The City of Buda’s property tax rate for the 2025 tax year is $0.3576 per $100 of assessed value, up from $0.3395 the year before.1City of Buda, Texas. Ordinance Adopting the Tax Rate of $0.3576 for Tax Year 2025 That figure only covers city services, though. Your actual bill combines the city’s rate with levies from Hays County, Hays Consolidated Independent School District, Austin Community College, and one or two conservation districts, all collected together on a single consolidated bill from the Hays County Tax Office.
Rates by Taxing Entity for 2025
Every property inside Buda falls under multiple taxing jurisdictions, and each one adopts its rate independently each year. For the 2025 tax year (bills mailed in October 2025, due by early 2026), the confirmed rates are:
- City of Buda: $0.3576 per $100 of assessed value.1City of Buda, Texas. Ordinance Adopting the Tax Rate of $0.3576 for Tax Year 2025
- Austin Community College District: $0.1034 per $100, split between $0.0900 for maintenance and operations and $0.0134 for debt service.2Austin Community College. ACC Approves New Property Tax Rate For FY25-26
- Plum Creek Conservation District: $0.0307 per $100 combined ($0.0170 for groundwater management and $0.0137 for flood control).3Plum Creek Conservation District. Plum Creek Conservation District
- Hays County and Hays CISD: both adopt rates annually, with the school district’s levy typically the single largest line on the bill. Current rates are published through the Hays Central Appraisal District.4Hays Central Appraisal District. Taxing Units
Not every Buda address falls inside every one of these districts. Whether you owe the ACC levy or the Plum Creek assessment depends on where the lot sits. Your bill lists the entities that apply to your parcel along with the rate each one charges.
How Your Bill Gets Calculated
The math is simple once you know your assessed value. Take the appraised value (after any exemptions come off), divide by 100, and multiply by each entity’s rate. On a home appraised at $350,000 with no exemptions, the city portion alone works out to $350,000 ÷ 100 × 0.3576 = $1,251.60. Run that same calculation for every entity on your bill and add them up.
The Hays Central Appraisal District sets the market value each year. The taxing entities don’t. That appraisal is the starting point for every calculation on your bill, so if the value looks wrong, the appraisal district is where you challenge it.
Exemptions That Reduce What You Owe
If the property is your primary residence, Texas law lets you shave a substantial chunk off the taxable value. None of these exemptions apply automatically. You have to file an application with the Hays Central Appraisal District.5Hays Central Appraisal District. Exemption Information and Requirements
General Homestead Exemption
School districts must exempt $140,000 of a homestead’s appraised value.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead On a $400,000 home, Hays CISD would only tax $260,000 of that value. Other taxing entities may adopt a local option exemption of up to 20 percent of appraised value, with a $5,000 minimum reduction.7Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Property Tax Exemptions
Age 65 or Older and Disabled Homeowners
Homeowners 65 or older and those with qualifying disabilities receive an additional $60,000 exemption from school district taxes, stacked on top of the general $140,000.6State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.13 – Residence Homestead Up to $200,000 of value comes off school district taxation for qualifying homeowners.
The same exemptions also trigger a tax ceiling. Once you qualify, the school district can never charge you more than it did in the qualifying year, no matter how much the appraisal climbs after that. If you move to a new homestead, the ceiling transfers proportionally. Other entities may adopt a similar freeze, but only school districts are required to.
Disabled Veterans
Veterans rated 100 percent disabled by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, or rated as individually unemployable, receive a full exemption from property taxes on their residence homestead across every jurisdiction, regardless of the home’s value.8State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 11.131 – Residence Homestead of 100 Percent or Totally Disabled Veteran A surviving spouse who was married to the veteran at the time of death and still lives in the home can continue receiving it.
The 10 Percent Appraisal Cap
Even before any exemption applies, Texas caps how fast a homestead’s taxable appraised value can rise. The appraisal district cannot increase that value by more than 10 percent per year, plus the value of new improvements. The cap doesn’t limit the market value the district assigns, only the taxable figure used to calculate your bill.
Protesting Your Appraised Value
The Hays Central Appraisal District mails notices of appraised value each spring. If the number looks high, protest it. Mass appraisal methods routinely miss condition problems, lot issues, or comparable sales that would pull a value down.
You must file a written notice of protest by May 15 or within 30 days of receiving your appraisal notice, whichever is later. Forms are on the appraisal district’s website.9Hays Central Appraisal District. Protest The form is simple; the evidence is what matters. Recent sales of comparable homes near the January 1 appraisal date are the strongest tool: similar square footage, lot size, age, and condition. If your home has problems the district doesn’t know about, such as foundation issues, flood damage, or a busy road, document them with photos and repair estimates. The district usually offers an informal meeting to try to resolve things before a formal Appraisal Review Board hearing.10Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal Protests and Appeals
Deadlines and Penalties
Tax bills go out in October. Taxes become delinquent on February 1 of the following year, so payment is effectively due by January 31. When that date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day; for the 2025 tax year, the delinquency date was February 2, 2026.11Hays County Texas. Property Tax Payments and Deadlines
Miss it and the charges compound fast:
- February: 6% penalty + 1% interest (7% total)
- March: 7% penalty + 2% interest (9% total)
- April: 8% penalty + 3% interest (11% total)
- May: 9% penalty + 4% interest (13% total)
- June: 10% penalty + 5% interest (15% total)
- July: 12% penalty + 6% interest (18% total), plus a possible additional collection penalty
On a $5,000 bill, waiting until July adds $900 in penalties and interest. There is no grace period, and the Hays County Tax Office has no authority to waive the charges.12Hays County Texas. Tax Assessor – Frequently Asked Questions
If you mail a check, the postmark date controls timeliness, not the receipt date. Postdated checks that bounce trigger penalties the office will not waive.11Hays County Texas. Property Tax Payments and Deadlines
Installment Option for Some Homeowners
Homeowners 65 or older, those with disabilities, and disabled veterans can split their homestead property taxes into four equal installments without penalty. The first payment must be made before the delinquency date along with written notice of intent to pay in installments. The remaining three are due before April 1, June 1, and August 1. Missing any installment triggers the standard 6 percent penalty and 1 percent monthly interest on the unpaid portion.13Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Payment Options