When are Tarrant County property taxes due?

Bills mail on or about October 1 (Tax Code Sec. 31.01(a); Tarrant County Important Dates). Taxes are due on receipt and delinquent if not paid before February 1 (Sec. 31.02(a)).

Can I pay Tarrant County property taxes in two payments?

Yes, for taxing units that have adopted it. Under the county's half-payment option, pay half on or before November 30 and the balance on or before June 30 with no penalty or interest (Tax Code Sec. 31.03; Tarrant County, When to Pay Property Tax). Confirm every unit on the statement participates. A second half unpaid by July 1 incurs a 12 percent penalty (Sec. 33.01(b)).

What is the penalty for paying property taxes late in Texas?

6 percent in the first month of delinquency plus 1 percent for each additional month, a flat 12 percent from July 1, and interest of 1 percent per month for as long as the tax is unpaid (Tax Code Sec. 33.01(a), (c)). Units with a collection-attorney contract add a further penalty on real property still delinquent July 1, which Tarrant states as 15 to 20 percent, after a required 30-to-60-day notice (Sec. 33.07).

Does a rental property get a homestead exemption in Texas?

No. The residence-homestead exemption and the 10 percent homestead appraisal cap apply only to the owner's residence. A rental is taxed on full appraised value; the temporary 20 percent non-homestead circuit breaker (Tax Code Sec. 23.231) expires December 31, 2026 unless extended.

My tenant received the tax bill. Who has to pay it?

The owner. The bill is mailed to the owner of record on the tax roll, and to a tax agent only if the owner designated one on the Comptroller's form (Secs. 31.01(a), 1.111). Mail that went to the property address does not move the February 1 delinquency date. Update the mailing address with the appraisal district.

What should I check on my rental's tax bill?

The appraised value against the April notice or the review board's number; the taxing units listed against the parcel's actual jurisdictions; an empty exemption column; and the mailing address.

Tarrant County · Owner Guide

When is the property tax bill on my Tarrant County rental due, and what happens if I miss it?

By Andrew ChavisUpdated September 6, 20268 min read

The Short Answer

The bill mails on October 1 or as soon after as practicable (Tex. Tax Code Sec. 31.01(a); Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector, Important Dates, read September 6, 2026). Taxes are due on receipt and become delinquent if not paid before February 1 (Sec. 31.02(a)). A delinquent tax picks up a 6 percent penalty in February, one more percent for each month after, and a flat 12 percent from July 1, plus interest at 1 percent per month for as long as it stays unpaid (Sec. 33.01(a), (c)); Taxing units that have adopted it add a collection penalty, which Tarrant states as 15 to 20 percent, on real property still delinquent July 1, after a required delinquency notice delivered 30 to 60 days before July 1 (Sec. 33.07(a), (d); Tarrant County, When to Pay Property Tax, read September 6, 2026). The county offers a half-payment option for the units that have adopted it: pay half on or before November 30 and the rest on or before June 30 with no penalty or interest (Sec. 31.03; Tarrant County, When to Pay). A rental gets no homestead exemption and no homestead cap, so the bill is the full appraised value times every unit's adopted rate, and 2026 is the last year the 20 percent non-homestead circuit breaker is in force unless the Legislature extends it. This is general information, not tax advice.

The Short VersionScan in 20 sec

01The Calendar, From the Statute and the County
02The Half-Payment Option
03What a Miss Costs, Month by Month
04Why the Rental's Bill Reads Higher Than the House You Live In
05What to Check When the Bill Lands
06Where We Stand

The Calendar, From the Statute and the County

The assessor for each taxing unit mails a tax bill to the owner of record, and to an agent the owner has formally designated for property tax matters on the Comptroller's form (Sec. 31.01(a); Sec. 1.111(a), (b)), by October 1 or as soon after as practicable. A property management agreement is not that designation; a manager receives the bill only if the owner filed the tax-agent form with the appraisal district. Tarrant County's own calendar puts it the same way: the collection period begins October 1 and bills go to real and business personal property owners throughout the county on or about that date (Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector, Important Dates, page modified January 5, 2026, read September 6, 2026). Taxes are due on receipt and delinquent if not paid before February 1 of the following year (Sec. 31.02(a)). All tax rates must be set by September 30, so the October bill reflects rates adopted in the September budget season by the county, the city, the school district, and any special district on the parcel.

The Half-Payment Option

A taxing unit that collects its own taxes may provide that a person who pays one-half before December 1 may pay the remaining half without penalty or interest before July 1 of the following year (Sec. 31.03(a)). Tarrant County offers it for the taxing units it collects for that have adopted the option: the first installment on or before November 30, the second on or before June 30 (Tarrant County, When to Pay Property Tax, read September 6, 2026). Confirm with the tax office that every unit on your statement participates before splitting the payment, because a half payment to a unit that has not adopted the option is a partial payment on a delinquent balance. A second half that is not paid before July 1 is delinquent and incurs a 12 percent penalty (Sec. 33.01(b)). For an owner whose lender does not escrow the rental's taxes, the half option turns one January cash call into two, which is the difference between a December turnover paid out of reserves and a December turnover paid out of the tax money. Quarterly installments are a separate option limited to over-65 and disability exemptions, which a rental does not carry.

What a Miss Costs, Month by Month

A delinquent tax incurs a penalty of 6 percent of the tax for the first calendar month it is delinquent plus 1 percent for each additional month or part of a month before July 1; a tax still delinquent on July 1 carries a flat 12 percent penalty (Sec. 33.01(a)). Interest accrues separately at 1 percent per month or part of a month for as long as the tax is unpaid, judgment or no judgment (Sec. 33.01(c)). Taxing units that contract with a collection attorney may add a further penalty, capped at the attorney's contract compensation, on real property still delinquent July 1, and the collector must deliver a notice of the delinquency and the penalty to the owner at least 30 and not more than 60 days before July 1 for it to attach (Sec. 33.07(a), (d)); Tarrant states the penalty as 15 or 20 percent of the taxes, penalties, and interest due depending on the jurisdiction, with interest continuing at 1 percent a month after July (Tarrant County, When to Pay Property Tax, read September 6, 2026). On a rental, the delinquent-tax collection firms contract with each taxing unit separately, so an owner behind on one parcel hears from a law firm, not the county.

Why the Rental's Bill Reads Higher Than the House You Live In

The residence-homestead exemption and the 10 percent annual appraisal cap belong to the house the owner lives in. A rental is taxed on its full appraised value at every unit's adopted rate, which is why an owner who converted a former residence sees the bill jump the first October after the tenant moves in. The one cap a rental has had since 2024, the 20 percent circuit breaker on non-homestead real property under the indexed value threshold, expires December 31, 2026 unless the Legislature extends it; our separate answer on the circuit breaker walks through what that means for the 2027 notice. On the corridor side, Saginaw voters approved a $59 million bond package on May 2, 2026 that the city repays through its debt rate in phases as the bonds issue; our Saginaw bond answer carries the propositions. A public improvement district, where the parcel sits in one, appears as its own line on the same statement.

What to Check When the Bill Lands

Four things, in order. The appraised value on the bill should match the value on the notice you received in April, or the value the appraisal review board set if you protested. The taxing units listed should be the ones that actually cover the parcel; a city line on a house outside city limits, or a missing PID line on a house inside one, is a call to the tax office. The exemption column should be empty on a rental; a homestead exemption still showing on a house you moved out of is an error that becomes back taxes and penalties when the appraisal district catches it, and the honest move is to tell them. And the mailing address on the appraisal roll should be yours, because the bill goes to the owner of record at that address and the February 1 delinquency date does not wait for mail that went to the house.

Where We Stand

We do not pay owners' property taxes and we do not hold tax escrow; the bill is between the owner, the lender if there is an escrow, and the county. What we do is put the October mailing and the February 1 line on every owner's calendar, flag the half-payment dates for owners who pay direct, and read the bill against the April notice for any property we manage when an owner sends it over. A bill nobody opened until March is the most expensive mail a rental gets.

Common Questions

01When are Tarrant County property taxes due?: Bills mail on or about October 1 (Tax Code Sec. 31.01(a); Tarrant County Important Dates). Taxes are due on receipt and delinquent if not paid before February 1 (Sec. 31.02(a)).
02Can I pay Tarrant County property taxes in two payments?: Yes, for taxing units that have adopted it. Under the county's half-payment option, pay half on or before November 30 and the balance on or before June 30 with no penalty or interest (Tax Code Sec. 31.03; Tarrant County, When to Pay Property Tax). Confirm every unit on the statement participates. A second half unpaid by July 1 incurs a 12 percent penalty (Sec. 33.01(b)).
03What is the penalty for paying property taxes late in Texas?: 6 percent in the first month of delinquency plus 1 percent for each additional month, a flat 12 percent from July 1, and interest of 1 percent per month for as long as the tax is unpaid (Tax Code Sec. 33.01(a), (c)). Units with a collection-attorney contract add a further penalty on real property still delinquent July 1, which Tarrant states as 15 to 20 percent, after a required 30-to-60-day notice (Sec. 33.07).
04Does a rental property get a homestead exemption in Texas?: No. The residence-homestead exemption and the 10 percent homestead appraisal cap apply only to the owner's residence. A rental is taxed on full appraised value; the temporary 20 percent non-homestead circuit breaker (Tax Code Sec. 23.231) expires December 31, 2026 unless extended.
05My tenant received the tax bill. Who has to pay it?: The owner. The bill is mailed to the owner of record on the tax roll, and to a tax agent only if the owner designated one on the Comptroller's form (Secs. 31.01(a), 1.111). Mail that went to the property address does not move the February 1 delinquency date. Update the mailing address with the appraisal district.
06What should I check on my rental's tax bill?: The appraised value against the April notice or the review board's number; the taxing units listed against the parcel's actual jurisdictions; an empty exemption column; and the mailing address.

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