Property tax in Dallas County, Texas

Who sends the property tax bill in Dallas County, and how do you pay it?

The bill comes from the Dallas County Tax Office (Tax Assessor/Collector). The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD), 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.

The Dallas County Tax Office sends one bill for the county, Parkland Hospital, Dallas College and the cities, school districts and special districts it collects for, including Dallas, Irving, Grand Prairie, Mesquite, Richardson and Carrollton. Some units collect their own taxes and send a separate bill, among them the City of Garland and the Garland, Irving, Richardson and Carrollton-Farmers Branch school districts. The appraisal district, not the tax office, sets values and approves exemptions. Credit cards and digital wallets cost 2.05% (minimum $2.85), debit cards $2.85, and eChecks are free. Owners 65 or older or disabled may defer homestead taxes by filing with the appraisal district; deferred taxes accrue 5% a year instead of the usual penalty and interest.

When are property taxes due in Dallas County?

For the 2026 bill, Dallas County has one due date: January 31, 2027. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday. Under state law a payment made on the next regular business day, Monday, February 1, 2027, is on time; the county's own pages do not say how it will handle the Sunday date. Mailed payments are credited by the U.S. Postal Service postmark, and the tax office warns that the Postal Service may now postmark mail a day or more after it is dropped in a box, so it suggests asking for a hand postmark at the post office or using certified or registered mail. Homeowners with an over-65, disabled or disabled veteran exemption may pay in four equal installments with no penalty or interest by arranging the plan with the tax office and paying the first quarter by January 31; the rest are due March 31, May 31 and July 31, and when an installment date falls on a weekend or holiday, state law makes a payment on the next business day timely. Taxes are delinquent if not paid by January 31 (for this bill, a payment made on Monday, February 1, 2027 still counts as on time because January 31 is a Sunday). State law adds a 6% penalty plus 1% interest (7%) in February, rising each month to 12% penalty plus 6% interest (18%) in July, and interest keeps adding 1% a month after that. The tax office accepts partial payments at any time, and only the unpaid balance accrues penalty and interest; homeowners with a homestead exemption can sign a monthly installment agreement once the taxes are delinquent, which state law says must run at least 12 months and no more than 36.

From Dallas 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 Dallas County

Enter a home's market value to estimate its annual property tax using Dallas County's own assessment rules. This is an estimate; for the exact bill, use the county's official tools linked below.

For your exact bill, Dallas County publishes the authoritative tools: official tax estimator, or the Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD), appraises value & administers exemptions; Dallas County Tax Office, John R. Ames (Tax Assessor/Collector), bills & collects the tax.

Assessment ratio, exemption, and rate from Dallas County's certified high-confidence sources, reviewed 2026-08-30. Millage varies by taxing district and exemptions vary by owner, so treat this as a close estimate, not the exact bill.

Property tax in Dallas County at a glance

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 Dallas County compare in Texas?

Among Texas's 250 counties, Dallas County has the 32nd highest effective property-tax rate: 31 rank higher and 218 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 279th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Texas county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Dallas County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Dallas County's 498,911 owner-occupied homes, 65.7% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 75.7% pay at least $2,000, and 6.3% pay under $800. Another 7.1% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $5,641 and owners without one pay $3,746. 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 Dallas County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $4,798 is about 4.7% of the median income of Dallas County homeowner households, $101,516 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 50.8% of Dallas 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 Dallas County?

Yes. The median bill went from $3,355 in 2015-2019 to $4,798 in 2020-2024, a 43% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 73.2%, from $174,900 to $303,000. 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 Dallas County

Dallas County borders 6 counties.

How is a home assessed in Dallas County?

Texas assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Dallas County included. How Texas assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Dallas 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 Dallas County. Texas's exemptions and relief programs in full.

On top of the Texas programs, Dallas County runs its own:

• Dallas County homestead, over-65 and disability exemptions and tax ceiling: For county tax in 2026, Dallas County exempts 20% of a homestead's value (at least $5,000), homeowners 65 or older or disabled get an extra $100,000, and the county has offered a tax ceiling that caps the county tax on those homesteads since 2007; apply through the appraisal district.

How to appeal your Dallas County property assessment

In Dallas County you appeal to the Dallas Central Appraisal District Appraisal Review Board (ARB). The deadline: File a protest by May 15, or within 30 days after the appraisal district delivers your notice of appraised value, whichever is later; if the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day. For the 2026 tax year the deadline for most homes was May 15, 2026. Protests can be filed online, by mail (postmarked by the deadline) or in person, but not by fax or email. 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 Dallas 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 Dallas County

  The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.