neighborhood, taxi)

[eichlerfan]

We are hoping to move to Austin from CA later this spring or summer. We would love to live in Austin, but the property taxes are much higher than we are use to. I know there is no state income tax in Texas, but still the property taxes in Travis County are pretty high. I understand Williamson County is less, and we are looking to live in Georgetown possibly. Can anyone tell me what property taxes are in Williamson County? We are looking at homes in the 400,000 to 500,000 price range. How are property taxes in Hays County?

Thanks in advance for your help?

[pvaustin]

This is a topic which has been discussed a 'million' times here. Just search for property taxes.
Expect on an average 2-3% of your home appraised value anywhere in/around Austin.

[iceshots]

Property taxes within a county will fluctuate depending on how many special projects the specific neighborhood is paying for on top of regular county expenses. These could include local road bonds, or local Municipal Utility Districts for water and waste water.

Search my posts for some detailed tax rates for various locations in Dripping Springs, Hays County. They vary from under 2% to almost 3%.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by eichlerfan

We are hoping to move to Austin from CA later this spring or summer. We would love to live in Austin, but the property taxes are much higher than we are use to. I know there is no state income tax in Texas, but still the property taxes in Travis County are pretty high. I understand Williamson County is less, and we are looking to live in Georgetown possibly. Can anyone tell me what property taxes are in Williamson County? We are looking at homes in the 400,000 to 500,000 price range. How are property taxes in Hays County?

You heard wrong. The property tax rate for Travis county is cheaper than Williamson. In fact, the most affluent and least affluent areas are the cheapest, in terms of rate -- the middle class areas are the highest, through the roof actually (of course, that's par for the course re: taxes in general.. the middle class always takes the biggest hit). Also, it's typically cheaper tax-wise living within a city limits vs. living in a ETJ with a MUD, especially when talking about new developments. With older developments where infrastructure has long since been paid for, sometimes the MUD and ETJ are cheaper, though.

The city of Austin tax rate is right about in the middle; combined with the ISD rate (which is a much higher percentage of your total property taxes), it's among the cheapest places to live (rate-wise). Here is a short list of taxing entities list by 2008 rates... you will need to combine your city, county, and ISD rates to get an approximate total tax rate. Note West Lake Hills and Rollingwood. If you live in one of those places, your property tax rate ends up being about 1.8%, vs. 2.5% or more in other areas. City of Austin total is about 2.15%.

City rates --

City of Bee Cave 0.020000
City of West Lake Hills 0.053400
City of Rollingwood 0.114200
City of Lakeway 0.182700
City of Mustang Ridge 0.270700
City of Georgetown 0.356590
City of Round Rock 0.365220
City of Austin 0.401200
City of Cedar Park 0.489001
City of Jonestown 0.542500
City of Lago Vista 0.570000
City of Leander 0.602590
City of Pflugerville 0.614000
City of Manor 0.658200
City of Taylor 0.790000


County tax rates --

Hays County 0.374900
Travis County 0.412200
Williamson County 0.439425


ISDs --

Austin ISD 1.202000
Eanes ISD 1.202500
Georgetown ISD 1.290000
Lake Travis ISD 1.31590
Round Rock ISD 1.323805
Leander ISD 1.333400
Dripping Springs ISD 1.49000


Souces: traviscad.org, wcad.org, hayscad.org

Good luck on your search, but by all means DO NOT limit yourself to Williamson county!

[woodinvilleguy]

Woohoo! I think I matched just about the top tax brackets....

Cedar Park + LISD + Williamson :-)

[iceshots]

Originally Posted by woodinvilleguy

Woohoo! I think I matched just about the top tax brackets....

Cedar Park + LISD + Williamson :-)

You won the Trifecta!!!!

[Mike78613]

Are these rates still accurate?

[austin-steve]

Where I live outside the city limits in Travis County (Granada Oaks in Oak Hill), our total property tax rate is 1.87%.
A bit further out in Belterra in Dripping Springs, the total rate is currently 2.91%.
In Teravista in Round Rock it's 2.82%.
Steiner Ranch is 2.7% I think.
Barton Creek West is 1.78%

Point being, property taxes vary widely across the city. And a previous comment was correct. Barton Creek West is an upper/middle afluent neighborhood with homes from $400K up into the $700Ks and some even higher. But those higher income earners, enjoying the best schools in the area (Eanes), are taxed more than a percent less on value than the first time buyer in Teravista. How's that for regressive taxes?

On a $300K home, these swings can mean the difference between $3,000/yr in taxes, or $250 per month total monthly mortgage payment. Add in HOA fees, toll roads, longer commutes, and I really think many buyers would be amazed to see the true cost of their home selection compared to alternatives. Many make different choices when it's put for them into black and white the fact that the "cheaper" home further out isn't cheaper at all.

I've long recited a routine script/speech to new buyers regarding the "total cost of ownership" of a house, and why it's important to look at more than just the price. TCO is a widely accepted and used decision factor in automobiles, but for some reason, most buyers don't focus on this concept to the degree I think they should. Then again, a real estate purchase is, for most, an emotional decision that often trumps financial prudence.

Steve

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by eichlerfan

We are hoping to move to Austin from CA later this spring or summer. We would love to live in Austin, but the property taxes are much higher than we are use to. I know there is no state income tax in Texas, but still the property taxes in Travis County are pretty high. I understand Williamson County is less, and we are looking to live in Georgetown possibly. Can anyone tell me what property taxes are in Williamson County? We are looking at homes in the 400,000 to 500,000 price range. How are property taxes in Hays County?

Thanks in advance for your help?

Here is the thing, property taxes are higher but properties are less expensive. The equivalent house is probably 1/2 to 1/3 of the cost of california. So even though you pay 3% here and 1% in cali, for the equivalent house it will be about the same.

Maybe you should look in the 200K range in the cedar park/leander area (still a very nice house)