Your property tax rate is the percentage used to calculate your tax bill from your assessed value. It's expressed either as a percentage (like 2.5%) or as a millage rate (like 25 mills, which equals 2.5%).
Your total tax rate combines rates from multiple taxing entities: school districts, cities, counties, hospital districts, community colleges, and special districts. Each entity sets its own rate during annual budget processes.
The formula is simple: Assessed Value × Tax Rate = Property Tax Bill. A $400,000 home at a 2.5% rate owes $10,000 in annual property taxes.
You can't appeal your tax rate—it's set by elected officials through the budget process. But you CAN control your assessed value.
Since your bill equals value × rate, reducing your assessed value has the same effect as lowering your rate. A 10% reduction in assessed value saves you 10% on your tax bill, regardless of what rates do.
That's why property tax appeals matter. Even as rates increase, keeping your assessed value in check protects you from runaway tax bills.
A Fort Bend County, Texas homeowner's total tax rate includes:
• Fort Bend ISD: 1.23%
• Fort Bend County: 0.43%
• City of Sugar Land: 0.32%
• Fort Bend Drainage: 0.12%
• Other districts: 0.15%
Total tax rate: 2.25%
On a $450,000 assessed value:
Annual taxes: $450,000 × 2.25% = $10,125
If that homeowner reduces their assessed value to $400,000 through an appeal:
New taxes: $400,000 × 2.25% = $9,000
Savings: $1,125/year
Various taxing entities set their own rates: school boards, city councils, county commissioners, and special district boards. Rates are established during annual budget processes, typically in late summer.
Different areas have different taxing entities with different budget needs. A home in city limits pays city taxes; one outside doesn't. School district rates vary based on funding needs. These differences compound into significant rate variations.
Yes, though it's uncommon. Rates may decrease if taxing entities reduce budgets, if assessed values across the district increase (allowing the same revenue at lower rates), or if voters reject rate increases.