Taxing Entities
Although Texas has no state property tax, the Texas Tax Code authorizes local governments to assess and collect property tax. The local property tax is the largest single funding source for community services.
Local taxing entities may impose sales and use tax up to 2 percent. The state sales and use tax rate is 6.25 percent, for a total maximum combined rate of 8.25 percent. Sales and use tax, commonly referred to as sales tax, is collected primarily by businesses and remitted to the Comptroller’s office, and the local portion is then distributed to local governments. Read More »
Local entities that may levy property and sales taxes include cities, counties and special purpose districts. School districts may levy property tax, and transit authorities may levy sales tax. The number of special purpose districts is growing. In addition to those districts that collect property tax or sales tax, there are other special purpose districts that collect user fees.
Special purpose districts include but are not limited to crime control, emergency service, hospital, library and utility districts. There are more than 40 different types of special purpose districts in Texas.
Legislation has been added to the Texas Constitution and Statutes to determine how these districts operate, including procedures for establishing and dissolving the entities. Download details of the creation and dissolution procedures creation and dissolution procedures that apply to each type of special purpose district and any actions taxpayers can take.
Many local governments collect both property tax and sales tax, while others levy one or the other. With so many entities layered upon each other, usually with overlapping boundaries, it can be difficult to identify all of the entities collecting local taxes in any given location.
Local taxing entities assess and collect property tax based on rates and property values that change each calendar year. On this site, the number of property taxing entities and the value of property tax assessments are shown by calendar year. The number of sales taxing entities is also shown by calendar year, however, here the Comptroller reports sales tax revenues distributed to local entities by the state's fiscal year (Sept. 1-Aug. 31).
The maps below provide a general guide to the total number of local taxing entities in each county. Generally speaking, the more densely populated Texas counties have the most taxing entities. Click on the map to find out how many taxing entities of a specific type levy property or sales tax.
Number of Local Property Tax Entities by County
The number of Texas cities, counties and school districts that levy property tax is virtually unchanged in the past two decades. In contrast, special purpose districts that levy property tax have increased by more than 45 percent since 1992.
Number of Local Sales Tax Entities by County
The number of Texas cities, counties and transit authorities that levy sales tax has not increased much in the past two decades. In contrast, special purpose districts that levy sales tax have increased by more than 1,900 percent since 1993.
Notes:
Property tax data is reported to the Comptroller’s office by local appraisal districts.
Because of boundary variations, all taxing entities in a county may not apply to each taxpayer. Also, some local sales taxes are collected in multiple counties. For example, the city of Dallas is located in five counties — Collin, Dallas, Denton, Kaufman and Rockwall — and is included in the city count for each of those counties.
Contact your local appraisal district or tax assessor-collector for your applicable property taxing entities.
Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts