Your Texas Property Tax Bill Is on the Way. Here Is When It Is Due and What Late Costs
Texas tax bills go out in October. Most are due by Jan. 31, and late payments pick up penalties and interest starting Feb. 1.
If you own a home, a business or land in Texas, a property tax bill is headed your way this fall. While Texans have been watching the ballot, local tax offices have been printing bills. Knowing the calendar can save you real money.
Texas has no state property tax, as the Comptroller’s exemptions guide notes. Your bill is set and collected locally by the school district, county, city and special districts where your property sits. But the rules for when bills go out and when they go delinquent are set in state law, and the Texas Comptroller lays them out plainly.
When the bill arrives
State law requires tax assessors to mail bills "by October 1 or as soon thereafter as practicable," under Section 31.01 of the Texas Tax Code. The Comptroller says taxing units start mailing tax bills in October and that payment is due when you receive the bill.
In many counties, one office collects for everyone. According to the Comptroller’s property tax basics, taxing units often contract with the county tax assessor-collector, who collects all the property taxes due in the county and passes the money to each school district, city and county.
If a mortgage company pays your taxes from escrow, the bill goes to the lender. It is still worth checking that it was paid. The Comptroller notes that the collector must give you a receipt if you ask for one.
If you have not received your bill by mid-January, contact your local tax office. Not getting a bill does not excuse the tax, the penalty or the interest, according to the Comptroller.
The deadline that matters: Jan. 31
In most cases you must pay by Jan. 31. Under Section 31.02, taxes are delinquent if not paid before Feb. 1 of the year after they were imposed.
There are a few exceptions worth knowing:
Late bills get more time. Taxing units must give you at least 21 days after they mail the original bill. If your bill is mailed after Jan. 10, the delinquency date moves to the first day of the next month that gives you at least 21 days. A bill mailed Jan. 15, for example, would not go delinquent until March 1. The date will be printed on your bill.
Weekends count. If Jan. 31 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the Comptroller explains, you can pay on the following Monday.
Some places let you split it. In taxing units that adopted a split-payment option, you can pay half by Nov. 30 and the rest by June 30, according to the Comptroller’s chart of common tax bills.
The Comptroller also notes that most property owners pay before Dec. 31 so they can deduct the payment on their federal income taxes. Talk to your tax preparer about whether that applies to you.
What paying late costs
The penalties add up quickly. According to the Comptroller, on Feb. 1 the collector adds a 6 percent penalty and 1 percent interest. The penalty grows by 1 percent a month until July 1, when it becomes 12 percent. Interest keeps running at 1 percent a month with no maximum.
If a taxing unit hires a private attorney to collect, the attorney can add a penalty of up to 20 percent to cover fees. A tax lien attaches to every piece of taxable property on Jan. 1 each year, and a taxing unit can ultimately sue and foreclose.
You also cannot hold back taxes to protest spending. The Comptroller says plainly that you have no legal right to withhold taxes or put them in escrow over a disagreement. You can pay under protest by noting it on your check or in a letter, and you can speak up at budget hearings.
If you are behind
Some tax collectors will let you pay delinquent taxes in installments over as long as 36 months, though they are only required to offer that on a residence homestead, the Comptroller says. Signing an installment agreement counts as an "irrevocable admission" that you owe all the taxes covered, so read it carefully.
Tax collectors accept cash, checks, money orders, credit cards and electronic transfers under Tax Code Section 31.06, though a collector may limit how delinquent taxes can be paid.
Look at the bill, not just the total
Your bill lists each taxing unit and its rate. That shows you who is actually raising your taxes, and it tells you which school board, commissioners court or city council meeting to attend next year. Dock Line has broken down the 2026 numbers for Harris County and Montgomery County.
Paying what you owe on time is good stewardship. Asking hard questions about how that money is spent is good citizenship. Texans can do both.
