How much property tax does Williamson County give back for growth deals? (DRAFT – not published)

In short

• The county gave up about $3.1 million in fiscal 2025 through tax abatements. These are deals that lower or pay back a business’s county tax.¹
• It sent about $9.1 million to tax increment zones. That money pays for public projects inside the zones.¹
• Together that is about $12.2 million (our math). The audit does not list the deals or the businesses.²

Numbers marked “our math” are our estimates, not official figures. The notes show the inputs and the steps.

How it works

• Abatements are allowed by state law. The county uses Chapter 312 of the Tax Code. The goal is to help businesses move in, stay or grow.¹
• The property must be in a special zone. The state calls it a reinvestment zone.¹
• Only new value gets the break. The break covers only the value above the value in the year the deal was signed.¹
• Deals have limits. An abatement can last up to 10 years. The county also has a rebate program that runs longer. Under it, the owner pays the tax and the county pays some back.¹
• Tax increment zones work another way. In these zones, tax on value above a starting level goes to the zone. It pays for public projects such as roads. Zones last 20 to 25 years or until a set dollar cap is reached.¹

What the numbers show

Program, fiscal 2025	County tax given up or sent to zones
Tax abatement program	$3,100,219
Tax increment zones	$9,065,587
Both (our math)	$12,165,806

Source: the county’s fiscal 2025 audit.¹²

• Zone money is the larger part. It is about three times the abatement amount (our math).²
• The audit gives one total per program. It does not name the businesses, the zones or the cities that share in them.¹

The other side

• The county says the deals are for growth. Its audit says abatements are meant for businesses that move in, stay or grow, and that zones are for areas that are “unproductive or underdeveloped.”¹
• Every abatement deal can be clawed back. The audit says each agreement lets the county take back the break if the business does not meet its terms.¹
• This page does not judge whether the deals paid off. The audit does not report the jobs or value the deals brought, or what the county would have collected without them.¹

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: Rewrote the questions to ask so each is open, neutral and addressed to the public body.

What you can do or watch next

• Watch Commissioners Court agendas for abatement and tax increment zone items. See commissioners court.

Questions to ask

• Which businesses and zones received these tax breaks, by the county’s records?
• Has the county used the clawback clause in any deal?

What we still don’t know

• Which deals make up each total.
• How these totals have changed over time. This page shows one year.

Footnotes

1. Williamson County, Texas, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for fiscal 2025, Note 14, “Tax Abatements”: abatements under Chapter 312 of the Tax Code for “business relocation, retention and expansion”; property must be in a reinvestment zone; agreements limited to 10 years; abatement only on value above the value in the year the agreement is signed; “Abatement Recapture clause in all Tax Abatement Agreements”; a tax rebate program for more than 10 years; Tax Increment Financing under Chapter 311 for “unproductive or underdeveloped areas,” 20 to 25 years or until the cap is reached. Taxes abated in fiscal 2025: tax abatement program $3,100,219; tax increment financing program $9,065,587. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

2. Our math. Same report: 3,100,219 + 9,065,587 = 12,165,806. 9,065,587 ÷ 3,100,219 = 2.9. ↩ ↩² ↩³