How Leander sets its tax rate each year

In short

Each summer the city gets its property values. Then it figures two limits: a rate that brings in the same money as last year, and the highest rate allowed without an election. For 2026-27, the council kept 41.7 cents per $100. That is below both limits. But the city still collects $4.9 million more, mostly because of new buildings and higher values.¹

The 30-second version

• July: the appraisal district certifies values (by July 25).¹
• August: the council gets the rates and votes on a proposed rate.¹
• September: notice, public hearing, then two votes to adopt.¹
• The cap: the voter-approval rate. Going above it needs an election.²

The 2026 calendar

Date (2026)	Step
July 24	Budget workshop; city manager presents the proposed budget
Aug. 6	Tax rates given to the council
Aug. 18	Proposed budget filed with the city secretary
Aug. 20	Council votes on a proposed tax rate and sets a hearing
Sept. 3	Hearing notice published; council reviews budget
Sept. 17	Budget hearing and adoption; tax-rate hearing and first vote
Sept. 22	Second and final vote to adopt the tax rate

Source: the city’s adopted budget calendar.¹

The three rates to know (per $100)

Rate	2026-27	What it means
No-new-revenue	$0.430886	Same money as last year from the same properties
Voter-approval	$0.467986	Highest without an election
Adopted	$0.417282	What the council chose

The voter-approval rate has three parts: operations $0.304520, debt $0.142799, and “unused increment” $0.020667.¹ Operations can grow about 3.5% a year. Debt covers loan payments. The unused increment is room left from earlier years when the city adopted less than it could.²

So what: the adopted rate is below the no-new-revenue rate. That means existing homes, as a group, pay a little less than last year. New buildings still add money: $2.39 million of the $4.94 million increase.¹

The other side (counterweight)

• A lower rate can still mean a higher bill for you if your home’s value rose.
• The unused increment lets the city raise its operating money more in a later year without an election.²
• This page explains how the rate is set. It does not judge whether the rate is too high or too low.

What you can do

• Speak at the September tax-rate hearing. Watch for the notice in early September.¹
• See past rates: city tax rate. Your full bill: Reading your tax bill.

Questions to ask

• Where does the city post the signed tax ordinance?
• How did the city figure the unused increment each year?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: Added questions to ask.
• Nov. 2, 2026: We reworded the other-side points so they stick to what the sources show.

What we still don’t know

• The signed 2026-27 tax ordinance. We used the adopted budget.
• How the unused increment was figured, year by year.

Footnotes

1. City of Leander FY2027 adopted budget: required tax statement and Truth-in-Taxation rates; budget message (tax base, exemptions); “Adopted Budget Calendar FY 2027.” https://www.leandertx.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/397 (saved copy) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

2. Texas Comptroller, “Truth-in-Taxation” (no-new-revenue and voter-approval rates; 3.5%; unused increment). https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/truth-in-taxation/ (saved copy) ↩ ↩² ↩³