Dallas is preparing to adopt another lower municipal property tax rate, but the city would continue to tax property at a substantially higher municipal rate than several of its fast-growing northern suburbs under rates currently being considered for 2026.
The proposed Dallas rate of 69.78 cents per $100 of taxable value would represent the city’s 11th consecutive annual rate reduction, according to the City of Dallas. The proposed rate is down from 69.88 cents for the current year.
Yet Dallas’ municipal rate remains considerably higher than rates being proposed in Frisco, Plano and McKinney.
The comparison gained attention on Tuesday when Dallas City Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn posted on X comparing the proposed municipal rates in Dallas, Frisco and Plano.
In Frisco, they're debating raising property taxes to 44.10/$100 of value.
In Plano, the proposed rate is 43.96.
In Dallas, we're contemplating a rate of 69.78 and can't figure out why residents and businesses keep moving north. pic.twitter.com/rwRCwgVzCF
— Cara Mendelsohn 🟦 (@caraathome) August 18, 2026
But the numbers tell a larger story than the comparison alone.
Dallas’ Rate is Falling — But Remains Substantially Higher
For 2026, Dallas is proposing a municipal property tax rate of 69.78 cents per $100 of taxable value.
Frisco is considering 44.1289 cents, while Plano is proposing 43.76 cents. McKinney officials are proposing 41.7876 cents, up from the city’s current 41.2284-cent rate.
That puts Dallas’ proposed municipal rate roughly:
- 58% higher than Frisco’s proposed rate
- 60% higher than Plano’s proposed rate
- 67% higher than McKinney’s proposed rate
Those percentages compare only the city portion of the property tax rate. They do not mean a Dallas homeowner’s total property tax bill is 58%, 60% or 67% higher.
Property owners also pay taxes levied by their school district, county, community college and, depending on the property, other taxing entities.
Frisco’s own tax information illustrates how those layers work. For properties in Frisco’s Collin County portion, the current city rate is 42.5517 cents, while Collin County, Collin College and the applicable school district levy separate taxes. Properties in Frisco’s Denton County portion face a different combination of taxing entities.
The Proposed Dallas Rate is Part of a Much Larger Budget
Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has proposed a $5.66 billion all-funds budget for fiscal year 2026-27, as previously reported on by The Dallas Express.
The General Fund would increase to approximately $2.04 billion, an $80.2 million increase, with much of the additional spending directed toward the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire-Rescue.
At the same time, the proposed budget calls for eliminating 296 budgeted positions, including 108 currently occupied positions, DX reported.
The property tax rate would fall by 0.10 cent, from 69.88 cents to 69.78 cents. City officials describe the reduction as part of an 11-year streak of annual rate cuts.
The result is an important distinction: Dallas is not proposing a municipal property tax rate increase this year.
The issue is instead how Dallas’ relatively high municipal rate compares with other North Texas cities and what that difference means as governments compete for residents, businesses and investment.
Dallas Has Cut its Rate Substantially Over the Past Decade
Dallas’ current rate also looks very different from where it stood a decade ago.
In fiscal year 2016-17, the city’s property tax rate was 78.25 cents per $100 of value. The city’s official historical records show the rate subsequently declined to 78.04 cents in 2017-18, 77.67 cents in 2018-19, 77.66 cents in 2019-20, 77.63 cents in 2020-21, 77.33 cents in 2021-22 and 74.58 cents in 2022-23.
The rate continued falling to 73.57 cents in 2023-24 and 70.47 cents in 2024-25. Dallas subsequently adopted a 69.88-cent rate for 2025-26 and is proposing 69.78 cents for 2026-27.
From 78.25 cents in 2016-17 to the proposed 69.78 cents for 2026-27, Dallas’ municipal rate would be down approximately 10.8%.
The gap is not new. In October 2023, The Dallas Express compared newly adopted municipal property tax rates across major DFW cities. Dallas’ $0.7393 rate was substantially higher than rates in Plano ($0.4176), Frisco ($0.432205), McKinney ($0.427513), Lewisville ($0.419079) and Allen ($0.4205). The Dallas Express also noted that homeowners’ total property-tax bills include separate levies from counties, school districts and other taxing entities.
The city’s rate has declined since that comparison, but the gap with several northern suburbs remains.
The Tax Rate is Only Half of the Equation
A lower tax rate does not necessarily mean a lower tax bill.
The amount a homeowner actually owes depends on the property’s taxable value, after applicable exemptions, as well as the rates charged by every taxing entity.
Dallas’ historical data demonstrate why this distinction matters.
The city’s certified property tax base was approximately $110.4 billion in 2016-17. By 2022-23, it had reached approximately $179.4 billion, according to Dallas’ historical tax records.
In other words, the city can lower its rate while its tax base expands significantly.
For an individual homeowner, the question is therefore not simply whether the rate went up or down. The homeowner also needs to know what happened to the property’s taxable value and which exemptions apply.
What the Difference Could Mean for a Homeowner
Consider a hypothetical homeowner whose property has a $500,000 taxable value.
At Dallas’ proposed 69.78-cent municipal rate, the city portion would be:
$500,000 × 0.6978 = $3,489 annually
That works out to approximately $291 per month for the municipal portion.
At Frisco’s proposed 44.1289-cent rate, the same $500,000 taxable value would produce approximately $2,206 annually, or about $184 per month.
At Plano’s proposed 43.76-cent rate, it would be approximately $2,188 annually, or about $182 per month.
The difference between Dallas and Frisco in this hypothetical is about $1,283 per year, or roughly $107 per month.
But that is not a homeowner’s total property tax bill. School district, county and other taxing entities must be added, and the actual taxable value could be substantially different after exemptions and other adjustments.
The example simply demonstrates the financial significance of the difference in municipal rates.
Frisco is Considering an Increase
Frisco presents an interesting contrast with Dallas.
While Dallas is proposing another rate reduction, Frisco is considering raising its municipal rate for the first time since 2017.
The city’s current rate is 42.5517 cents per $100, according to Frisco’s official property-tax information. City officials are considering a rate of approximately 44.13 cents for 2026.
Plano is Holding its Proposed Rate Steady
Plano is taking another approach.
The city is proposing to maintain a municipal property tax rate of 43.76 cents per $100 of taxable value for fiscal year 2026-27.
Plano’s budget process identifies property taxes as only one component of the city’s overall finances and notes that property values are determined by the appropriate central appraisal district, rather than by the city itself. Plano spans Collin and Denton counties, so the applicable appraisal district depends on the property location.
McKinney Would Raise its Rate Slightly
McKinney is proposing a 41.7876-cent municipal rate, compared with its current 41.2284-cent rate.
The proposed increase is approximately 1.36%.
City officials are considering the rate as part of an approximately $880 million FY 2026-27 budget. The City Council is scheduled to consider the budget and tax rate September 1.
McKinney’s official tax information shows the current city rate at 41.2284 cents and separately identifies the school district, county and Collin College rates that contribute to a homeowner’s total bill.
Prosper Shows How Growth can Increase Revenue Without a Rate Increase
Prosper provides another example of the relationship between tax rates and development.
The town’s current municipal rate is 50.50 cents per $100 of taxable value, consisting of maintenance-and-operations and debt-service components. Prosper’s adopted 2025-26 budget kept the rate unchanged from the previous year while projecting a significant increase in property tax revenue, including revenue generated from new properties.
That dynamic has been an important feature of North Texas’ growth model: when new homes, businesses and other taxable property are added, a city can generate additional revenue without necessarily increasing its tax rate.
What Happens Next?
The rates discussed are currently proposals, not final property-tax rates.
Under Texas’ Truth-in-Taxation system, most taxing units calculate a no-new-revenue tax rate and a voter-approval tax rate after receiving the certified appraisal roll. The no-new-revenue rate is generally designed to generate approximately the same amount of tax revenue from properties taxed in both years, while the voter-approval rate establishes a threshold for tax-rate increases under state law.
Cities then conduct the required public hearings and adopt their budgets and tax rates.
If a taxing unit’s adopted rate falls into circumstances that trigger a voter-approval election, Texas law provides for a November election. The applicable rules depend on the type of taxing unit and the relationship between the adopted rate and the applicable voter-approval or de minimis rate.
The important point for homeowners is that a proposed rate should not be treated as the final rate until the governing body completes the required process.
Property taxes for the 2026 tax year generally become payable beginning October 1, and Dallas County states that taxes are delinquent if not paid by January 31 following the billing year.
The Bigger Question for North Texas
Dallas continues to reduce its municipal rate, but its rate remains significantly higher than those proposed in several northern suburbs.
Meanwhile, cities such as Frisco and McKinney are considering increases, while Plano is proposing to hold its rate steady. Prosper has demonstrated how rapidly expanding taxable values can increase revenue even when a tax rate remains unchanged.
That means the future of North Texas property taxation may depend less on whether a city raises or lowers its rate in any individual year and more on what happens to property values, new construction, city spending and the cost of providing services.
For Dallas, the proposed 69.78-cent rate would continue a decade-long downward trend. But with the city’s municipal rate still well above those of several major northern suburbs, the comparison is unlikely to disappear from the region’s broader debate over affordability, economic competitiveness and population growth.
Provided by Dallas Express
