Texas VATRE and Bond Results 2026: Voters Rejected Most Tax Hikes — What It Means for Your Bill

Last updated: Nov. 5, 2026

Texas voters rejected most property-tax-backed bonds and Voter-Approval Tax Rate Elections (VATREs) on Nov. 3, 2026. Destin Sensky of Texans for Fiscal Responsibility estimated that about 75% of those measures failed, according to Texas Scorecard (Nov. 4). The Texan (Nov. 5) framed the pattern as property-tax fatigue even amid a broader blue wave. All local results remain unofficial until canvassed.

This guide answers what a failed VATRE or bond means for the rate on your 2026 bill, highlights a sample of major failures with cited sources, and explains the Comptroller post-election rate filing that tax offices use before printing corrected statements. You cannot protest a tax rate at the Appraisal Review Board (ARB). You can protest your appraised value.

What happened statewide on Nov. 3?

Cities, counties and school districts put dozens of bond packages and VATREs on the ballot. Texas Scorecard reported Sensky's estimate that roughly three in four property-tax-backed bonds and VATREs were rejected. The Texan quoted economist Vance Ginn saying voters showed clear concern about property taxes even while electing many Democrats.

Under Texas Election Code and Education Code rules, VATRE and school bond ballot language must open with a tax-increase warning ("THIS IS A TAX INCREASE" or "THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE"). That labeling is part of Truth-in-Taxation. School VATREs are governed by Tax Code §26.08.

Results listed below are a sample from Scorecard and The Texan. They are not a complete statewide tally. Scorecard also noted that taxing entities are not required to report November 2026 bond and tax-rate election details into the statewide database until August 7, 2027.

Which major VATREs and bonds failed?

Use these examples only as orientation; confirm your own taxing unit with the county elections office or CAD.

• Cypress-Fairbanks ISD (Harris County): Prop A VATRE and bond Props B–E failed. Details and rate path: CFISD Prop A VATRE results 2026.
• Dallas County Prop A: Voters rejected the county's 2.4-cent rate request; the 2026 county rate stays at the voter-approval rate. See Dallas County Prop A results 2026.
• San Antonio-area ISDs: Scorecard and The Texan report Northside ISD and San Antonio ISD rejected rate increases and large bond packages; East Central ISD and South San Antonio ISD also rejected rate measures.
• Collin County: Voters rejected all four county bond propositions totaling $817 million (Scorecard). Collin College's $600 million bond also failed (The Texan).
• McKinney ISD: Scorecard reports nearly 60% against a 3-cent rate increase, with four bonds totaling about $500 million also rejected.
• Houston-area cluster: Scorecard lists failed VATREs or bonds in Channelview, Crosby, Huffman, La Porte and Spring ISDs; The Texan says every school bond and VATRE on the Harris County Nov. 3 ballot failed (unofficial).
• Central Texas: VATREs failed in Bastrop, Del Valle, Georgetown, Leander and Round Rock ISDs, among others (The Texan).
• Narrow passes (outliers): Scorecard notes Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD narrowly passed a 12-cent VATRE (~51% yes); Manor ISD approved two bonds. The Texan also notes Seguin ISD among districts that narrowly passed a tax increase.

For a running map of held bills and post-election rate questions, see our Texas property tax bill tracker 2026.

What does a failed VATRE mean for my bill?

If a VATRE fails, the taxing unit generally may not adopt a rate above its voter-approval rate for that year. If bills were already mailed at a higher rate, Tax Code §26.08 can require corrected bills, a shifted delinquency date and refunds of overpayments of $1 or more. Step-by-step owner impact: What happens if a Texas tax rate election fails.

A failed bond is different from a failed VATRE. Bonds authorize debt repaid through the interest-and-sinking (I&S) rate; a failed bond means that authorization does not move forward from this election. Your M&O rate question is separate.

Watch the rate printed on each line of your statement (school, city, county, college, hospital). One unit's failed VATRE does not change another unit's adopted rate.

When do tax offices lock in the final 2026 rate?

After Nov. 3 elections, appraisal districts and taxing units update post-election rates for the Comptroller. For 2026, districts submit Form 50-886-a showing whether each tax-rate election passed (Y) or failed (N) and the updated final rate for each affected unit, generally by Nov. 17, 2026 (Comptroller Property Tax Assistance important dates). That filing helps tax offices print statements that match the election outcome.

Some counties held 2026 bills until after Election Day for exactly this reason. Confirm your due date on the statement. Statewide, 2026 taxes are generally due by Jan. 31, 2027; that date falls on a Sunday, so the deadline rolls to Monday, Feb. 1, 2027 unless your statement says otherwise (Tax Code §31.02; weekend rule in Tax Code §1.06).

Can I protest the tax rate at the ARB?

No. You cannot protest a tax rate at the Appraisal Review Board. Rates are set by governing bodies and, for VATREs and many bonds, by voters. What you can do:

• Protest appraised value. Compare your notice to recent sales, condition and equity with similar properties.
• Confirm exemptions. Homestead, over-65, disability and disabled-veteran exemptions lower taxable value.
• Plan the 2027 protest window. The usual deadline is May 15. In 2027 that falls on a Saturday, so the deadline is generally Monday, May 17, 2027, or 30 days after your notice of appraised value is delivered, whichever is later (Tax Code §41.44).

You can file yourself or protest with TaxDrop. Here's how a Texas property tax consultant works. For local steps, start with your county protest guide—for example Harris County, Dallas County or Bexar County.

Sources: Texas Scorecard — Texas voters reject billions in new property taxes, bond debt (Nov. 4, 2026); The Texan — Amid blue wave, Texas voters reject tax increases and public school bonds (Nov. 5, 2026); Texas Comptroller, Truth in Taxation; Texas Tax Code §26.08; Texas Tax Code §§1.06, 31.02, 41.44.