What does the property tax figure on an Arlington listing describe this October? A value set in 2024, reduced by exemptions that belong to the current owner and multiplied by rates that local governments chose for one year.
That gap has always existed in Texas. In Tarrant County it is wider right now than it has been in years, because the appraisal district has stopped moving residential values. That shows up in a buyer's budget long before any tax bill does.
Three layers inside one number
Every tax figure on a listing is built from separate pieces. Tarrant Appraisal District determines market, appraised and taxable values. Each taxing unit, including the City of Arlington, sets its own rate on top. In fall 2026, each of those pieces is unusual:
- The value has been held at 2024 levels for most homes, regardless of what the market did afterward.
- The exemptions and caps belong to the seller. They tie to the seller's age, occupancy and length of ownership.
- The rate came from a budget vote in September 2026, after a year when protests took billions out of Arlington's taxable values.
The sections below cover each layer in order, because the third layer exists largely because of the first.
The value was set in 2024 and has stayed there
In July 2024, the TAD board directed the chief appraiser to reappraise residential property every two years. It also told him not to reappraise homes for tax year 2025 at current values, except for new construction and improvements. Tax year 2026 was also a non-reappraisal year. As the Fort Worth Report put it in September, "property values remained frozen at a higher, previous market value."
For a lot of homes, that frozen value sits above what the house would bring today. In May 2026, chief appraiser Joe Don Bobbitt told county commissioners that the market value of "probably about 190,000" homes would likely have dropped if TAD had reappraised. He added that a lower market value doesn't automatically mean a lower appraised value, because homestead caps already limit how fast appraised values rise. That account comes from the Fort Worth Report's coverage of the meeting. The freeze also cut the other way: homes that gained value in 2025 stayed at their lower 2024 valuation.
Owners responded with protests. More than 272,000 Tarrant homeowners protested in 2026, and TAD estimates roughly 95% of those cases settled without a formal hearing. In Arlington, City Manager Trey Yelverton said taxable home values dropped 1.23% this year, the city's second-largest decline this century. Officials said protests accounted for roughly $5 billion in reductions, according to the Fort Worth Report's budget coverage.
So the value behind any given listing's tax line depends partly on whether the seller protested in 2026 and how that protest turned out. Two similar houses on the same street can carry different taxable values for reasons that have nothing to do with either house.
Arlington chose not to make up the difference
Falling taxable values mean less revenue at the same rate. In September, the Arlington City Council discussed moving to the no-new-revenue rate, which would have raised the same revenue as last year. The Fort Worth Report said that would have added about $16 a year to the average homeowner's bill. A majority of the council chose stability instead. The city's announcement confirms the adopted rate of $0.6298 per $100 of assessed value, the same as FY26.
The city's share is only one line on a combined bill. The Fort Worth Report put Arlington's portion of the average owner's tax bill at roughly $1,500. The city's own utility charges moved upward at the same time:
| City of Arlington charge, average resident | FY26 | FY27 |
|---|---|---|
| Property tax rate per $100 of value | $0.6298 | $0.6298 |
| Water and sewer, monthly | $80.10 | $85.20 |
| Garbage collection, monthly | $22.71 | $23.49 |
| Stormwater fee | No change | No change |
The city says the average homeowner's combined city property tax, water, sewer, garbage and recycling costs will fall by 40 cents a month compared with FY26. That figure is an average across existing owners, built on their existing values and exemptions. It describes the people already in Arlington homes. It isn't a forecast for someone buying one.
What leaves with the seller
The biggest gap between a listing's tax line and a buyer's first bill comes from exemptions and caps. Texas ties these to the owner, not the house.
The state's school-tax homestead exemption is $140,000, effective for the tax year that began January 1, 2025. Owners 65 and older who qualify receive an extra $60,000 school-tax exemption. That requires the person to own an interest in the home and live there as a principal residence. A listing owned by a long-time homesteader, especially one 65 or older, can show a tax figure that reflects benefits the next owner will only have if they qualify on their own.
The timing for a new owner follows its own rules. The Texas Comptroller says someone who acquires a home after January 1 may qualify for the exemption for part of that tax year, but only if the previous owner didn't receive it that year.
The 10% homestead appraisal cap matters more this year than usual. It limits annual growth in appraised value to the lesser of market value or the prior year's appraised value plus 10% and the value of new improvements. The Comptroller says it applies only after the owner qualifies for the homestead exemption, starting January 1 of the following tax year, and it ends when homestead eligibility ends. TAD notes that the cap kept operating during the freeze years. So a capped home's appraised value could keep rising by up to 10% a year until it reached the frozen market value.
The seller's capped value reflects years of the seller's ownership. When the seller's homestead eligibility ends, that cap ends with it. The buyer starts a new cap clock, and that clock runs into 2027.
2027 is the reset year
On September 8, 2026, the TAD board voted 5–4 to reappraise residential property in 2027 and keep the odd-year schedule. Board members Rick Barnes, Matt Bryant, Keziah Farrar, Eric Morris and Callie Rigney voted for it. Wendy Burgess, Fred Campos, Eric Crile and Gloria Pena voted against. The approved plan says market values may rise, fall or stay the same. Its countywide market trend estimate is "flat."
Put the pieces in order and a fall 2026 Arlington buyer is closing after two straight tax years, 2025 and 2026, with no residential reappraisal. The next tax year brings the first fresh residential values since 2024. Under the Comptroller's description of the cap, a new owner's own 10% limit would begin the January after they first qualify for the homestead exemption. A board seat election is also on the November ballot, and the Fort Worth Report has profiled the candidates.
The fresh values will be checked against actual sales. TAD's mass appraisal process compares recent sale prices with the appraised values of the homes that sold, and it can use sales from up to two years before January 1 of the appraisal year. The sales being recorded in Arlington this fall are part of the evidence for those 2027 values.
Those sales show a slower market. MetroTex's NTREIS summary for September 2026 shows 234 closed sales in Arlington, down from 285 in September 2025. Pending sales fell to 185 from 233. Days on market rose to 55 from 44, and the sold-to-list ratio slipped to 94.3% from 95.1%. The median price was $335,000, nearly the same as $334,000 a year earlier, while the average price fell to $358,203 from $367,986. Arlington had 3.3 months of inventory that month. Tarrant County had 3.5 months at a $350,000 median, and the DFW region had 4.3 months at $385,000.
A flat median with longer marketing times and a lower sold-to-list ratio means sale prices are being negotiated right now, while appraised values still reflect 2024. Protesting is the process built for that kind of mismatch. Board member Callie Rigney described it at the September meeting, as reported by the Fort Worth Report:
"If they feel like their property is overappraised or they feel like they don't have a fair appraisal, there's still a path they can take, and they can protest."
TAD lists the usual protest deadline as May 15 or 30 days after a notice is mailed, whichever comes later.
Quick answers
Does buying a home trigger a reappraisal in Arlington? The research behind this post found no rule that ties a reappraisal to a sale. TAD's schedule reappraises residential property in odd-numbered years, with the next one in 2027. Sales feed into that process as market evidence.
Does the seller's over-65 exemption carry over to the buyer? Eligibility depends on the person claiming it. They must be 65 or older, own an interest in the home and live there as a principal residence.
What about an Arlington home bought as a rental? The Comptroller describes a separate 20% annual limit on appraisal increases for eligible non-homestead property valued at $5.32 million or less in 2026. It begins January 1 after the first year the owner owns the property on January 1. The same Comptroller page says that limit expires December 31, 2026.
Will other cities follow Arlington and hold their rates? Each taxing unit decides for itself. The Fort Worth Report noted that Fort Worth was weighing a higher rate to close a budget shortfall and that Colleyville proposed a 13% increase.
When we compare Arlington homes for buyers this fall, we look past the tax line and work out which parts of it reflect the seller, which reflect 2024 and which reflect this year's rates. To go through a specific address that way, reach out to Jennifer Holmes and the Royal Group. Schedule a Consultation Today.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
