Property Taxes in McKinney
Property taxes are a genuine, ongoing cost for McKinney homeowners, and sources disagreed modestly on the precise Collin County effective rate this session: figures ranged from about 1.58% to 1.66% as a general county figure, with a wider 1.7%-2.3% range cited depending on the specific city and school-district jurisdiction within the county. What's not in dispute is the mechanism -- multiple overlapping taxing entities, and a meaningfully larger 2026 homestead exemption and the same statewide 10% appraisal cap that applies everywhere in Texas.
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Learn moreOverlapping Taxing Entities
A McKinney homeowner pays property tax to multiple layers at once: McKinney ISD (the school district, which is the largest single line item for most homeowners), the City of McKinney, Collin County itself, and, depending on the specific development, a Collin County road or utility district or an HOA/PID assessment layered separately (see the buying-a-home topic page). Each sets its own rate; the combined total, not any single entity's rate, is what determines the actual bill.
Effective Rate: A Real, if Narrower, Disagreement
Sources reviewed this session put Collin County's effective property tax rate at roughly 1.66% (one source, describing it as the "2026 rate"), 1.58% (another), and a wider 1.7%-2.3% range depending on the specific taxing jurisdiction within the county, with a rough synthesis describing the effective rate as "typically hovering between 1.58% and 1.75%." One source cited a median property tax bill of $7,432 on a $447,600 home, implying an effective rate in roughly that same 1.6%-1.7% band. None of these is a direct pull from the Collin Central Appraisal District for a specific McKinney parcel -- confirm your actual parcel's current combined rate against the appraisal district directly.
Homestead Exemption: Meaningfully Larger for 2026 (Statewide Fact)
The mandatory school-district homestead exemption jumped from $100,000 to $140,000 for the 2026 tax year, following Proposition 13, approved by Texas voters in November 2025 -- a real, recent, statewide increase that applies fully in McKinney ISD as it does everywhere else in Texas. Homeowners 65 or older or disabled receive an additional $60,000 on top of that, for up to $200,000 total exempted from school-district taxes. This exemption applies only to school-district levies specifically; it does not reduce the county or city portions of the bill the same way.
Texas's 10% Appraisal Cap (Statewide Fact)
Once a homestead exemption is on file with the county appraisal district, Texas Tax Code §23.23 caps how fast the assessed (taxable) value of that home can rise year to year at 10% maximum, regardless of how much the market value actually moves. In a fast-growing area like McKinney, where nearby new construction and rising demand can push market values up quickly in some years, this cap is a real, meaningful protection for existing homesteaded owners -- though it is looser than Florida's Save Our Homes cap (3% or CPI, whichever is lower), so a McKinney homeowner can still see real, compounding assessed-value growth over time in a way a comparable Florida homesteaded owner would not.
PID and HOA Assessments Can Add a Real, Separate Cost
As noted on the buying-a-home topic page, some of McKinney's newer master-planned developments may carry a public improvement district (PID) assessment on top of standard property taxes, funding infrastructure specific to that development, in addition to standard HOA dues. This project did not independently map which specific McKinney developments currently carry a PID assessment this session -- confirm directly for any specific address rather than assuming a standard property tax estimate captures the full picture.
Key takeaways
- McKinney homeowners pay into several overlapping taxing entities at once: McKinney ISD (the largest line item for most), the City of McKinney, and Collin County, plus possible development-specific PID assessments.
- Collin County's effective property tax rate was cited in a roughly 1.58%-1.75% range this session by most sources, with a wider 1.7%-2.3% range cited depending on the specific jurisdiction -- confirm your specific parcel's rate with the Collin Central Appraisal District.
- The school-district homestead exemption rose from $100,000 to $140,000 for 2026 (Proposition 13, approved November 2025, statewide); homeowners 65+ or disabled get an additional $60,000 (up to $200,000 total).
- Texas's 10% annual appraisal cap (for homesteaded properties) is real protection, especially relevant in a fast-growing market like McKinney's, though looser than Florida's 3%/CPI Save Our Homes cap.
- Some newer master-planned developments may carry a separate PID assessment on top of standard property taxes -- this wasn't independently mapped development-by-development this session, so confirm directly for any specific address.
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