On Sept. 21, RISD trustees adopted the 2023-24 overall property tax rate of $1.1431, which is lower than last year’s overall tax rate of $1.3146 per $100 of taxable assessed value and the lowest rate in more than three decades.
RISD Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Support Services David Pate said the adopted tax rate for maintenance and operations for 2023-24 of $0.7931 is down more than $0.17 from the prior year and is at the lowest rate in 39 years. The portion of RISD’s tax rate used to pay principal and interest on bonds approved by voters, known as the debt service tax rate, remains unchanged at $0.35. The tax rate adopted by the RISD board is the maximum tax rate allowed by law without conducting a Voter Approval Tax Rate Election (VATRE).
This is possible because of the state’s compression of the rate, and the passage of the recent property tax relief bill. The expected increase in the state’s homestead exemption should further decrease tax bills this school year. The Texas Legislature approved an increase in the homestead exemption to $100,000 from $40,000, and that proposition will be on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Please click here to view the Sept. 21 presentation.
The state of Texas sets the operating tax rate annually for school districts based on a school finance formula that includes the number of students attending school each day and assessments of property values within a school district. Typically, if property values increase, the tax rate will decrease, with the opposite occurring if property values decrease. Pate said RISD’s enrollment of 37,044 students is trending higher than projections.
In Richardson ISD, about 28% of residential taxpayers are 65 or older and have a frozen tax levy, which means the amount of taxes they pay cannot increase, regardless of property valuation or tax rate. The actual amount of taxes that a property owner pays is the combination of the tax rate and their taxable property value, as determined by the Dallas Central Appraisal District. Please click here for more information from the state about property taxes in Texas.
