Tax & Financial Information

Understanding the Tax Rate
Public school taxes involve two figures which divide the school district’s budget into two “buckets.” 

The first is the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) budget, also known as the General Fund. This is used to pay for the day-to-day operations of a district and includes items such as salaries, utilities, food, gas, supplies, etc. 

The second is the Interest & Sinking (I&S) budget or Debt Service. This fund is used to repay debt for capital improvements approved by voters through bond elections. This fund is similar to a mortgage or home improvement loan.

Funds from a bond issue can be used for the construction and renovation of facilities, the acquisition of land, and the purchase of capital items, such as equipment, technology, and transportation. By law, I&S funds cannot be used for the M&O budget, which means voter-approved bonds cannot be used to increase salaries or to pay for rising costs of utilities or services. 

Pflugerville ISD’s proposed M&O rate is $0.9046 and the I&S rate is $0.36, for a total district tax rate of $1.2646 per $100 of property value. 

Pflugerville ISD's proposed tax rate lowers the I&S tax rate by ten cents and is asking voters to approve adding four cents to the M&O tax rate through the VATRE election. The District's M&O rate was lowered by 6 cents due to compression as a result of HB3. Therefore, homeowners will see a decrease of $0.12 in the overall tax rate this fiscal year.

Taxpayers will not see an increase in the school district tax rate if voters approve the bond proposal on the November 8, 2022 ballot. In fact, if all three elections are approved, the overall tax rate in Pflugerville ISD will still decrease by 12 cents in this fiscal year.

Ballot Language

Due to a few combined factors, including the early paying down of debt, low interest rates, and rising property values (determined by the appraisal district), PfISD projects that it will be able to pay for the $367 million Bond Package with its current I&S tax rate, even with the decrease in the tax rate.

However, a new state law now requires every school district to include the statement “THIS IS A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE” on the ballot, even when the school district is not expecting a rate increase. This is because the issuance of new bonds increases the term of the debt repayment at the current tax rate. If all measures are approved by voters, the PfISD tax rate will still decrease by 12 cents in this fiscal year. 

Homestead Exemptions

For residents 65 years and older, their school district tax bill will not increase, even if their property values increase (excluding new property improvements) as long as an approved Homestead and Over-65 Exemption application is on file with the Travis County Appraisal District, and the property has been owned as of Jan. 1 of the tax year. 

For more information about Homestead and Over-65 Exemptions, visit https://traviscad.org/homesteadexemptions.