Property tax in Hays County, Texas
In Hays County, the property tax bill comes from the Hays County Tax Office (Tax Assessor-Collector). 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 Hays County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Hays County, Texas is $6,649 a year, which is about 1.66% of the county's median home value of $399,800. 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 Hays County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Hays County Tax Office (Tax Assessor-Collector). The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Hays Central Appraisal District, 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 Hays County Tax Office bills and collects for the county and for the school districts, cities and special districts in the county, so most homeowners get one bill. The appraisal district, not the tax office, sets values and approves exemptions. The county bill also carries a county special road tax with its own homestead exemptions. Card payments online or by phone cost 2.35% (minimum $3.00) and e-checks $0.50. The tax office is closed on the third Wednesday of each month for staff training.
When are property taxes due in Hays County?
For the 2026 bill, Hays 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 applied the same rule this year, when it accepted 2025 taxes through Monday, February 2, 2026. The tax office credits mailed payments by the U.S. Postal Service postmark, not a postage meter date, so mailing by Saturday, January 30 avoids any question. Homeowners with a homestead exemption who are 65 or older, disabled, disabled veterans or surviving spouses of disabled veterans may instead pay in four installments due January 31, March 31, May 31 and July 31; when an installment date falls on a weekend or holiday, state law makes a payment on the next business day timely. Taxes not paid on time are delinquent from February 1 (for this bill, a payment made on Monday, February 1, 2027 still counts as on time because January 31 is a Sunday). Penalty and interest are 7% in February and rise each month to 18% in July (12% penalty plus 6% interest), and interest keeps adding 1% a month after that. The tax office says it has no authority to extend the deadline or waive penalty and interest.
From Hays 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 Hays County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Hays County's average effective rate of 1.66% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $6,637 / year
Property tax in Hays County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $6,649 |
| Median home value | $399,800 |
| Effective tax rate | 1.66% |
| 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 Hays County compare in Texas?
Among Texas's 250 counties, Hays County has the 19th highest effective property-tax rate: 18 rank higher and 231 rank lower. That places it among the most heavily taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 220th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Texas county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Hays County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Hays County's 64,042 owner-occupied homes, 79.5% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 83.4% pay at least $2,000, and 4% pay under $800. Another 4.7% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 2,578 | 4% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 2,795 | 4.4% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 2,238 | 3.5% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 2,513 | 3.9% |
| $3,000 or more | 50,926 | 79.5% |
| No property tax paid | 2,992 | 4.7% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $6,965 and owners without one pay $5,765. 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 Hays County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $6,649 is about 5.7% of the median income of Hays County homeowner households, $117,021 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 64.1% of Hays 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 Hays County?
Yes. The median bill went from $4,752 in 2015-2019 to $6,649 in 2020-2024, a 39.9% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 67.5%, from $238,700 to $399,800. 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 Hays County
Hays County borders 5 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hays County, TX (this county) | 1.66% | $6,649 | $399,800 |
| Travis County, TX | 1.48% | $7,727 | $523,000 |
| Guadalupe County, TX | 1.43% | $4,343 | $304,400 |
| Caldwell County, TX | 1.35% | $3,235 | $240,500 |
| Comal County, TX | 1.13% | $4,833 | $427,200 |
| Blanco County, TX | 0.93% | $4,510 | $483,500 |
How is a home assessed in Hays County?
Texas assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Hays County included. How Texas assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Hays 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 Hays County. Texas's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Texas programs, Hays County runs its own:
- Hays County homestead, over-65 and disability exemptions: For county tax, Hays County exempts 1% of a homestead's value (at least $5,000), and homeowners 65 or older or disabled get an extra $45,000 (the amounts listed for tax year 2025); apply through the appraisal district.
How to appeal your Hays County property assessment
In Hays County you appeal to the Hays Central Appraisal District Appraisal Review Board (ARB). The deadline: File a protest with the appraisal district by May 15, or within 30 days after your notice of appraised value is delivered, whichever is later. This deadline is set by state law for every Texas county; the county tax office's own FAQ still gives an older April 30 date, which the law has replaced. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against state law, because Hays County does not restate them on its own pages.
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
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Hays County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Texas income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Texas actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Hays County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Hays 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.