Property tax in Bell County, Texas
In Bell County, the property tax bill comes from the Tax Appraisal District of Bell County (Bell CAD), which collects property taxes under contract with the county. The 2026 bill is due January 31, 2027. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Bell County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Bell County, Texas is $3,476 a year, which is about 1.44% of the county's median home value of $241,000. That effective rate is higher than the typical Texas county (1.19%) and higher than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Bell County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Tax Appraisal District of Bell County (Bell CAD), which collects property taxes under contract with the county. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Tax Appraisal District of Bell County (Bell CAD), which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
In Bell County the appraisal district, not the county tax assessor-collector, both values property and collects the tax, and it sends one bill for the county and the cities, school districts and other local units it collects for. Statements are mailed every October for that year's taxes. Credit and debit cards cost 2.15% (minimum $2.00), Visa debit cards 1.00% (minimum $2.00), and eChecks $0.50 per payment; online payments are posted by the end of the next business day. Owners 65 or older or disabled may defer homestead taxes through the appraisal district.
When are property taxes due in Bell County?
For the 2026 bill, Bell County has one due date: January 31, 2027. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday. Under Texas law, when a tax deadline falls on a weekend or legal holiday, a payment made on the next regular business day, Monday, February 1, 2027, is on time. The appraisal district's 2025 rate chart lists Bell County among the taxing units that give an early payment discount of 3% in October, 2% in November and 1% in December; the discount applies only to the units on your bill that offer it, and the 2026 chart has not been posted. Homeowners with an over-65, disabled person or disabled veteran exemption on their homestead may instead pay in four equal parts due January 31, March 31, May 31 and July 31 (July 31, 2027 is a Saturday, so Monday, August 2 is on time). They must sign up every year, by January 31, using the slip on the back of the tax statement or the district's form, and penalty and interest then apply only to a late part. Penalty and interest begin on February 1 (for this bill, a payment made on Monday, February 1, 2027 still counts as on time because January 31 is a Sunday): 6% penalty plus 1% interest in February, with the penalty rising 1% a month to 12% on July 1, and interest adding 1% a month with no maximum. Taxes still unpaid on July 1 can also be charged an additional collection penalty of up to 20% to cover the delinquent tax attorney's fees.
From Bell County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Bell County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Bell County's average effective rate of 1.44% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $3,470 / year
Property tax in Bell County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $3,476 |
| Median home value | $241,000 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.44% |
| Typical Texas county rate | 1.19% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Bell County compare in Texas?
Among Texas's 250 counties, Bell County has the 57th highest effective property-tax rate: 56 rank higher and 193 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Texas. Nationally, it ranks 421st of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Texas county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Bell County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Bell County's 80,418 owner-occupied homes, 48.2% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 61.9% pay at least $2,000, and 8.7% pay under $800. Another 16.2% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 6,986 | 8.7% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 5,841 | 7.3% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 4,810 | 6% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 11,036 | 13.7% |
| $3,000 or more | 38,740 | 48.2% |
| No property tax paid | 13,005 | 16.2% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $3,942 and owners without one pay $2,578. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.
How does the Bell County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $3,476 is about 3.9% of the median income of Bell County homeowner households, $90,215 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 56.5% of Bell County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Bell County?
Yes. The median bill went from $2,733 in 2015-2019 to $3,476 in 2020-2024, a 27.2% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 63.2%, from $147,700 to $241,000. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Bell County
Bell County borders 7 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Williamson County, TX | 1.61% | $7,205 | $447,000 |
| Bell County, TX (this county) | 1.44% | $3,476 | $241,000 |
| McLennan County, TX | 1.42% | $3,471 | $243,600 |
| Falls County, TX | 1.37% | $1,522 | $110,900 |
| Coryell County, TX | 1.36% | $2,654 | $195,300 |
| Lampasas County, TX | 1.17% | $2,929 | $250,400 |
| Burnet County, TX | 1.06% | $3,639 | $344,000 |
| Milam County, TX | 0.99% | $1,875 | $189,800 |
How is a home assessed in Bell County?
Texas assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Bell County included. How Texas assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Bell County?
Yes. Texas exempts $140,000 of a home's value from school-district taxes, and local taxing units may add an exemption of up to 20% of value. That is the Texas rule, and it applies in Bell County. Texas's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Texas programs, Bell County runs its own:
- Bell County over-65 and disability exemptions and tax ceiling: For county tax, homeowners 65 or older get a $16,670 exemption and disabled homeowners a $10,000 exemption (the amounts on the appraisal district's 2025 rate chart), and the county applies a tax ceiling that freezes the county tax on a homestead with either exemption. Bell County has no general local homestead exemption. Apply through the appraisal district.
How to appeal your Bell County property assessment
In Bell County you appeal to the Tax Appraisal District of Bell County Appraisal Review Board (ARB). The deadline: File a protest with the Appraisal Review Board by May 15, or within 30 days after your notice of appraised value is delivered, whichever is later. Only the appraised value can be protested, not the tax itself. The May 15, 2026 deadline has passed, so check the date printed on your own notice. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Texas's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Texas rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Texas page.
Work out your own numbers
-
How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Bell County's tax rate to hand.
-
Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
-
Texas income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Texas actually taxes.
-
Sales tax in Bell County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Bell County, Texas: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.