"If appraised values go down, our tax rate goes up," Colleyville Finance Director Cassie Smith told the City Council in August. "If our appraised values go up, tax rate goes down. Lovely seesaw effect."
That seesaw matters most to someone who doesn't own a Colleyville home yet. The tax figure on a listing reflects the seller's exemptions, the seller's appraisal history, and in some cases a tax ceiling the seller qualified for. None of that carries over at closing. A buyer this fall steps onto the side of the seesaw that just went up, and the first full reappraisal that will reach their new home is already scheduled.
A Smaller Roll Produced a Larger Rate
According to Community Impact, on Sept. 15, the council adopted a city rate of $0.352480 per $100 of valuation for fiscal 2026-27, up from $0.311931. It's the third straight annual increase. The jump is about 13%, and the new rate is the highest since 2015. The city's no-new-revenue rate, the rate that would have brought in the same revenue as last year, was $0.321034. The adopted rate equals the voter-approval rate exactly, so no election was required.
The driver was a shrinking roll. Colleyville's residential valuations fell 3.52% to $7.8 billion, while commercial valuations rose 0.17%. What's odd is that Tarrant Appraisal District didn't reappraise homes in 2026. Under its biennial schedule, residential values stayed frozen at a higher, earlier market value. City Manager Jerry Ducay tied the lower values partly to that schedule and partly to "rising protests, arbitration and litigation," which shrink the rolls cities collect against. TAD estimates more than 272,000 Tarrant County homeowners protested in 2026.
For a home at the city's average taxable value, the two moves partly offset each other. The average taxable value fell from $705,492 to $678,440, and the city-only bill on that home rose from $2,200.65 to $2,391.37. That's $190.72 more, an 8.66% increase. Mayor Bobby Lindamood called it about "$20 a month for those who have to pay it." Part of the increase also covers an extra $766,000 in debt service for the recreation center project and fire apparatus payments.
The Rate Is Set on Part of the Base, and a Buyer Is in That Part
The mayor's phrase "for those who have to pay it" points to the mechanism. The city's 2026 tax rate calculation worksheet starts with $7,150,033,153 in certified taxable value. It then subtracts value captured in tax increment financing zones. It also subtracts $2,138,435,913 in homesteads with tax ceilings, which belong to qualifying owners who are 65 or older or have a disability. After those and other adjustments, the current-year taxable value used to set the rate is $4,544,565,368.
The Tarrant Appraisal District says a tax ceiling caps that owner's tax at the qualifying amount, with increases only for improvements, and the City of Colleyville offers one at the city level. So when the rate goes from $0.311931 to $0.352480, the full change falls on the homes outside the ceiling. That's roughly $4.5 billion of taxable value carrying the change, not the whole $7 billion roll.
A buyer joins that group at closing unless they qualify for a ceiling of their own. A ceiling can move with the qualifying owner to another Texas homestead, and in some cases a surviving spouse can keep it. It can't be handed to an unrelated buyer. The seller's 10% homestead appraisal cap doesn't carry over either. Under the Comptroller's rules, the cap ends Jan. 1 after the owner no longer qualifies for it. Two homes with the same taxable value can show very different city bills on a listing, and after the sale, both are taxed on the buyer's own exemptions.
Every Rate on the Bill, and the Exemptions Behind Them
The city line is the smallest piece most buyers focus on. For a home inside both Colleyville and Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, the 2026 adopted rates and homestead exemptions below are reported by the GCISD tax office, its 2026 tax-rate documentation, the Texas Comptroller's property-tax exemption guidance, Fort Worth Report coverage of Tarrant County's budget, Community Impact coverage of the county homestead exemption, Fort Worth Report coverage of the Tarrant County Hospital District budget, and Fort Worth Report coverage of Tarrant County College:
| Taxing unit | 2026 rate per $100 | Homestead exemption for a qualifying owner |
|---|---|---|
| Grapevine-Colleyville ISD | $0.8686 | $140,000 state school exemption; no general local exemption |
| City of Colleyville | $0.35248 | 14% general homestead exemption |
| Tarrant County | $0.1860 | 20% |
| Tarrant County Hospital District, JPS | $0.159 | 20% |
| Tarrant County College | $0.120000 | 1%, $5,000 minimum |
| Combined | about $1.686 | Applied unit by unit |
According to Community Impact, GCISD kept its total rate flat after its Aug. 24 vote. The county went from $0.1862 to $0.1860, which the county estimated saves its average homeowner about $1. TCC went up from $0.112280. Each $100,000 of value taxed by all five units costs about $1,686 a year before exemptions. The exemptions shrink that by different amounts on each line, so the combined figure is a ceiling for planning, not a quote. Units also vary by address, so confirm them for the specific property.
The city's 14% exemption is listed for FY2026 on Colleyville's financial transparency page. The FY2026-27 rate notice reviewed for this post doesn't restate the percentage, so check it with the city or TAD before relying on it.
Two Clocks Start When You Close
The tax picture after a fall 2026 closing plays out in order:
- The rest of 2026. The bill for this year is based on the 2026 roll that already exists. TAD says a buyer who acquires and occupies a home after Jan. 1 can qualify for the homestead exemption for that year if the former owner didn't already claim it.
- Jan. 1, 2027. This is the first valuation date after the seller's cap ends, and it's also TAD's next residential reappraisal. The TAD board voted 5-4 on Sept. 8 to keep reappraising homes in odd-numbered years. The Texas Comptroller's property-tax valuation guidance says the 2027 values will reflect market value as of Jan. 1, set by comparing each property with similar properties and market data.
- After the buyer qualifies. The buyer's own 10% cap starts Jan. 1 after they qualify for the homestead exemption. From then on, the TAD 2027-28 reappraisal plan lets capped homestead values rise by up to 10% a year, even in years without a reappraisal, until they reach market value.
The direction of the 2027 values is open. TAD's 2027-28 plan says its current analysis points to a "flat" market countywide, and it also notes that any single property's value can go up, down, or stay the same.
What August's Sales Will Feed Into
The 2027 reappraisal will draw on sales like the ones closing now. In ZIP code 76034, which covers much of Colleyville but doesn't follow city limits exactly, August 2026 had 25 sales, down from 38 in August 2025. The median sale price was $1,050,000, compared with $1,035,000 a year earlier. Average days on market fell to 26 from 43. New listings were 35, versus 34 a year earlier.
That's a thin month, with homes selling faster and a median that barely moved. It doesn't show the falling prices behind the drop in the city's roll. When a home's 2026 taxable value sits below what it sells for, the gap is the part of the bill the listing doesn't show. That gap is widest when the seller held a cap or a ceiling.
Questions to Settle Before You Sign
- What exemptions is the seller receiving now, and does the property carry a tax ceiling?
- What would the bill be with only the exemptions you'd qualify for, at today's rates?
- How will 2026 taxes be prorated at closing, and when can you file your homestead application with TAD?
- How will your lender set the escrow payment, and what happens when the 2027 value arrives?
- Is the home inside Colleyville city limits and GCISD, or does the address fall under different taxing units?
None of this is tax advice, and every property's numbers are different. TAD's homestead exemption page and the City of Colleyville's financial transparency page are the primary sources for checking a specific address.
If you're weighing a Colleyville home and want the tax line worked out using your exemptions instead of the seller's, the Angelique Burkett Team can walk through the numbers with you before you make an offer. If you're selling, we can show you how buyers will read your current bill and help you price with that in mind. Start with a free home valuation, and we'll take it from there.
