No state income tax. The bill is the trade.
The first year often looks fine. It is still sitting on the old owner’s value. The second year the appraisal catches the price you paid. That jump is the one that surprises people.
I pull the real bill on the address before you fall in love with the house. Then I send the agreement. Then we walk.
What the listing does not show
Two houses a mile apart can sit in different school districts. One can carry a MUD or a PID. The portal shows a price. It does not show the monthly number after the tax.
Travis, Williamson, and the districts inside them are not the same bill. Cedar Park is not Lakeway. Leander is not central Austin. The certificate is the document. The estimate is not.
I do not hand you a protest guide. I do not walk you through the homestead form. I pull the certificate so the monthly number is real before you write.
What I do instead
I live in Cedar Park. I work the Austin market. Licensed since 2016. I made the California-to-Texas move. The tax was the number I had to learn. I will not let you learn it after you close.
You get me on the file. Not a junior. English or Spanish. No price floor. If the house is in the ring, the certificate is part of the walk.
The work starts when the agreement is signed. Until then I am not your agent.
If this is you
You are coming from California, or from any state with an income tax and a lower property bill. Or you are local and the monthly number on the listing does not match what you can carry.
You do not need a rate table. You need the bill on the address you are about to want.
Start the file
Tell me the area or the address. I will send the agreement so the walk can include the tax certificate.
Questions people ask
How high are Austin property taxes?
High enough to change the monthly number. The rate depends on the district, the city, and whether a MUD or PID is on the parcel. The certificate on the address is the answer. A metro average is not.
Does the homestead help?
Yes, on a primary residence, after you qualify. I do not file it for you. I make sure the number we use before you write already assumes you will.
What happens after I start the file?
I send the agreement. We name the area or the house. I pull the certificate. Then we walk. Nothing is under contract until that is done.