Why two similar Montgomery County homes have different tax bills
Because the total tax rate depends on which taxing units contain the parcel, not on the house. Two homes at the same price can sit in different school districts and different special districts, producing materially different annual bills.
The rate is a property of the location
Texas has no state property tax. Your bill is the sum of every local unit whose boundary contains your parcel, each multiplied by your assessed value. Cross a district line and the sum changes, even if nothing about the house does.
The components that vary
- School district — usually the largest component, and the one that varies most. See the full table.
- Special district — present for some parcels and absent for others. See the district index.
- City — only inside city limits. See the city table.
What stays the same
The county rate and the county-wide units apply to every parcel in Montgomery County identically.
The first-year surprise
A newly built home is often assessed for its first year on the value of the vacant lot, because that is what existed on the assessment date. The following year it is assessed as a completed house, and the bill rises sharply. This catches new-construction buyers regularly. Ask what the assessed value will be in the first full year, not what the current bill is.
About the advertiser
This site is paid to advertise Alta Homes (Alta Development Group LLC), a homebuilder active in Montgomery County, Texas. Figures on this page come from government records, not from Alta Homes.
Contact Alta Homes Call 1-888-904-7172
Sources
- Texas Comptroller Property Tax Assistance Division — Property Tax Rates and Levies — retrieved 2026-08-04. Adopted rates for tax year 2025. Rates for the following year are adopted between August 15 and September 30 and are not published by PTAD until the following January.
- Texas Comptroller Special Purpose District Public Information Database — retrieved 2026-08-04. Self-reported by each district to the Texas Comptroller and not independently verified by the Comptroller.
Equal Housing Opportunity. All housing advertised on this site is available without regard to race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. School district information is provided as a factual zoning reference only and is not a characterization of any school, district, or community. Verify current attendance zones with the district.