The new property tax rate, which decreased to $0.295 per $100 valuation from the 2024-25 fiscal year rate of $0.305 per $100 valuation, represents the eighth consecutive reduction and the lowest rate since the mid-1980s, according to city documents.What happened
Chief Financial Officer Sharen Jackson provided a proposal to adopt the new property tax rate, which represents a decrease of $0.01 from the 2024-25 fiscal year rate, during the Aug. 19 City Council meeting.
Property taxes, also known as ad valorem taxes, make up 47.4% of the city’s revenue, according to city documents. While giving the first reading of the budget during the council’s regular Sept. 2 meeting, Jackson said the decreased property tax rate would equate to just under $1.4 million in revenue reduction.
“This is a deliberate choice reflecting our ongoing commitment to provide tax relief whenever possible while continuing to fund essential services,” Jackson said.
The budget includes an extension of the 20% homestead exemption into FY 2025-26, which Jackson said represents a $223,000 taxable value reduction on the average Southlake home. Other exemptions include a senior tax freeze and a $75,000 exemption for disabled persons and those residents aged 65 and older.What else?
The average home value in Southlake is $1.1 million. For FY 2025-26, a residential property owner can expect to pay approximately $2,702 in property taxes to the city on a property of this value. Jackson said this amount constitutes roughly 14% of the total property tax bill for residential owners.
According to city documents, the breakdown of the total tax bill includes:
- City of Southlake: 14%
- Tarrant County Hospital District: 11%
- Tarrant County College: 7%
- Tarrant County: 11%
- Carroll ISD: 57%
“This approach allows us to keep up with infrastructure needs without overburdening future taxpayers,” Jackson said.She added 100% of the city’s outstanding property tax debt will be paid off in under 10 years. The city’s debt level represents 0.23% of the assessed value, which is below the city’s ceiling of 2%.
Quote of note
Mayor Shawn McCaskill praised city staff in putting together a budget that allowed another year of property tax relief for residents.
“[Southlake has had] 15 years in a row of property tax relief,” McCaskill said. “There’s not a lot of cities in Texas that can say that.”
He added the new tax rate is the lowest it has been in 40 years.