Your First Austin Property Tax Bill Is on Its Way: What New Homeowners Should Check
If you bought a home in Austin this year, this is the season your property taxes stop being an estimate on a closing statement and become a real bill.
Most of my buyers are surprised by at least one thing on it. Sometimes it is the amount. More often it is the name on the envelope, or the fact that no envelope came at all. Here is what to expect and what to check, so nothing on it catches you off guard.
When the Bill Arrives and When It Is Due
State law allows the Travis County Tax Office to start mailing property tax bills on October 1, once every taxing unit has set its rate for the year. So bills go out through the fall, and yours may already be in the mail.
The last day to pay without penalties and interest is normally January 31. This year January 31, 2027 falls on a Sunday, and the Tax Office's rule is that a weekend deadline moves to the next business day, which makes it Monday, February 1, 2027. I would not plan around that extra day. Pay in December or January and be done with it.
If you are 65 or older, have a disability, or are a disabled veteran or surviving spouse with a homestead exemption, ask the Tax Office about paying in installments instead of all at once.
If the Bill Is in the Seller's Name
Texas property taxes are billed to whoever owned the home on January 1. If you closed in March or in August, your bill may be addressed to the seller, or it may never reach you at all.
That does not mean the seller pays it. In most Austin closings, the title company credits you the seller's share of this year's taxes at closing, and you pay the full bill when it comes due. Pull out your closing statement and find the line for property tax proration. Then look up your address on the Travis County Tax Office website instead of waiting for mail that went to someone else.
If You Have an Escrow Account
If your lender collects taxes in your monthly payment, the lender pays the bill from escrow. You still want to check two things.
First, confirm the lender actually has your property and pays it on time. A quick look at the Tax Office site in late January will show whether it is paid.
Second, watch your next escrow analysis. Your lender estimated your taxes at closing, usually from last year's bill, which was based on the seller's appraised value and the seller's exemptions. Next spring the appraisal district will value the home on its own terms, often much closer to what you paid. If the estimate was low, the escrow account comes up short and your monthly payment goes up to cover it. Expect it, and you can plan for it rather than be surprised by it.
File Your Homestead Exemption Now, Not in April
This is the single cheapest way to lower a Texas property tax bill, and it costs nothing to file.
Since 2022, Texas lets you claim the homestead exemption in the same year you buy, as long as the seller did not already have one on the home that year. It is prorated from the day you both own the home and live in it as your main residence, which means every week you wait is a week you pay the full rate. You have up to a year from the date you bought the home to apply, but there is no reason to wait.
What it is worth went up recently. In November 2025, Texas voters raised the school district homestead exemption to $140,000 off your home's taxable value, and raised the extra exemption for homeowners who are 65 or older or have a disability to $60,000. The school exemption only reduces school district taxes. Your city, county and other taxing units set their own homestead exemptions.
You file with the Travis Central Appraisal District, online or by mail. Have your Texas driver's license or state ID ready, and make sure the address on it matches the home you are claiming.
Once the homestead exemption is in place, it also starts the 10 percent cap that limits how fast your taxable value can rise each year. That cap does not apply in the year you buy, which is one more reason the second year's bill can look different from the first.
Three Things to Check on the Bill
- Your exemptions. If you filed for the homestead and it is not listed, call the appraisal district before you pay.
- The property. Make sure the address and owner match your home, especially if you bought new construction or the lot was recently split.
- The total against your escrow. If the bill is much higher than what your lender has been collecting, you now know an escrow adjustment is coming.
If you want to understand the appraisal itself, or plan a protest for next spring, my property tax playbook walks through how the appraisal, the exemptions and the protest process fit together.
Where I Come In
I am not a tax professional, and I will not pretend to be one. What I can do is read your closing statement with you, help you find your exemptions on the appraisal district's site, and pull comps for your street when protest season comes around.
If your first bill has a number on it that does not make sense, reach out. English or Spanish, no pressure, straight answers.
Tax dates are from the Travis County Tax Office's published calendar. The year-of-purchase homestead exemption comes from Texas Tax Code section 11.42(f), added by Senate Bill 8 in 2021. Exemption amounts are from the constitutional amendments Texas voters approved on November 4, 2025. Rules and dates can change, so confirm anything that affects your bill with the Travis County Tax Office or the Travis Central Appraisal District. This is general information, not tax or financial advice.
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