Bastrop County homeowners will pay more in property taxes starting Oct. 1, later this week, after commissioners adopted an $80.7 million budget for fiscal year 2026-27 alongside a higher tax rate. The county's new rate of $0.4554 per $100 of property valuation marks a 6.22% increase over the previous year, and it takes effect when the fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.
Bastrop County Commissioners Court approved the fiscal year 2026-27 budget on Aug. 24 and followed that up by adopting the new tax rate on Sept. 14, according to Community Impact. That rate is set to fund the county's operations for the coming fiscal year, and it represents the maximum increase allowed without triggering a voter-approval election, per the same outlet's reporting.
Texas’ 3.5% voter-approval limit applies to maintenance-and-operations revenue growth, not a simple cap on the percentage change in the overall tax rate. The state formula separately accounts for debt service and may include an unused increment. Bastrop County’s adopted rate of $0.45540 matches its voter-approval rate; its no-new-revenue rate was $0.41098. So a rate increase above 3.5% alone does not mean an election was required. The state’s voter-approval formula explains how the components are calculated, and the county’s adopted budget lists its rates.
What It Means for the Average Homeowner
For a homeowner sitting at Bastrop County's median taxable homestead value of $290,103, the new rate translates to an estimated annual bill of $1,321.13, an increase of $77.46 over the previous year, the report notes. The estimate shows a higher total tax bill for typical residents under the new rate.
The $1,321.13 estimate is the county tax calculated on the $290,103 taxable value at Bastrop County’s rate; it is not necessarily the homeowner’s full property-tax bill. A property may also be taxed by a school district, city or special district, each with its own rate. The Comptroller’s Bastrop County directory lists those separate local taxing units, whose levies contribute to the total bill.
Countywide, the new rate is expected to generate about $6.24 million more in property tax revenue than the previous year's budget, a 9.56% increase, per the same account. Of that new revenue, roughly $2.06 million is expected to come specifically from new property added to the tax roll, officials said, according to the outlet's reporting.
The adopted budget also shows how much of the rate change is in its debt-service component: that portion rose from $0.04371 to $0.06670 per $100 of value, a 2.299-cent increase, while the total rate rose 2.67 cents. The budget lists $127.141 million in remaining county debt obligations secured by property taxes. The county’s budget report provides the rate breakdown and debt figure.
Budget Takes Effect Oct. 1
The $80.7 million spending plan and the new tax rate go into effect together when Bastrop County's fiscal year 2026-27 begins on Oct. 1. The county's adopted rate now stands as the ceiling permitted under state rules without asking voters to weigh in at the ballot box, the article states.
