State looks to cut down property taxes From the cover
The overview
Property tax rate breakdown in Comal County
City of New Braunfels
Comal County Comal Lateral Road
New Braunfels ISD Comal ISD
$1.5
Population growth and the housing surge Central Texas experienced between 2020 and 2022 are two contributing factors to the increase in property and home values in and around New Braunfels, ocials with the Comal Appraisal District said. In Comal County, multiple entities—like New Braunfels ISD, Comal ISD, the county and the city of New Braunfels—contribute to the overall tax rate. However, that number can be attenuated with state legislation and homestead exemptions. Texas does not have a state property tax. Local governments set tax rates and collect property taxes to provide local services such as police, streets, roads and schools, according to the Texas Comptroller. In 2023, school district tax rates were compressed—or reduced—by as much as $0.18 per $100 valuation across the state, according to previous reporting by Community Impact . However, whether a property owner’s tax bill increases or decreases is based on home value and tax rate changes year over year, said Werner.
-14.8%
-15.17%
$1.2
$0.9
-15.37%
$0.6
-28.93%
-5.06%
$0.3
$0
NOTE: THE COMAL COUNTY LATERAL ROAD TAX FUNDS ROAD PROJECTS. EMERGENCY SERVICE DISTRICTS, MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICTS AND WATER IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS ARE EXCLUDED FROM THIS GRAPHIC.
SOURCE: COMAL APPRAISAL DISTRICTCOMMUNITY IMPACT
that certain values have gone down during this timeframe as well through the protest process.” New Braunfels’ tax rate is on the lower end compared to adjacent or similarly sized municipalities throughout the state, Werner said.
“It’s possible that you have property owners that are still paying more even though our rates are going down because the value of their property has gone up so signicantly,” he said. “It’s also possible that what they pay has gone down, not only because the rate’s gone down, but it is possible
Digging deeper
Who benets?
Homestead exempt property is subject to a Homestead Cap, and cannot increase by more than 10% in taxable value from one year to the next. Homestead caps are the lesser-known benet of having a homestead exemption, Werner said. “When property values increase signicantly, specically in 2021 and 2022 … there was a sig- nicant impact on the Homestead Cap, because a lot of market values increased more than 10%. But because they were homestead property, the taxable value could not increase [by over 10%,]” Werner said. Average market value, taxable value of homestead exemptions in Comal County
Andersen-Vie, Comal County taxpayer liaison ocer.
The average market value in Comal County has increased by 63.35% from 2020-24, according to data from the Comal Appraisal District. Homestead exemptions, which exempt a portion of a homeowner’s property value from taxation, are among the most utilized exemptions in Comal County. Individuals can only claim one homestead exemption; they must apply for the exemp- tions through the appraisal district, said Kurt
“Getting a homestead exemption on your home would be one of the most important ways to be proactive,” Andersen-Vie said. “And it’s sad, I think that many times we’ve run into people who have been living in their homes for many many years and have never put in for a homestead exemption, which could have saved them a great deal of money.”
Homestead exemptions in Comal County
2020
Average taxable value
Average market value
46,127
+31.8%
$600K $500K $400K $300K $200K $100K $0
2021
50,424
2022
56,039
2023
59,110
2024
60,794
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
NOTE: EXEMPTION COUNT INCLUDES HOMESTEAD, DISABLED VETERAN HOMESTEAD, AND DISABLED VETERAN HOMESTEAD FOR A SURVIVING SPOUSE
SOURCE: COMAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: COMAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT COMMUNITY IMPACT
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