Taxes? (Houston, The Woodlands, Katy: sales, how much, house)

[Tiff&Ian]

So, are property taxes THAT much higher in Houston than in Florida??? Can anyone explain to me or give me some sort of an idea on how much we are looking at paying on property taxes on about a $200,000.00 home? Are there any other taxes that would surprise me? TIA!

Right now, we pay about $1560/yr. on property taxes and we bought our house for $140,000.00.

[Mom2Feebs]

There are tons of threads in this forum about taxes that you may want to research to get a better idea. I can tell you that it will depend on the area of town in which you are moving, as the tax rate is different all over. You will see, generally, between $2.65-$3.99 per $100 valuation. Valuation is different from Market. The sales price of your home is not as important as what the county appraises that your taxable value is (almost always lower than market value).

Then there are homestead exemptions. It varies by county, and it varies by school district. Some are 15%, some are 20%.

If you live in a new subdivision with all new infrastructure, your taxes will be higher because of a MUD, or Municipal Utility District. If you live in an established neighborhood, your taxes will be lower. Keep that in mind when house hunting.

[Tiff&Ian]

Thanks for your reply!

I just called the Waller County Appraisal Office and asked what the property taxes would be on a $200,000.00 home in Katy and they told me $3060.00/year, which comes out to $1.53/$100. In addition we could have county tax and MUD like you said. Just wanted to post this for anyone else that was curious.

[chris_ut]

usually your looking at 5-8k per year for a 200k homes depending on the location.

[dwilke]

I know of no location in Harris or Fort Bend County where the property taxes are only $1.53/$100. If you've found it, grab it!

[carolineb]

We bought a home in Cinco Ranch and it was appraised for $150,300 and the prior home owners paid $5,004 in taxes (total tax rate = 3.32974/$100). Our realtor provided the tax records on any of the properties that we were interested in. Hope this helps.

Cinco Mud 10 (.66) = $992
Fort Bend Co Drainage (.2340) = 35.17
Fort Bend Co General Fund (.49334) = $742
Fort Bend ESD #2 (.98) = $147
Katy ISD (1.815) = $2,728
Willow Fork Drainage (.24) = $360

[observer]

Chris ut is pretty accurate. When taking all the taxes into consideration including KISD taxes, the taxes on a $200,000 home will be somewhere between $6,000-$8,000 a year. This comes out to 3.0%-4.0% on the high end in new developments. In older developments where there is no MUD taxes you can find them under 3.0%, actually about 2.5%. I would calculate 3.0% and above to stay on the safe side. Unless you are looking for a new development then it could be closer to 4.0%.

[Tiff&Ian]

Oh YUCK!!! I am really starting to freak out and now I'm starting to not look forward to moving there! Thanks for the info everyone!

[Mom2Feebs]

Don't forget about your homestead exemption, and keep in mind we don't have a state income tax! This is nothing to freak about...really.

[Mom2Feebs]

Originally Posted by carolineb

We bought a home in Cinco Ranch and it was appraised for $150,300 and the prior home owners paid $5,004 in taxes (total tax rate = 3.32974/$100). Our realtor provided the tax records on any of the properties that we were interested in. Hope this helps.

Cinco Mud 10 (.66) = $992
Fort Bend Co Drainage (.2340) = 35.17
Fort Bend Co General Fund (.49334) = $742
Fort Bend ESD #2 (.98) = $147
Katy ISD (1.815) = $2,728
Willow Fork Drainage (.24) = $360

Wow, you have to pay a MUD and two drainage taxes? That seems like an awful lot, even though your overall rate doesn't seem so astronomical.

The home we almost bought in The Woodlands in June had a tax rate of $2.57 per $100. It was absolutely heavenly to think about! Right now we're paying a little over $3/$100 here in Memorial.