Taxes & Debt

Taxes

There are two tax rates set for school districts in Texas. Maintenance and Operation is the rate applied to the tax base to support the general fund budget. Interest and Sinking is the rate applied to the tax base to cover debt service for the bonds approved by taxpayers. The M&O tax rate is subject to recapture, but the I&S tax rate is not. For information about how property taxes are collected in Travis County, visit the Travis Central Appraisal District website.

Austin ISD: Property Tax Rate per $100 Valuation, Fiscal Years 2016–2020

Tax Rates	FY2016 Adopted	FY2017 Adopted	FY2018 Adopted	FY2019 Adopted	FY2020 Adopted
M&O	$1.079	$1.079	$1.079	$1.079	$1.009
I&S	$0.123	$0.113	$0.113	$0.113	$0.113
Total Tax Rate	$1.202 per $100 of taxable value	$1.192 per $100 of taxable value	$1.192 per $100 of taxable value	$1.192 per $100 of taxable value	$1.122 per $100 of taxable value

To see how the school tax portion of your annual property taxes pay for all the services provided by Austin ISD, visit the Tax Rate Calculator.

Property Tax Rate Per $100 of Taxable Value Over Nine Years

The total tax rate decreased by $0.07 when comparing FY2019 to FY2020. In the 2007 fiscal year, the total tax rate was $1.493, which is $0.370 more than today's total tax rate of $1.1220. The 2020 fiscal year Interest & Sinking portion is $0.113 of every $100, and $1.009 of every $100 goes to Maintenance & Operations.

FY2019 Austin Area School District Property Tax Rates

The chart below shows how Austin ISD's property tax rates compare with surrounding school districts' tax rates. Austin ISD continues to lead the surrounding districts with the overall lowest tax rate. From FY2019 to FY2020, Austin ISD decreased the M&O tax rate by $0.0700.

Prior to FY2007, Austin ISD had set the M&O tax rate at $1.50 for four consecutive years. In 2006, when the legislature implemented HB1, M&O tax rates were compressed to 88.67 percent of previous levels in FY2007, and then again to 66.67 percent in FY2008. The bill also allowed districts to access four additional pennies of M&O without voter approval, resulting in the district adopting M&O tax rates of $1.37 and $1.04 for FY2007 and FY2008, respectively.

The May 2013 voter approved bond propositions are funded through the I&S tax rate. However, due to the increase in local property values and the fact I&S collections are not subject to recapture, the I&S rate will remain flat in FY2019.

House Bill 3 (HB3) as passed by the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019, will limit the grown in school districts’ property tax revenue. Starting in 2021, the state will limit school districts with property values growing 2.5% or more. Districts’ with property value growth greater than 2.5% will have their tax rates automatically decreased to keep their tax revenue growth in line. The state will be required to reimburse school districts for any additional money they are entitled to.

For FY2019-20, AISD adopted a total tax rate of $1.1220, seven cents less than the adopted rates for the past two years, representing the lowest tax rate adopted in the past 20 years. This reduction is due to the 93% tax compression as passed by House Bill 3 of the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019. While the District has lowered its overall tax rate by twelve cents since 2013, under current State school finance laws, taxpayers may pay more in taxes due to increased valuations and State Recapture laws. The District’s maintenance and operations budget does not substantially benefit from increases in tax revenue collections. For individual taxpayers, regardless of whether or not they pay more in taxes this year than last, additional taxes from valuation-based taxation reduces the State’s contribution towards school funding by increasing AISD’s liability for Chapter 49 recapture payments.

Debt

Austin ISD has earned the highest ratings for budget management from Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings. AISD also carries the highest bond and state financial accountability ratings that school districts can earn in the state of Texas. The links below provide information about AISD bonds and debt obligations.