County with the Lowest Real Estate Tax

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by TXFeller

Thanks, Jazz, but the adjusted/exempted amounts would change the appraised value and assessed taxes as shown on the MLS listing. The lowered appraised value multiplied by a constant rate would yield a lower tax amount assessed. I believe it would be unethical at best to quote a higher appraised value (no exemptions applied) and a lower assessed tax (based on applied exemptions).It is probably (I hope) due to erroneous MLS data. That's rather odd for it to be so far off, though. Maybe it's an Austin thing where "close enough" on a listing is acceptable. Not so in DFW, where you either quote the exact figures or quote nothing at all. No idea if that's law or just the expected custom, but it's probably why I stumbled when I noted the differences.I take it, then, the answer to my question is, "No, tax rates don't vary within a municipality."Richard

Appraised values do not reflect exemptions such as over 65 or even homestead... if you look up the info in something like traviscad.org, you will see a different applied "appraised" amount under each taxing entity -- which reflects the amount of the exemption of each entity (ISD, county, etc.) So if you calculate the rate from just the primary appraised value, you will get different results. All over the map, actually. MLS data is usually just the net assessed taxes for a particular property from the prior year -- not the actual assessment of the property value (you'd have to get that by going directly to the CAD for the property.) If web sites post the appraised amount or tax rate, it's likely from a different source than the listing agent.

So it's probably not erroneous MLS data, it's just that MLS only lists one data point. Not always sufficient to determine what a new owner might pay.

And the answer to your last question... yes, tax rates can vary within a municipality -- Travis County, for example, is a municipality. Yet different ISDs or MUDs/cities/ESDs within the county vary, therefore making the overall tax rate different for different addresses within the county.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by TXFeller

4 examples in my recent-but-brief searches for possible home rentals when I move to Austin:

2009 Tax Amount Paid / 2009 Appraised Value = Calculated Tax Rate:

2178 / 114K = 1.91%
2610 / 114K = 2.29%
2986 / 130K = 2.29%
3203 / 138K = 2.32%

The above are all taken from active, online real estate MLS listings ...
Richard

You're over-examining the issue and using unreliable data sources. The tax rates are not variable within the same areas unless the school boundary, city boundary and/or county boundary run through the subdivision. An example of this is Star Ranch in Pflugerville.

Each individual homes has a rate that is determinable by accessing the county websites and adding up the various taxing authority amounts. Rates do get reset in October in all Counties (or they can remain unchanged). In most cases, 99.9% of the time, the tax rate on any given home is the exact same rate as the neighboring homes. Not sure what issue you're chasing here or how it affects whatever end you seek in a home search.

Steve