The tax figure on a West Lake Hills listing is accurate, but it was earned by the seller. It comes from the seller's homestead history, the seller's exemptions and the years of capped growth the seller has been through. A buyer gets the house. Most of that history stays behind. In 2026 the distance between what a long-held Eanes ISD homestead is worth and what it is taxed on grew wider, even as it narrowed in the rest of Travis County.
When buyers compare West Lake Hills with Lake Travis or another western enclave, they usually line up the two districts' total rates and stop. The more useful comparison happens one level down. Eanes ISD and Lake Travis ISD now charge exactly the same operating rate. Every cent of difference between them is bond debt.
The Number on the Listing Belongs to the Seller
The Texas Comptroller describes the 10% limit on homestead value increases precisely. Under Tax Code Section 23.23, a qualifying homestead's appraised value can rise each year by no more than the lesser of its market value or the prior year's appraised value plus 10% and any new improvements.
The timing is what matters at a closing. The Comptroller says the limitation "takes effect on Jan. 1 of the tax year following the year the property owner qualifies for the homestead exemption," and expires the year after an owner stops qualifying. The cap belongs to the owner's homestead status, and the house does not carry it forward. Someone who has lived in a Westlake home through several years of rising values may be taxed well below market. The buyer of that home starts the cycle again.
The longer a seller has owned the home, and the faster values have risen around it, the less the listing's tax line says about the buyer's future bill.
Westlake Rose While the County Slipped
The Travis Central Appraisal District's 2026 value release reported a softer county overall. The median residential homestead market value fell from $502,253 in 2025 to $493,449 in 2026, and the average single-family market value fell 1.8%. Eanes ISD went the other way.
| Median residential homestead | 2025 | 2026 | Market minus taxable, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eanes ISD, market value | $1,482,210 | $1,557,539 | $264,668 |
| Eanes ISD, taxable value | $1,234,560 | $1,292,871 | |
| Travis County, market value | $502,253 | $493,449 | $108,702 |
| Travis County, taxable value | $390,287 | $384,747 |
From TCAD's medians, the typical Eanes ISD homestead gained about 5% in market value between the 2025 and 2026 appraisals, while the county median lost a bit under 2%. The difference between market and taxable value in Eanes, which is the room created by exemptions and appraisal limits, grew from $247,650 to $264,668. Countywide it shrank from $111,966 to $108,702.
Rising values with a cap in place widen the cushion that long-time owners hold. Falling values close it. In 2026 West Lake Hills was in the first group. A seller there is more likely than a seller elsewhere in the county to have a taxable value well below what a buyer will pay.
TCAD also points out that a change in value does not translate directly into a change in tax bills. Values decide each owner's share of a levy that cities, counties and school districts set through their budgets.
A Flat Exemption on a Steep Price
Texas voters approved 16 constitutional amendments on November 4, 2025. One of them, Proposition 13, raised the school district homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000, according to the governor's proclamation. The Comptroller's exemptions page now lists the required school homestead exemption as $140,000, plus an additional $60,000 for homeowners who are 65 or older or disabled.
Since the exemption is a fixed dollar amount, its relief depends on the price of the home. Against TCAD's 2026 median homestead values, $140,000 equals about 28% of the countywide median of $493,449 and about 9% of the Eanes ISD median of $1,557,539. At the Eanes ISD rate of $0.8254 per $100, the exemption removes about $1,156 from the school portion of a bill. That is real money, and on a seven-figure home it is a small share of the total.
A West Lake Hills buyer can take more of the bill as given from the start, because an exemption sized for the median Texas home covers a small fraction of a Westlake price.
Same Operating Rate, Different Debt
Both school boards adopted their 2026–27 rates within a day of each other in August. Community Impact reported that Eanes ISD trustees approved $0.8254 per $100 at their Aug. 18 meeting, made up of $0.7054 for maintenance and operations and $0.12 for interest and sinking. Lake Travis ISD's board adopted $1.0329 per $100 on Aug. 19, according to Community Impact, made up of $0.7054 for maintenance and operations and $0.3275 for interest and sinking.
| 2026–27 adopted rate per $100 | Eanes ISD | Lake Travis ISD |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance and operations | $0.7054 | $0.7054 |
| Interest and sinking | $0.1200 | $0.3275 |
| Total | $0.8254 | $1.0329 |
The operating rates match to four decimal places. On each $1 million of taxable value, the two districts differ by $2,075 a year, and the entire $2,075 comes from the debt line. Debt rates follow bonds that voters approved, and they change slowly. Community Impact noted that Lake Travis ISD has not changed its interest and sinking rate since 2020, and that the Eanes I&S rate has stayed the same since a two-cent cut in 2020–21.
Where each dollar ends up matters as well. The Lake Travis ISD article points out that maintenance and operations revenue is subject to recapture, the state's system for redistributing school funding, while interest and sinking revenue is not. Recapture is a large number in Eanes. The district's July 2025 financial report budgeted $78,296,195 on its recapture line for 2025–26. In Eanes, much of the operating portion of a homeowner's school tax leaves the district, while the smaller debt portion stays home to pay for the district's own bonds.
A Rate That Has Been Falling for Years
The Eanes rate a buyer sees today is the result of steady cuts. The district's total rate was $1.13 per $100 in 2019–20. It was $0.8322 in 2025–26 and is $0.8254 in 2026–27, a decline of about 27% over that period. Chief Financial Officer Pete Pape told Community Impact that the continuing decrease in the M&O rate has come mostly from laws passed by the Texas Legislature.
That is how two neighboring districts arrived at the same operating rate. The state compressed both. Local control is now concentrated in the debt rate, and a buyer comparing West Lake Hills with Lake Travis is really comparing the two districts' bond histories.
The same August 18 meeting showed other district business still underway. Trustees indefinitely postponed a vote on selling district-owned land to the Westbank Community Library District.
The City Line and the Rest of the Bill
A home inside West Lake Hills also pays the city. In the Travis County truth-in-taxation summary, the City of West Lake Hills shows an adopted 2026 rate of $0.174896 per $100, of which $0.120033 is maintenance and operations and $0.054863 is debt. Together, the Eanes ISD and city rates come to just over $1.00 per $100 before any other taxing unit is added. Those other units, such as the county and Austin Community College, which lists a 2026 rate of $0.103643, appear in the same county table. The table lists every taxing unit in the county along with its adopted, no-new-revenue and voter-approval rates. It is the quickest public source for seeing which units appear on a given property's statement.
Each piece of a West Lake Hills bill shows up somewhere in the public record:
- TCAD's appraisal sets the market value and the taxable value for each property.
- Exemptions reduce the taxable value. The $140,000 exemption applies to the school district line.
- Each taxing unit applies its own adopted rate, and the county table publishes all of them.
- The seller's current bill shows how the seller's own value, exemptions and limitation history combined with those rates.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Exemption eligibility, appraisal and tax-bill questions depend on each owner's situation, so confirm yours with a qualified tax professional or with the appraisal district.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the seller's 10% cap transfer to me at closing?
According to the Comptroller, the limitation takes effect on January 1 of the tax year after an owner qualifies for the homestead exemption. It expires the year after an owner stops qualifying.
Why is the Eanes ISD rate lower than Lake Travis ISD's?
For 2026–27 both districts levy $0.7054 for maintenance and operations. The gap comes entirely from interest and sinking: $0.12 in Eanes and $0.3275 in Lake Travis.
Did Eanes ISD values fall in 2026 like the rest of Travis County?
No. TCAD's 2026 release shows the Eanes ISD median homestead market value rising to $1,557,539 from $1,482,210 in 2025, while the countywide median fell to $493,449.
When can a 2026 appraisal be protested?
TCAD set the 2026 protest deadline at May 15 or 30 days after a notice was mailed, whichever came later, and expected Appraisal Review Board hearings to begin in June 2026.
If you are comparing a West Lake Hills home with one in another district, the Dara Luxury Group can pull the published rates and appraisal records for each property early, so you have time to review them with your tax advisor before your option period starts. Sellers get a private valuation, which is a market opinion and not a tax appraisal, and which shows where a home stands in the 2026 Westlake market. To begin that conversation with Dara Allen, Request a Private Home Valuation.
