Last updated 2026-07-09
TL;DR
Collin County property tax rates run roughly 1.7 to 2.0% of appraised value, and Collin CAD handles every appraisal in the county. You can protest to the Appraisal Review Board by May 15 each year, and filing costs nothing. The homestead exemption cuts $100,000 off your school taxable value. You don't need a lawyer to win.
What are the property tax rates in Collin County?
No single tax rate covers everyone in Collin County. Your bill stacks together the county, your city, your school district, a community college, and any special districts (MUDs, hospital districts) sitting on your parcel. Most Collin County homeowners land between 1.7% and 2.0% of appraised value once everything adds up.
Here's how the stack works. For the 2023 tax year, Collin County's own adopted rate was $0.152261 per $100 of assessed value [1]. Low, but it's one slice. Plano Independent School District added $1.1646 per $100 in 2023 [2], and the City of Plano added another $0.4169 [2]. Put those together for a Plano homeowner and you're near $1.75 per $100, about 1.75% of assessed value.
Other cities run higher or lower:
| City / Area | Approx. combined rate (2023) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Frisco (in Collin) | ~1.70 to 1.85% | Frisco ISD rate dominates |
| McKinney | ~1.75 to 1.90% | City rate slightly higher |
| Allen | ~1.70 to 1.80% | Allen ISD rate |
| Plano | ~1.70 to 1.80% | Plano ISD rate |
| Celina | ~2.00 to 2.20% | Celina ISD + MUD overlays |
| Prosper | ~1.85 to 2.00% | Prosper ISD + town rate |
These are honest approximations. Your exact number depends on which overlapping districts touch your parcel. Pull your real rate breakdown from the Collin Central Appraisal District (Collin CAD) property search at collincad.org [1], which lists every taxing unit and its rate for your address.
Texas caps school district maintenance-and-operations rates at $1.17 per $100 under HB 3 (2019), and the state compresses those rates further when property values rise statewide [10]. So the numbers move every fall as each entity adopts its budget.
How does Collin CAD determine your appraised value?
Collin Central Appraisal District values every real and personal property in the county, and it does so by mass appraisal: statistical models tuned to recent comparable sales, not a visit to your kitchen. Texas Tax Code Chapter 23 requires that value to equal market value as of January 1 each year [4]. That's the number you can fight.
The appraisal notice goes out in April. It's not your tax bill. It's Collin CAD's statement of what they think your property would have sold for on January 1. The actual bills come from each taxing unit in October and are due by January 31 of the following year.
Collin CAD appraises more than 430,000 parcels [1]. At that volume, errors are common. A finished basement counted as living area. A bedroom nobody built. A pool that got filled in years ago. A lot size copied from an old survey. All of these are fixable in a protest.
Texas also gives you a 10% homestead appraisal cap. Once you have a homestead exemption, your appraised value for tax purposes cannot rise more than 10% per year above last year's capped value, no matter what the market does [4]. It doesn't help a brand-new buyer in year one. But in a market like Collin County, it compounds into real money.
One number worth keeping in your head: Collin County's median home value crossed $450,000 in 2023 per the Texas Comptroller's property value study [3]. At a 1.8% blended rate, that's $8,100 a year. A 10% reduction saves $810 annually, every year you own the place.
What exemptions are available in Collin County, and how much do they save?
Texas gives homeowners several property tax exemptions, and Collin County taxing entities pile their own optional amounts on top of the state minimums. These are the ones that move the needle.
Homestead Exemption. Every Texas school district must exempt $100,000 of a qualified homestead's appraised value as of 2023, up from $40,000 after Proposition 4 passed in November 2023 [3]. Collin County adds a 20% optional homestead exemption on the county portion [1]. Many cities layer on their own amounts too. Allen ISD, Frisco ISD, and others each set their own percentages. One form to Collin CAD covers every entity.
To qualify you must own the home, live in it as your primary residence on January 1, and file Form 50-114 with Collin CAD by April 30 [6]. Miss April 30 and you wait a year. Filing is free.
Over-65 Exemption. Homeowners 65 or older get an extra $10,000 school district exemption on top of the regular homestead, plus a school tax freeze: your school taxes will never exceed what you paid the year you turned 65 (or first applied), even as your value climbs [4]. In a fast-appreciation market, that freeze is worth serious money.
Disabled Person Exemption. Same $10,000 school district amount and the same school tax ceiling as the over-65 exemption, for people who qualify as disabled under Social Security definitions [4]. You can't stack the over-65 and disabled exemptions at the same time.
100% Disabled Veteran Exemption. Veterans with a 100% VA disability rating owe zero property tax on one primary residence [7]. Surviving spouses who haven't remarried keep it. This is one of the most generous exemptions in any state.
Partial Disabled Veteran Exemptions. Veterans rated from 10% to 99% get scaled exemptions running $5,000 to $75,000 off appraised value [7].
| Exemption | Minimum reduction | Who qualifies |
|---|---|---|
| Homestead (school) | $100,000 off appraised value | Primary residence owner |
| Homestead (Collin County) | 20% off county portion | Same |
| Over-65 | Extra $10,000 school + tax ceiling | Age 65+, homestead |
| Disabled person | Extra $10,000 school + tax ceiling | Qualifying disability |
| 100% disabled veteran | Full exemption | 100% VA rating |
| 10 to 99% disabled veteran | $5,000 to $75,000 off | Scaled to rating |
Every exemption form is free at collincad.org [1]. Not sure which ones fit you? Call Collin CAD's exemption line at 469-742-9200.
When is the deadline to protest your Collin County property taxes?
May 15 is the standard protest deadline in Texas, or 30 days after the date on your appraisal notice, whichever is later [4]. Collin CAD usually mails notices in early April, so for most homeowners the deadline lands on May 15.
That 30-day rule matters. If your notice arrives April 20, your deadline is May 20, not May 15. Check the notice date, not the calendar.
Miss the deadline and you lose the right to protest for that tax year. Texas courts have been strict about it. A few narrow exceptions exist: a clerical mistake in the record, or an illegal appraisal (value above market discovered after the deadline) can be fixed through a motion under Texas Tax Code Section 25.25 [4]. Those are the exception. Treat May 15 as a hard stop.
Once you file, Collin CAD schedules an informal meeting with an appraiser first. Most protests end there. If you're not satisfied, you get a formal hearing before the Appraisal Review Board (ARB). File online at collincad.org, by mail, or in person. Online is easiest and gives you a timestamped confirmation.
How do you actually appeal your Collin County property tax assessment?
The protest process runs three stages, and most homeowners never leave stage one. Here's each step.
Stage 1: File the protest. Submit Form 50-132 (Notice of Protest) to Collin CAD before the deadline. The online portal at collincad.org is open April 1 through May 15 [1]. State your grounds: unequal appraisal, value above market, incorrect property data, or any mix. Checking multiple boxes doesn't hurt you.
Stage 2: Informal hearing. Collin CAD assigns you an informal meeting with a staff appraiser, usually by phone or in person. Bring your evidence: recent comparable sales (comps), a recent appraisal if you have one, photos of defects the model can't see, and a printout of your property record showing any factual errors. The appraiser can lower your value right there. Many protests end with a negotiated number.
For comps, pull data from Zillow, Redfin, or the MLS if you have access. You want arm's-length sales of similar homes within roughly half a mile to a mile, sold within 12 months of January 1, matched on square footage, age, and condition. Three to five strong comps beat ten stretched ones.
Stage 3: ARB hearing. If the informal meeting falls short, you present to the Appraisal Review Board, a panel of citizens independent of Collin CAD. You and a CAD representative each present evidence, and the ARB decides. Hearings run 15 to 30 minutes. Bring three printed copies of everything (one per ARB member, plus CAD and yourself). The ARB can lower your value or deny your protest. It cannot raise your value during a hearing you started [4].
Stage 4 (if needed): Binding arbitration or district court. Lose at the ARB with a property appraised at $5 million or under, and you can request binding arbitration as a cheaper path than court [4]. The filing fee runs $450 to $1,550 depending on value tier. District court is always available, but it costs real money and usually a lawyer.
The Texas Comptroller's Property Tax Assistance Division publishes a plain-language guide that walks through each step [3].
Want to keep every dollar instead of handing a contingency firm 30 to 50% of your savings? The TaxFightBack DIY appeal kit packages the forms, comp-finding instructions, and an ARB hearing script in one place. More on that near the end.
What evidence wins a Collin County property tax protest?
Two kinds of evidence win: market value evidence and unequal appraisal evidence. Texas law lets you argue both, and the ARB has to consider both [4]. Most homeowners only bring one. Bring both.
Market value evidence. Your job is to show Collin CAD's value tops what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller on January 1. Comparable sales are your strongest tool. A recent licensed appraisal carries weight too, but it costs $300 to $600 and only pencils out on higher-value homes or where the gap is large.
Comps that closed in the 90 days before January 1 carry the most weight. Protesting a January 1, 2024 value? Sales from October through December 2023 are gold. Collin CAD's appraisers use that same window.
Unequal appraisal evidence. Texas Tax Code Section 41.43 requires your property be appraised at the same ratio to market value as comparable properties in the county [4]. This is the sleeper argument most homeowners skip. If five similar homes on your street sit at 85 cents on the dollar of market value and yours is at 100 cents, you have an unequal appraisal claim even if the absolute dollar figure is defensible.
Pull the appraised values of comparable properties from collincad.org (public data), then compare them to their recent sale prices. A simple spreadsheet showing the appraisal-to-sale ratio for five comps, all lower than yours, wins at plenty of ARB hearings.
Property data errors. Read your property record card at collincad.org line by line. Square footage, bathroom count, pool yes or no, garage size, year built, condition grade. Any factual error working against you is the easiest win there is. CAD appraisers correct clear data errors in the informal hearing without much fight.
Moving from another metro and want to compare? Cook County property taxes run on a triennial reassessment schedule that changes how timing evidence works, and Los Angeles County property tax operates under Prop 13, where base-year value is the fight rather than annual market value.
How much can you realistically save by protesting in Collin County?
Nobody has clean, parcel-level success data for Collin County alone. Here's what the public record shows. The Texas Comptroller reports that in 2022, property owners statewide who protested cut their taxable value by $85.4 billion through the ARB process [9]. That's across roughly 700,000 resolved protests [9].
Collin CAD's annual report tracks total value reduction through protests. For 2022, Collin County owners filed roughly 100,000 protests and won reductions on a large share, with successful residential protests typically knocking $20,000 to $50,000 off appraised value [1]. At a 1.8% blended rate, a $30,000 reduction saves $540 a year, every year you hold the property.
Success tracks your evidence, hard. Homeowners who show up with printed comps, a clean unequal-appraisal spreadsheet, and a tight argument beat the ones who show up and say the tax feels high. ARB members are volunteers. Clear evidence makes their job easy, and easy tends to go your way.
Contingency firms charge 25 to 50% of first-year savings. On a $600 win, that's $150 to $300 out of pocket. Doing it yourself keeps all of it. The trade is a few hours of prep.
For a comparison point, Fairfax County property tax homeowners in Northern Virginia face a similar fast-appreciation market and lean on the same comp-based approach.
How does the Collin County homestead exemption work, and how do you apply?
The homestead exemption is the biggest tax break Collin County homeowners can get on the home they live in. As of 2023, Texas Proposition 4 raised the mandatory school district homestead exemption to $100,000, up from $40,000 [3]. The first $100,000 of your appraised value becomes invisible to school district taxes.
Run the math on a $450,000 home. A $100,000 school exemption drops the school taxable base to $350,000. At a school rate near $1.17 per $100, that one exemption saves roughly $1,170 a year.
To apply: 1. Download Form 50-114 from the Texas Comptroller's website or collincad.org [6]. 2. Submit it to Collin CAD (not the tax office) by April 30 of the tax year. 3. Include a copy of your Texas driver's license or state ID showing the property address. 4. File once. It renews automatically as long as you stay in the home.
You can file retroactively for up to two prior years if you missed it [6]. Worth checking if you bought in Collin County in the last couple of years and never filed.
Sold your home mid-year? The homestead exemption stays attached to the property through the end of that tax year. The new owner can't claim their own until January 1 of the following year.
One mistake I see constantly: people assume the exemption gets filed at closing. It does not. The title company won't file it. You file it.
What is the Collin County property tax payment schedule, and what happens if you miss it?
Tax bills go out from each taxing entity in October, and they're all due January 31 of the year after the tax year [4]. For 2024 taxes, you pay by January 31, 2025. One date, every entity.
Miss it and Texas hits you fast. A 6% penalty lands on unpaid taxes February 1, plus 1% per month interest after that [4]. By July 1, delinquent accounts go to the taxing entity's attorney, and an extra 15 to 20% collection fee stacks on top of the penalty and interest. This gets expensive quickly.
Have a mortgage? Your lender usually pays from escrow, so this isn't your immediate problem. Watch your escrow analysis after a reassessment year, though. If your value jumped, your lender's next escrow estimate bumps your monthly payment to catch up.
Can't pay in full? Texas law lets over-65 or disabled homeowners with a homestead exemption split the bill into four equal installments due February 1, April 1, June 1, and August 1, with no standard penalty [4].
One thing people mix up: Collin County tax payments go to the Collin County Tax Assessor-Collector, not Collin CAD. Two separate offices. The Assessor-Collector takes your payment. Collin CAD handles valuation and protests.
Can you appeal property taxes in Collin County without hiring a tax agent?
Yes. For most residential properties under $1 million, doing it yourself is genuinely worth the time. The Texas ARB process is built for property owners without lawyers. The panel is citizens, not attorneys. The rules of evidence are relaxed. You won't subpoena anyone or file a brief.
Here's the real time cost: 2 to 4 hours total. One hour to pull your property record from collincad.org, find 3 to 5 recent comps, and build a simple comp table. Another hour to fill out Form 50-132 and submit it online. Then a 30-minute informal meeting by phone where you present your comps. If that settles it, you're done.
The informal meeting resolves a large share of Texas protests. Collin CAD appraisers know their mass-appraisal models miss on individual homes, and they'd rather make a small adjustment than defend a shaky number in front of the ARB.
A firm earns its cut in specific cases: commercial or multi-family property (income analysis gets complicated), you have almost no time, or the stakes are big enough that professional unequal-appraisal software gives a real edge. For a typical $400,000 to $700,000 Collin County home, the math rarely favors paying 30% of your savings to an agent.
The TaxFightBack DIY appeal kit lays out the exact comp-selection and ARB steps for Texas counties. It's built for the homeowner who wants to keep 100% of the win.
Curious how DIY appeals run elsewhere? Cuyahoga County property tax in Ohio and Jefferson County property tax in Colorado both have well-documented self-help paths worth comparing.
How does Collin County compare to other Texas counties on property taxes?
Texas has no state income tax, so property taxes carry the weight. That's the frame. Among large Texas counties, Collin County sits mid-pack on combined rates, but its high home values push actual dollar bills up.
Travis County (Austin) has similar home values and comparable combined rates. Dallas County runs slightly lower rates across a wider spread of home values. Tarrant County (Fort Worth) tends to run a touch lower on average. Harris County (Houston) shows lower appraisals off its older, cheaper housing stock but a similar rate structure.
Step outside Texas and the picture shifts. DuPage County, Illinois, in suburban Chicago carries effective rates around 2.1 to 2.3% with a formal DuPage County property tax appeal process running through the Board of Review, not an ARB. Cook County, Illinois, where Cook County property tax appeals follow a triennial reassessment cycle, often has homeowners paying more in absolute dollars on equivalent home values because Illinois has no equivalent to Texas's 10% appraisal cap.
Texas's missing income tax is real, and property taxes are the price. The 10% homestead cap, the $100,000 school exemption, and the open ARB process are genuine structural wins for Texas homeowners who actually use them.
What should you do right now if your Collin County assessment looks wrong?
Start with your appraisal notice. No paper notice yet, and it's after April 1? Look up your property at collincad.org and read the value. You don't need the mailed notice to protest. The online system takes your account number.
Check your property data record first. Open your parcel at collincad.org and read the details. Confirm square footage, bedroom and bathroom count, pool status, garage size, year built. Anything wrong in a way that inflates your value goes on your list. That's your easiest argument.
Next, pull 3 to 5 recent sales of comparable homes. Use Zillow or Redfin, filter to your neighborhood, last 12 months, similar size (within 200 square feet is ideal). Write down each sale price and that property's Collin CAD appraised value. If the comps sold below your appraised value, you have a market value argument. If the comps' appraisal-to-sale ratios come in lower than yours, you have an unequal appraisal argument.
File your protest before May 15. The portal at collincad.org is fastest. You'll get a confirmation email with your informal hearing date.
At the informal hearing, present your comps calmly. Don't argue that taxes are too high in general. That's not a legal ground. Stick to the script: here is my appraised value, here are five comparable sales below it, here is the appraisal-to-sale ratio gap. Factual and short.
If the informal meeting doesn't get you enough and you want the ARB, request the formal hearing before you leave the informal meeting. You have that right [4].
For more on gathering and organizing comp evidence, read our guide to evidence and comps for property tax appeals.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Collin County property tax protest deadline?
The standard deadline is May 15, or 30 days after the date printed on your appraisal notice, whichever is later. Collin CAD mails notices in early April. If your notice is dated April 20, your personal deadline is May 20. Miss it and you lose the right to protest for that tax year. File online at collincad.org for a timestamped confirmation.
How do I file a homestead exemption in Collin County?
Download Form 50-114 from the Texas Comptroller's website or collincad.org. Submit it to Collin CAD (not the tax office) by April 30, with a copy of your Texas driver's license showing the property address. You file once; it renews automatically. You can apply retroactively for up to two prior tax years if you missed it.
What is the Collin County property tax rate for 2024?
Collin County's own 2023 rate was $0.152261 per $100 of assessed value. Your total rate adds school district, city, college, and any special district taxes on top of that. For most Collin County cities the combined rate runs roughly 1.7 to 2.0% of appraised value. Check your specific breakdown at collincad.org using your address.
What is the homestead exemption amount in Collin County for 2024?
As of 2023 (Proposition 4), the mandatory school district homestead exemption is $100,000 off appraised value. Collin County adds a 20% optional exemption on its portion. Cities and other taxing entities may add their own optional amounts. On a $450,000 home, the school exemption alone can save over $1,100 a year.
Does Collin County have a senior property tax freeze?
Yes. Homeowners 65 or older who hold a qualified homestead exemption get a school district tax ceiling: your school taxes freeze at the amount you paid the year you turned 65 or first qualified. Even as your appraised value rises, school district taxes won't top that frozen amount. Apply with Form 50-114 at collincad.org.
How much does it cost to protest Collin County property taxes?
Filing a protest with Collin CAD is free. There's no filing fee for the informal meeting or the ARB hearing. If you lose at the ARB and want binding arbitration, fees run $450 to $1,550 depending on property value tier. District court costs much more and usually requires an attorney.
What happens at a Collin County ARB hearing?
You and a Collin CAD representative each present evidence to a three-member citizen panel. You have 15 to 30 minutes. Bring printed copies of comparable sales, your property record card, photos of defects, and a clear written summary. The ARB decides on the spot or shortly after. It cannot raise your value during a hearing you initiated.
Can a 100% disabled veteran get a full property tax exemption in Collin County?
Yes. Texas law grants a complete property tax exemption on a primary residence for veterans with a 100% VA disability rating. Surviving spouses who haven't remarried keep the exemption. It applies across all taxing entities, meaning zero property tax. File Form 50-135 with Collin CAD.
What is the Collin County property tax due date?
Property taxes for a given year are due January 31 of the following year. For 2024 taxes, the due date is January 31, 2025. Texas adds a 6% penalty on February 1, then 1% per month interest. By July 1, delinquent accounts pick up an additional 15 to 20% attorney collection fee on top of existing penalties.
How is Collin County property tax different from Cook County or DuPage County in Illinois?
Texas counties like Collin CAD appraise annually to market value with an open ARB protest process. Illinois counties, including Cook and DuPage, use triennial or quadrennial reassessment cycles and route appeals through a Board of Review instead of an ARB. Illinois has no equivalent to Texas's 10% homestead appraisal cap, so rapid appreciation hits taxable value without that buffer.
What is unequal appraisal and how do I use it in Collin County?
Texas Tax Code Section 41.43 requires your property be appraised at the same ratio to market value as comparable properties. If similar nearby homes sit at 85% of their sale price and yours is at 100%, you have an unequal appraisal claim even if your absolute value is accurate. Pull appraised values of comps from collincad.org, compare to their sale prices, and show the ratio gap in your ARB presentation.
How do I pay Collin County property taxes?
Pay the Collin County Tax Assessor-Collector, not Collin CAD. Pay online at collincountytx.gov, by mail, or in person at Tax Assessor offices in McKinney, Plano, Frisco, and Allen. E-check payments are typically free; credit card payments carry a convenience fee around 2.1 to 2.5%.
What if I missed the protest deadline in Collin County?
You lose the right to protest for that tax year in most cases. Two narrow exceptions exist: a clerical error in the appraisal record, or an illegal appraisal (value above market that wasn't discoverable before the deadline). Both require filing a motion under Texas Tax Code Section 25.25 with Collin CAD. Plan ahead and file early next year.
Is it worth hiring a property tax protest company in Collin County?
For most residential homes under $1 million, the math doesn't favor it. Contingency firms charge 25 to 50% of first-year savings. On a $600 win, that's $150 to $300 gone. The ARB process works fine without legal training. Firms add value mainly on commercial property, high-value estates, or income-property appeals needing capitalization-rate analysis.
Sources
- Collin Central Appraisal District, Official Website: Collin CAD appraises more than 430,000 parcels; the county's 2023 adopted tax rate was $0.152261 per $100; exemption forms and protest portal are available at this site.
- City of Plano, Finance Department, Tax Rates: City of Plano 2023 adopted tax rate of $0.4169 per $100; Plano ISD 2023 rate of $1.1646 per $100.
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Property Tax: Proposition 4 (November 2023) raised mandatory school homestead exemption to $100,000; Collin County median home value exceeded $450,000 in 2023 per Comptroller property value study; Comptroller publishes plain-language protest guidance.
- Texas Tax Code, Chapters 11, 23, 25, and 41: Chapter 23 requires appraisals at market value as of January 1; 10% homestead appraisal cap; May 15 protest deadline or 30 days from notice; ARB cannot raise value during homeowner-initiated hearing; Section 41.43 unequal appraisal standard; Section 25.25 motions for clerical error; over-65 and disabled person school tax ceiling; binding arbitration for property valued $5 million or under; 6% penalty February 1 for unpaid taxes; installment payment rights for over-65.
- Texas Comptroller, Form 50-114, Residence Homestead Exemption Application: Form 50-114 is the official application for homestead, over-65, and disabled person exemptions; retroactive filing allowed for up to two prior years.
- Texas Comptroller, Form 50-135, Disabled Veterans and Survivors Exemption: Form 50-135 governs the disabled veteran property tax exemption, including the full exemption for 100% rated veterans and the $5,000 to $75,000 scale for 10 to 99% ratings.
- Texas Comptroller, Biennial Property Tax Report: Approximately 700,000 protests were resolved statewide in Texas in 2022, resulting in $85.4 billion in total value reductions through the ARB process.
- Texas Legislature Online, HB 3 (86th Legislature, 2019): HB 3 compressed school district maintenance-and-operations tax rates and established the $1.17 per $100 cap, with ongoing state compression as property values rise.