In Westlake, the Seller's Tax Bill Isn't the One You'll Pay

The property tax figure on a West Lake Hills, Rollingwood or unincorporated Westlake listing is the seller's bill. It can reflect years of Texas's homestead appraisal cap, and sometimes an over-65 exemption on top of that. The cap is tied to the owner who qualified for it, and an over-65 exemption generally stays on the property only through the end of the year of sale. Under the rules the Texas Comptroller publishes, a buyer's bill moves toward full market value. It usually doesn't happen at closing. It happens the year after.

The fall 2026 numbers show this clearly. West Lake Hills lowered its tax rate, and the average city tax bill on a homestead still went up by more than $500.

The cap stays with the owner

The Comptroller's page on valuing property explains that a homestead's appraised value can't rise more than 10% a year, plus the value of any new improvements. That limit applies only when the owner qualified the home for a homestead exemption in both the previous year and the current year.

Timing matters more than the 10% figure. The same page says the limit takes effect on January 1 of the tax year after the owner qualifies for the exemption, and it expires on January 1 of the year after that owner stops qualifying. The cap is tied to the person who claimed it. It doesn't transfer with the deed.

In a neighborhood where long-held homes sit next to recent resales, that gap can be large. Say a seller's cap held the appraised value $300,000 below market. Using the 2026 rates in the table below, each $100,000 of that gap works out to roughly $1,700 a year in West Lake Hills before exemptions. That's our own arithmetic for illustration. It isn't a TCAD estimate.

What a Westlake home pays in 2026

Travis County's Truth-in-Taxation rate table lists the 2026 adopted rates for every taxing unit. Most homes in West Lake Hills and Rollingwood are on the rolls of the six units below. The Westlake Fire Department is Travis County ESD No. 9. It serves West Lake Hills, Rollingwood and the unincorporated Westlake-area neighborhoods.

Adding these up gives about $1.70 per $100 of value in West Lake Hills, about $1.72 in Rollingwood, and about $1.53 in unincorporated Westlake, where there's no city rate. The county doesn't publish these combined totals. We added the rows ourselves. Exemptions vary by taxing unit, so a real bill will come in below rate times market value.

Some parcels are also inside special districts. The county table lists Bee Cave Road District No. 1 at $0.204195 for 2026. Before you estimate a bill for a specific address, pull that parcel's own list of taxing units.

The school line is the biggest piece of the bill, and it has been falling. Eanes ISD's rate was $1.004600 in 2022 and $0.825400 in 2026. A lower rate helps only to the extent your taxable value doesn't climb faster than the rate drops. For a new owner, taxable value is what climbs.

A rate cut, a bigger bill, and what the average shows

Community Impact reported on October 2 that West Lake Hills adopted a no-new-revenue rate of $0.174896 for FY 2026-27, down from $0.176783. Over the same period, the city's average taxable homestead value rose from $2,165,770 to $2,490,000, and the average annual city tax went from $3,830 to $4,355. Rollingwood also lowered its rate, from $0.202039 to $0.196327. There, the average taxable homestead value went from $2,507,067 to $2,642,165, and the average city bill rose $122 to $5,187.

Compare those figures with the Travis Central Appraisal District's 2026 values release. For Eanes ISD homesteads, TCAD reported the median market value rising from $1,482,210 to $1,557,539, and the median taxable value from $1,234,560 to $1,292,871. By our math, that's about 5% growth in market value and a little less in taxable value.

So the median Eanes homestead rose about 5%. Rollingwood's average rose about 5%. West Lake Hills' average rose about 15%, which is more than $300,000 per home. All three figures cover the same appraisal year. These are averages and medians covering different areas, so they don't compare exactly. Still, the size of the West Lake Hills gap tells you something. When an owner qualified for the homestead exemption in both years, the cap keeps the home's appraised value from jumping 15% unless new improvements were added. An average can rise 15% when the mix changes, through homes that sold and dropped their old cap, rebuilt or expanded homes, and new high-value homesteads. That's our reading of the numbers. TCAD doesn't make that claim.

TCAD adds its own caution. Changes in market value don't translate directly into changes in tax bills, because values determine each owner's share of the levy each taxing unit sets. A buyer's own estimate starts from the seller's TCAD record, meaning the gap between that home's market value and its capped appraised value.

When the full bill arrives

The reset happens in stages, which is why it catches buyers off guard. Here's how it plays out for a purchase that closes this fall.

1. Closing. Paragraph 13 of TREC's One to Four Family Residential Contract, Form 20-19, prorates current-year taxes through the closing date. The proration "may be calculated taking into consideration any change in exemptions that will affect the current year's taxes," and the parties adjust it once the actual current-year statements come out. If the taxes haven't been paid by closing, the buyer pays the current year's taxes.
2. The rest of the purchase year. Under the Comptroller's exemption rules, a buyer who acquires a home after January 1 can get a prorated homestead exemption for the rest of that year only if the previous owner didn't receive the same exemption that year. TCAD's guidance says that when the seller already claimed the general homestead exemption, the new owner can't claim it for that same year. Your first bill can still reflect the seller's status.
3. The over-65 wrinkle. TCAD's FAQ says an over-65 exemption stays on the property until the end of the year unless the previous owner asks to have it removed. If it's removed, the new owner's bill may come in higher than estimated, and TCAD tells owners to check with their title company about how exemptions were handled at closing.
4. Filing. You apply for the homestead exemption with TCAD online, by mail or in person. TCAD requires a driver's license or state ID that shows the property address. The annual deadline is April 30. Processing can take up to 90 days.
5. The first full year. For a fall 2026 closing, this is 2027, and your own exemption now applies. For tax year 2026, the Comptroller lists the required school district residence homestead exemption at $140,000. Under the January 1 timing rule above, though, a 10% cap based on your own qualification doesn't start until the following January. That leaves room for your appraisal to move toward market value first.

The purchase-year bill can look manageable because it still reflects the seller's status. The first full year is when the new owner's real cost shows up.

Questions to settle before the option period ends

• What was the seller's market value on the TCAD record, and what was their taxable value for each taxing unit?
• Did the seller have an over-65 or other exemption this year, and will it stay on through year-end?
• Which taxing units, including any special district, apply to this exact parcel?
• How does the title company plan to calculate the Paragraph 13 proration, and who will handle the adjustment when final statements arrive?

This post is general information. It isn't tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm how these rules apply to your purchase with your title company, a tax professional, or TCAD.

FAQ

Does a lower city rate mean a lower bill for me? Not necessarily. Both West Lake Hills and Rollingwood cut their rates for FY 2026-27, and the average homestead's city bill still rose in both, because taxable values went up faster than the rates came down.

Is the gap smaller in unincorporated Westlake? Those homes don't pay a city rate, so the combined rate is lower, about $1.53 per $100 before exemptions and special districts. The cap and exemption timing rules are the same statewide, though.

Can I protest my first full-year appraisal? TCAD runs a protest process every spring. In 2026 the deadline was May 15, or 30 days after the notice was mailed, whichever came later. Check TCAD's dates for the year that applies to you.

If you're weighing a Westlake home and want the seller's TCAD record, the parcel's taxing units and a realistic first-full-year tax estimate before the option period ends, Better Broker, Texas Realty can work through those numbers with you and your title company.