San Antonio Property Tax Rates 2025 — Complete Breakdown by Taxing Entity

Key Takeaways

• Six county-wide entities charge a combined $1.29 per $100 of taxable value before your school district is added — the school district is always the largest single line item on your bill.
• School district rates in Bexar County range from $0.9572 (Alamo Heights ISD) to $1.2575 (Harlandale ISD) — a gap that translates to roughly $480 per year on a $300,000 home before exemptions.
• The $140,000 school district homestead exemption (Proposition 13, November 2025) is now in effect, retroactive to Tax Year 2025, reducing the taxable base for school taxes for every qualifying homeowner.
• San Antonio's median effective rate is 1.55% — higher than the Texas median of 1.48% and 52% above the national median of 1.02%.
• A $300,000 home with a standard homestead exemption pays roughly $4,747 to $5,024 per year, depending entirely on which school district the property falls in.
• Protesting your assessed value lowers the base that every rate is applied to — a $20,000 reduction saves money across all six county entities plus your school district simultaneously.
• The non-homestead 20% appraisal circuit breaker from Proposition 4 (2023) expires December 31, 2026 — a critical deadline for investment and commercial property owners.

San Antonio's median effective property tax rate is approximately 1.55% when accounting for exemptions — higher than the Texas state median of 1.48% and well above the national median of 1.02%.

Ownwell Property Tax Data, 2025

Despite two rounds of historic property tax relief in 2023 and 2025, San Antonio homeowners still pay significantly more than the national average. Understanding exactly where that money goes — and why your assessed value is the most powerful lever you have — is the subject of this guide. All rates are Tax Year 2025 (taxes due January 31, 2026). Tax Year 2026 rates will not be set until September–October 2026.

Decision guide — which entity charges what

Every Bexar County homeowner within the City of San Antonio pays all six county-wide entities below, plus the rate for their school district. Only the school district line varies by location.

All rates shown are Tax Year 2025, adopted September–October 2025. Source: official Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector 2025 Tax Rates and Exemptions document, run date 09/30/2025.

Bexar County 2025 Official Tax Rates and Exemptions

How your property tax bill is built

Your total annual property tax bill is the sum of every taxing entity's rate applied to your taxable value — not your appraised (market) value. The distinction matters because exemptions create a gap between the two, and different entities grant different exemption amounts.

Each entity takes your appraised value, subtracts whatever exemption that entity grants, and multiplies the result by its rate. The City of San Antonio's general homestead exemption is 20% of appraised value (minimum $5,000). On a $300,000 home, that produces a city taxable value of $240,000 and an annual city tax of $1,299.82. Bexar County uses the same 20% exemption, University Health uses 20%, and so on. Because each entity's exemption is applied separately, you cannot calculate your total bill by multiplying a single rate by your appraised value.

The City of San Antonio has maintained its $0.541590 rate since Tax Year 2023 — the same rate it has held for over 30 years. Property taxes account for more than 25% of the city's general fund.

Bexar County has held its combined rate (main levy plus Road and Flood Control) at approximately $0.30 per $100 for more than three decades. The county's FY2025-26 budget of $2.8 billion relies on property taxes for roughly 80% of its revenue.

University Health System kept its rate at $0.276235 despite opening three new hospitals. Property taxes account for only about 15% of University Health's $3 billion-plus budget, making this entity relatively insulated from rate pressure.

SARA raised its rate from $0.017870 to $0.018300 in Tax Year 2025 — an increase of $0.000430 — still well below its statutory cap of $0.02 per $100. Its FY 2025-2026 adopted budget is $411 million.

San Antonio River Authority

School district rates — the biggest variable

Your school district determines more of your property tax bill than any other single entity. While the six county-wide entities are fixed for all properties within the City of San Antonio, your school district adds anywhere from $0.9572 to $1.2575 per $100 on top.

Bexar County contains 15 school districts, 12 of which levy property taxes. Fort Sam Houston ISD, Lackland ISD, and Randolph Field ISD are military installation districts funded entirely by federal Impact Aid and levy no property taxes on private property.

All 12 taxing school districts — Tax Year 2025

Tax Year 2025 school district rates from the official Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector tax rates document, confirmed against individual district sources for North East ISD, Northside ISD, and South San Antonio ISD.

Bexar County 2025 Tax Rates PDF

Why rates dropped so sharply from 2024 to 2025

Every major ISD in Bexar County saw significant rate reductions. San Antonio ISD led with a decrease of nearly 35 cents per $100 — from approximately $1.5023 to $1.1552. Northside ISD dropped more than 28 cents. These reductions come from a state policy called M&O compression.

School district tax rates have two components: Maintenance and Operations (M&O), which funds daily operations like teacher salaries, and Interest and Sinking (I&S), which funds voter-approved bond payments. The Texas Education Agency sets a Maximum Compressed Tax Rate for each district's M&O component. When the state increases compression, it mandates lower M&O rates and backfills the lost revenue with additional state funding so district budgets are maintained. SB 1, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature, provided an additional 6.01 cents of compression for Tax Year 2025 — driving the large rate reductions across all major ISDs.

The I&S component is not compressed — it stays set by each district's existing bond obligations. For North East ISD, the I&S rate is $0.3000 per $100. For Northside ISD, $0.3355. For South San Antonio ISD, $0.4990.

Combined rates by school district area

The total rate a homeowner pays depends entirely on their school district. The non-school subtotal of $1.285274 is identical for all properties in the six-entity area.

Exemptions — how they reduce your taxable value

Exemptions are the gap between your appraised value and the taxable value each entity uses. They are set by state law or entity policy — a homeowner cannot change them — but they substantially reduce what you owe.

The $140,000 school district homestead exemption

The most impactful exemption has more than tripled since 2022. The school district homestead exemption was $25,000 before 2022, increased to $40,000 in 2022, jumped to $100,000 following Proposition 4 in November 2023, and increased again to $140,000 following Proposition 13 in November 2025 — retroactive to Tax Year 2025.

Texas Proposition 13 (SB 4) passed November 4, 2025 with approximately 79% voter approval, increasing the mandatory school district homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, retroactive to Tax Year 2025.

Ballotpedia — Texas Proposition 13 (2025)

For a $300,000 home, the school district taxable value drops from $300,000 to $160,000 — saving roughly $1,400 per year in school taxes compared to a no-exemption calculation.

Local entity homestead exemptions for Tax Year 2025

Exemption data from the Bexar County 2025 Official Tax Rates and Exemptions document and BCAD's help center. The $140,000 school district exemption reflects Proposition 13 (SB 4) as approved November 4, 2025.

BCAD Property Tax Exemptions Overview

Seniors and disabled homeowners — $200,000 in school exemptions

Proposition 11 (SB 23), also passed November 4, 2025 with approximately 77% voter approval, increased the additional over-65 and disabled school district exemption from $10,000 to $60,000, retroactive to Tax Year 2025. Combined with the $140,000 general homestead exemption, seniors and disabled homeowners now receive $200,000 total in school district exemptions.

For a $300,000 home in the North East ISD area, this reduces the school district taxable value from $160,000 to $100,000, producing a school tax of approximately $982 — compared to $1,571 for a standard homestead.

Additionally, once a homeowner qualifies as over-65 or disabled, school district taxes are frozen at the dollar amount paid in their qualifying year. Even if values or rates rise, the frozen amount cannot increase.

Example tax calculation — $300,000 home

Here is how the tax bill calculates for a $300,000 home with a standard homestead exemption across four school district areas. The non-school subtotal is identical in every case — only the school district line changes.

The non-school subtotal of $3,175.46 applies the six county-wide entity rates to their respective taxable values: city, county, and University Health use 20% homestead exemption ($240,000 taxable), Alamo Colleges uses 1% exemption ($297,000 taxable), and the school district uses $140,000 exemption ($160,000 taxable). A homeowner in the SAISD area pays roughly $277 more per year than one in NEISD — entirely because of the school district rate difference.

How assessed value connects to your tax bill — and why protesting works

Every rate, every exemption, every tax bill in this guide starts with one number: your assessed (appraised) value — the number BCAD assigns to your property each year. Exemptions reduce the base, but they are fixed by law. Your assessed value, on the other hand, is set by BCAD's mass appraisal process and can be challenged.

When you successfully reduce your assessed value through a formal protest, the reduction applies across every taxing entity simultaneously. At a combined rate of approximately $2.29 per $100 in a Northside ISD area, a $10,000 reduction saves roughly $229 per year. A $20,000 reduction saves $458 per year — across the city, county, University Health, Alamo Colleges, River Authority, and the school district all at once.

Texas Tax Code §41.43 prohibits the appraisal district from raising your assessed value as a result of a protest. The only possible outcomes of filing are a reduction or no change — there is zero risk to protesting.

Bexar County Tax FAQ

BCAD's 2023 data — the most recent with complete informal hearing statistics — shows 99.11% of informal protests resulted in a value reduction, with $4.86 billion in total reductions, including $2.65 billion for single-family homes. Approximately 90% of protests settle at the informal stage before a formal ARB hearing. In 2024, BCAD received approximately 186,000 total protests.

BCAD's Board of Directors also unanimously adopted a protest rollover provision in 2024: properties that successfully protest their 2025 valuation will carry the lowered market value forward into 2026, provided no significant changes like new construction occur. A successful protest now effectively protects two years of assessed value, not one.

How San Antonio compares to other Texas cities

San Antonio's effective rate is higher than Houston and Austin but lower than Dallas and Fort Worth. Austin's dramatically higher home values mean actual dollar tax bills there are nearly double San Antonio's — even with a lower rate. San Antonio homeowners pay $1,465 more per year than the national median, and $424 more than the Texas median.

After years of rapid value growth — 28% in 2022, 16% in 2023 — Bexar County values have decelerated sharply. The Zillow Home Value Index for San Antonio was approximately $256,363 as of mid-2025, down 3.9% year-over-year. BCAD's median market value was approximately $255,250 for San Antonio properties. The City of San Antonio's total taxable value decreased by $2.0 billion (-1.3%) to $158.7 billion — the first negative growth since the aftermath of the 2009 recession.

Methodology

All Tax Year 2025 rates in this post are sourced from the official Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector 2025 Tax Rates and Exemptions document (run date 09/30/2025) and confirmed against individual district sources for North East ISD, Northside ISD, and South San Antonio ISD. Year-over-year comparisons use the Bexar County 2024 official tax rates document.

Exemption data reflects Proposition 13 (SB 4) and Proposition 11 (SB 23) as approved by Texas voters November 4, 2025, both retroactive to Tax Year 2025. School district M&O compression figures are sourced from the Texas Education Agency's TY2025 Final Maximum Compressed Rate document and the 89th Legislature's SB 1.

Example tax calculations use the six county-wide entities at their published TY2025 rates with their respective homestead exemptions, plus the school district at $140,000 homestead exemption, applied to a $300,000 appraised value. The non-school subtotal of $3,175.46 is derived from the rates and exemptions in the official Bexar County document.

Effective rate comparison data (1.55% San Antonio, 1.48% Texas, 1.02% U.S.) is from Ownwell's 2025 property tax data. City comparison median values and annual tax bills are from BCAD assessor data and publicly available city-level datasets.

All rates shown are Tax Year 2025. Tax Year 2026 rates will not be adopted until September–October 2026.

Sources:

• Bexar County 2025 Official Tax Rates and Exemptions
• Bexar County 2025 Tax Rates PDF
• Bexar County 2024 Tax Rates
• BCAD Exemptions Overview
• Texas Comptroller — Property Tax
• Ballotpedia — Proposition 13 (2025)
• Ballotpedia — Proposition 11 (2025)

Common questions