Carrollton homeowners will pay less in city property taxes for the 13th consecutive year, but starting next month they will also face a new stormwater fee and higher trash bills that chip away at those savings. The Carrollton City Council adopted its FY27 budget this week, setting the property tax rate at $0.537000 per $100 of assessed value, down from $0.537500 in FY26.
The rate cut lowers the average homestead's annual city tax bill from $1,896 to $1,824, a savings of $72, according to the City of Carrollton. Part of that decrease comes from a slight dip in average assessed home values: the average taxable value for a Carrollton homestead fell from $352,744 in FY26 to $339,580 in FY27, even as the average market value dropped from $430,061 to $419,401, per the City of Carrollton. Texas homestead exemption rules and appraisal caps generally shield homeowners from sharp swings in either direction.
Hi-diddly-ho, neighborinos! Smithers, who is that City lowering its tax rate for the 13th year in a row?
— City of Carrollton (@CarrolltonTX) September 2, 2026
Carrollton City Council adopted the FY27 Budget and lowered the property tax rate for the 13th year in a row. The new rate is $0.537000 per $100 assessed value. Woo-hoo!… pic.twitter.com/n3RC7rslyl
A 13-Year Streak, and the Lowest Rate Since 1989
This marks the 13th straight year Carrollton has trimmed its property tax rate, continuing a run that has pushed the rate to its lowest level since 1989. The city took a similar step last September, lowering the FY26 rate from $0.538750 to $0.537500, the same multiyear policy the council says helps offset rising property valuations across North Texas, according to the city's budget materials. The council also kept the city's homestead exemption at 20 percent and held the exemption for seniors 65 and older and residents with disabilities at $110,000, a threshold that was expanded from $97,000 in FY26 — a 37.5 percent increase since 2021.
Carrollton's tax base has grown substantially even as rates have fallen. The city reported a total taxable property valuation of $24.1 billion for FY26, supporting a General Fund operating budget of $144.98 million that pays for police, fire, emergency services, parks, and libraries. Any push to raise property tax revenue for day-to-day operations by more than 3.5 percent in a given year would trigger an automatic voter-approval election under Texas Senate Bill 2, a statewide cap detailed by TheTexas Tribune.
New Stormwater Fee and Pricier Trash Pickup Arrive October 1
The tax-rate cut comes alongside new costs that will show up on residents' monthly bills. Beginning October 1, Carrollton's residential sanitation and recycling fees will rise from $26.30 to $27.36 per month due to contractual cost adjustments with Republic Services, following a $2.30 increase to those rates in FY26.
The same October 1 start date brings a new tiered stormwater fee, with Tier 2 — the tier an estimated 80 percent of residential properties will fall into — set at approximately $7.25 per month. The fee will fund drainage maintenance, improvements, and other critical infrastructure projects, and it stems from an ordinance the City Council unanimously approved in November 2025 establishing a dedicated stormwater fund. That move puts Carrollton alongside other North Texas cities that already charge dedicated stormwater fees, including Addison, Coppell, Farmers Branch, Lewisville, and Plano.
More Than $118 Million in Roads, Drainage Projects
The FY27 budget also lays out more than $118 million in multiyear capital infrastructure projects, covering roads, drainage, and other improvements across the city. Funding projects through dedicated fees rather than the general tax rate is part of how Carrollton has managed to keep cutting its headline rate while still paying for large-scale infrastructure work.
Carrollton's footprint complicates some of this math for residents. The city spans 36.6 square miles across three North Texas counties — Dallas, Denton, and Collin — and serves roughly 134,000 residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. That multi-county setup has caused confusion before: in May 2025, the Denton Central Appraisal District sent property tax exemption adjustment notices to Carrollton homeowners in Denton County, prompting the city to clarify exemption confusion and confirm that its 20 percent local homestead exemption remained active.
For most homeowners, the net effect of the FY27 budget is a modest win: a lower tax bill, even as new fees for stormwater management and trash service take a bite out of the savings starting next month.
