Editor’s note: This developing story was published Aug. 12. Fort Bend County Commissioners Court is scheduled to consider the proposed tax rate Aug. 13. Katy Christian Magazine will update this report following the meeting.
FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas — Fort Bend County property taxes could increase for many homeowners in 2026 even though county officials are proposing the same overall tax rate used for the past two years. The county’s own calculations classify the proposal as a tax increase.
This is a critical matter for homeowners in Katy, Fulshear, Richmond and other fast-growing areas of Fort Bend County. If the proposed rate is eventually adopted, the county and drainage district would continue collecting a combined 42.2 cents for every $100 of taxable property value. A homeowner whose taxable value increased could therefore owe more even though the published rate did not move.
The agenda for the Aug. 13 Commissioners Court meeting lists a proposed county rate of 41.2 cents per $100. The Fort Bend County Drainage District agenda proposes an additional 1 cent, bringing the combined rate to 42.2 cents.
That rate would be unchanged from 2024 and 2025. Texas’ truth-in-taxation calculations, however, measure more than whether the number printed beside the word “rate” has changed.
How the Same Rate Raises More Money
Fort Bend County’s official 2026 tax-rate summary lists the county’s no-new-revenue rate at 39.5979 cents and the drainage district’s rate at 0.9609 cents. Together, they amount to approximately 40.5588 cents per $100—about 1.64 cents below the proposed combined rate.
The county’s proposed rate is 4.05% above its no-new-revenue rate. The drainage district proposal is 4.07% higher than its corresponding benchmark.
The Texas comptroller’s truth-in-taxation guidance defines the no-new-revenue rate as the rate that would produce approximately the same revenue from properties taxed in both the previous and current years. New construction is treated separately. When existing property values increase, the no-new-revenue rate generally falls because a lower rate can collect the same amount of money.
Fort Bend County can consequently keep its combined rate at 42.2 cents while collecting more revenue from the existing tax base. Because the proposal exceeds the no-new-revenue rate, the Aug. 13 agenda also calls for a public hearing on a proposed tax increase.
The proposal remains below the applicable voter-approval thresholds listed in the county’s calculations, meaning it would not automatically trigger a tax-rate election.
Property values supply the other half of the calculation. According to the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District’s 2026 appraisal notice, the market value of residential property across the county increased approximately 3.88% from 2025. Preliminary values for all property categories rose approximately 3.82%.
Some homeowners may see a larger increase in taxable value because they remain below their full market value under the homestead cap. The cap limits the annual increase in a qualifying homestead’s appraised value to 10%, plus the value of new improvements. It can take several years for that capped value to catch up after a period of steep market appreciation.
FBCAD warned that 2026 will be another “cap catch-up” year for some property owners. Even homeowners whose market values rose modestly could see their taxable values increase by as much as 10% if their homes remain below market value because of the cap.
Consider a simplified example involving a home with a taxable value of $400,000 for both the county and drainage district. At 42.2 cents per $100, those two taxes would total approximately $1,688. If its taxable value increased 3.88% to $415,520, the same rate would produce a bill of approximately $1,753.49—an increase of about $65.49.
If the taxable value rose by the full 10% allowed under the homestead cap, reaching $440,000, the county and drainage portions would total approximately $1,856.80. That would be $168 more than the previous example at $400,000.
The following estimates show what the proposed combined rate would produce at several taxable values:
| Taxable value | Estimated county and drainage tax |
| $300,000 | $1,266 |
| $400,000 | $1,688 |
| $500,000 | $2,110 |
| $750,000 | $3,165 |
| $1 million | $4,220 |
These amounts cover only Fort Bend County and the county drainage district. They are not estimates of a homeowner’s complete property tax bill, and they assume the same taxable value applies to both entities.
A complete bill may include a school district, city, municipal utility district, emergency services district and other special-purpose districts. Exemptions also vary. The taxable value used by a school district may differ from the one used by the county, a city or a MUD.
The school portion changed substantially after Texas voters increased the mandatory school-district homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000. That exemption applies to school taxes, not automatically to every other taxing entity appearing on the bill.
Location can produce equally large differences. A home with a Katy mailing address may sit outside Katy city limits, inside Fort Bend County and within a MUD that collects its own property tax. Two similarly priced homes a few miles apart can belong to different cities, school districts and special districts.
Buyers in newer developments around Fulshear, Richmond and west Katy should pay particular attention to MUD taxes. Those districts often issue debt to finance water, sewer and other infrastructure, then repay it through taxes collected from properties inside the district. The rate can vary considerably from one development to another.
The Tax Decision Is Caught in a County Leadership Fight
The proposed rate is tied to Fort Bend County’s recommended $792 million FY2027 budget. During the county’s Aug. 4 budget workshop, finance officials described the spending plan as a 4.2% increase over the current fiscal year.
Its revenue assumptions depend upon adoption of the 42.2-cent combined rate. The county’s ongoing dispute over Acting County Judge Daniel Wong has made that outcome less certain.
Commissioners Grady Prestage and Dexter McCoy have stopped attending Commissioners Court meetings because they dispute Wong’s authority to continue serving as county judge.
Wong was temporarily appointed after then-County Judge KP George was suspended, but the civil lawsuit underlying that appointment was later dismissed.
Prestage and McCoy contend that Wong no longer has legal authority to preside. McCoy has argued that the four elected county commissioners could conduct county business without Wong while the courts consider his status. Wong maintains that his appointment remains valid unless a court rules otherwise.
Wong and Commissioners Andy Meyers and Vincent Morales have continued attending meetings. Three members are ordinarily enough to conduct county business, but the tax rate carries a higher requirement. Section 81.006 of the Texas Local Government Code requires at least four Commissioners Court members to be present when a county tax is levied, with at least three voting in favor.
The county can consider proposing the rate Aug. 13, but four members will be needed when the court reaches final adoption.
Finance Director Pamela Gubbels has estimated that falling to the no-new-revenue rate would remove approximately $21 million from the proposed budget. As detailed in reporting on the county budget dispute, officials have said the resulting gap could eliminate a proposed 3% cost-of-living adjustment for employees and postpone some road, park and flood-control projects. They have also raised concerns about delayed bond transactions and possible pressure on the county’s AAA bond rating.
The county has scheduled budget hearings for Sept. 9 and 10, with the hearing on the proposed tax increase set for Sept. 10. County officials expect the tax rate to come up for adoption that day.
Under state law, a taxing unit that misses the adoption deadline must ratify the lower of its no-new-revenue rate or the previous year’s rate. The no-new-revenue rate is currently the lower figure in Fort Bend County.
How Homeowners Can Check Their Own 2026 Taxes
Homeowners can begin with the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District property search to review their market value, appraised value, exemptions and individual taxing jurisdictions.
The county’s property-tax database is updated during August and September as cities, school districts, MUDs and other entities propose and adopt their rates. It allows property owners to see how much each jurisdiction would collect from their property under its proposed rate.
Homeowners should compare their 2025 and 2026 taxable values for each jurisdiction rather than relying solely on the home’s market value. They should also confirm that their homestead and any over-65, disability or veterans exemptions have been applied correctly.
Fort Bend County’s proposed rate has not been adopted, and rates from other local taxing entities may still change. Homeowners should watch the Aug. 13 proposal vote, the Sept. 10 public hearing and the final rates adopted by the county, cities, school districts, MUDs and other jurisdictions that will determine their 2026 property tax bills.
Feature by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash
