Galveston County property taxEstimate your bill and protest your appraisal.

Your bill starts from the value Galveston County’s appraisal district puts on your home. Below are the 2025 rates for every unit that taxes Galveston County homes, a worked example, and the 2027 protest dates. Then put in your own numbers.

Estimate My Tax

Opens the calculator set to Galveston County.

Rates
2025
School districts
8
Cities
12
Special districts
48
Protest deadline
May 17, 2027

2025 tax rates, Galveston County

Per $100 of taxable value

Part 1 Units that tax every home in the county

  1. 01Galveston County$0.32266

Part 2 The largest school district

  1. 02Galveston ISD$0.8415

The district that covers the most taxable value in Galveston County. 7 other districts tax part of the county; they're listed below.

Part 3 Example: a $300,000 homestead in Galveston ISD, outside city limits

UnitTaxableTax
Galveston County$300,000$968
Galveston ISD$160,000$1,346

Estimated yearly tax

$2,314

Each $10,000 cut from this appraisal saves about $116 a year.

An example value, not a typical Galveston County home. The school line subtracts the $140,000 state homestead exemption. It leaves out city and special district taxes and any local-option exemptions the county or school district offers, so your bill can differ.

Estimate My Tax

Source Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Tax Rates and Levies (https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/rates/). Adopted 2025 rates.

Checking Galveston County…

Tax Code 41.44

Protesting in Galveston County.

State law sets the protest rules, so they’re the same in Galveston County as in every Texas county. You file with the appraisal district, not the county.

  1. 01Apr 2027

    Your notice arrives

    It lists a market value and an appraised value. You’re taxed on the appraised value, less your exemptions.

  2. 02May 17, 2027

    Protest deadline

    File Form 50-132, the Notice of Protest, by May 15 or within 30 days after your notice was delivered, whichever is later. May 15 is a Saturday in 2027, so the deadline moves to Monday, May 17. Many districts take protests online.

  3. 03May to Jul

    Informal meeting

    Most districts offer a meeting with a staff appraiser before the hearing, and many protests settle there. Take an offer only if it matches your evidence.

  4. 04Summer

    Review board hearing

    If the meeting doesn’t settle it, the appraisal review board, a panel of local citizens, hears both sides and rules.

Tax Code 41.43(b)(3)

Equal appraisal

You can protest that your home is appraised unequally. The board has to rule for you unless the district shows your appraised value is at or below the median of a reasonable number of comparable homes, adjusted for their differences. Every home’s appraised value is public, so you can build this case without sale prices.

Tax Code 23.23

The 10% homestead cap

Once your home has a homestead exemption, its appraised value can’t rise more than 10% a year, plus the value of new improvements. The market value on your notice can rise faster. Check that the appraised value respects the cap.

Where you file

Galveston County appraisal district.

Every Texas county is served by an appraisal district, which sets values. The taxing units set the rates. Your notice, the protest form, and the hearing all go through the district.

Office
9850 Emmett F. Lowry Expwy, Suite A, Texas City, TX 77591

Source Texas Comptroller, county directory, listing updated October 28, 2025. Confirm the details with the district before you file.

Every school district and city.

Which ones tax your home depends on where it sits. Your notice lists them. Rates are 2025, per $100 of taxable value. Galveston County also has 48 special districts in the rates file, including 32 municipal utility districts, 4 water control and improvement districts and 3 drainage districts. The calculator lists them.

School districts
DistrictRate
Clear Creek ISD$0.9690
Dickinson ISD$1.1420
Friendswood ISD$1.0300
Galveston ISD$0.8415
High Island ISD$1.1573
Hitchcock ISD$1.030097
Santa Fe ISD$1.1014
Texas City ISD$1.1543
Cities
CityRate
Bayou Vista$0.42273
Dickinson$0.3682
Friendswood$0.514172
Galveston$0.408687
Hitchcock$0.5400
Jamaica Beach$0.147355
Kemah$0.1999
La Marque$0.418501
League City$0.36355
Santa Fe$0.23163
Texas City$0.478433
Tiki Island$0.411738