A transparent, partial estimate of what owning a home costs each year in a place we researched, built only from published rates and fees, with a plain list of what you still have to verify.
What this does and does not do
Texas has no state income tax, so the largest recurring cost of owning a home is usually the local property tax, followed by association dues, any special-district charges and insurance. This page adds up only the parts that have a published number. Property tax is built from each taxing unit's published rate per $100 of taxable value, applied to the price you enter after the state's school-district homestead exemption ($140,000) and, if an owner is 65 or older, the additional $60,000 exemption, as the Texas Comptroller states them.
It is not a quote or a prediction. It does not know the appraised value of a particular house, the local homestead and over-65 exemptions a city or county may have adopted, tax ceilings, municipal utility district (MUD) or public improvement district (PID) charges, or insurance premiums. We do not estimate insurance premiums at all: enter a real quote. Where a place's rates are incomplete or from different years, the result says so.
Choose a place to see the property-tax lines we can build from published rates.
Example: partial property tax on a $450,000 home, owner 65 or older
For the 70 places whose city, county and school rates are all published in our sources, lowest to highest. Rates come from different years where noted, local exemptions and special districts are not subtracted or added, and the figure is for a home appraised at the price shown. Use it to see how much the tax structure alone can vary, not to predict a bill.
The appraisal district's value and the exemptions actually on the property, including any local over-65 exemption or tax ceiling the city or county adopted.
Every taxing unit on the tax statement for the exact address, including MUDs, PIDs, emergency services districts and a second school district.
The association's current dues schedule in writing, what the dues cover, working-capital or transfer fees at closing, and any pending special assessment.
A written homeowners quote for the actual home, and wind and flood quotes where they apply. Coastal and some inland addresses can need separate coverage; premiums vary by address, roof, claims history and carrier.
The rate year: a rate list from an earlier year is not the current bill, and rates change every budget year.