Texas → Water districts → MUD tax
What is a MUD tax?
A MUD tax is a property tax charged by a municipal utility district: a small local government that builds and runs the water, sewer, drainage and often roads for a neighborhood outside (or on the edge of) a city. Across Texas, 965 MUDs set a 2025 tax rate. The typical one charges $0.70 per $100 of taxable value, which is about $2,380 a year on a $340,000 home. For the typical district, about half of that repays the bonds that paid for the neighborhood's pipes and roads.
Find the MUD at your address
Type a Texas address to see the MUD or other water district that taxes it, with its 2025 rate and its debt.
4,895,951 addresses across 12 counties · the HOA and the MUD, with rates and debt · answers in your browser, the address never reaches us · how it works
Or browse every district on the map of Texas water districts, shaded by tax rate.
What a MUD tax costs, county by county
The same $340,000 home pays very different MUD taxes depending on the district. $340,000 is close to the median appraised value of a parcel inside the districts we've mapped. Counties with at least 8 MUDs that set a 2025 rate:
| County | MUDs with a 2025 rate | Median rate (per $100) | Median MUD tax on a $340,000 home | MUDs at $1.00 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris | 415 | $0.525 | $1,785 a year | 64 |
| Montgomery | 108 | $1.00 | $3,400 a year | 56 |
| Williamson | 65 | $0.7245 | $2,463 a year | 5 |
| Travis | 55 | $0.63 | $2,142 a year | 1 |
| Fort Bend | 50 | $0.76 | $2,584 a year | 18 |
| Brazoria | 45 | $0.85 | $2,890 a year | 14 |
| Galveston | 27 | $0.88 | $2,992 a year | 9 |
| Waller | 21 | $1.50 | $5,100 a year | 15 |
| Hays | 18 | $0.90 | $3,060 a year | 3 |
| Kaufman | 13 | $0.9825 | $3,341 a year | 6 |
| Bastrop | 13 | $0.85 | $2,890 a year | 1 |
| Collin | 13 | $1.00 | $3,400 a year | 11 |
| Denton | 13 | $1.00 | $3,400 a year | 7 |
| El Paso | 13 | $0.7048 | $2,396 a year | 0 |
| Guadalupe | 8 | $0.85 | $2,890 a year | 1 |
Statewide, 242 MUDs charge $1.00 or more per $100, which works out to $3,400 or more a year on a $340,000 home. Homestead and other exemptions lower taxable value, so an actual bill is usually a little lower than these examples. The MUD rate is added on top of the county, school district and (inside a city) city rates.
Where the money goes
A MUD rate has two parts. The maintenance and operations part runs the water and sewer systems. The debt service part (the "I&S", interest and sinking, rate) repays the bonds the district sold to build them. For the typical Texas MUD, about 50% of the rate goes to debt service.
The debt is large. Among the 487 districts where we could place at least 500 parcels inside the boundary, the median district carries about $14,979 of tax-supported bond debt per parcel (FY2025). That debt is repaid by everyone who owns property in the district, including future buyers, which is why a MUD tax does not end when the builder leaves.
The full accounting is in our report, What Texas water districts owe. Every district's page shows its rate split and debt history.
How high do MUD tax rates go?
| 2025 MUD rate (per $100) | MUDs | MUD tax on a $340,000 home |
|---|---|---|
| $0.00 to under $0.25 | 101 | $0 to $850 a year |
| $0.25 to under $0.50 | 223 | $850 to $1,700 a year |
| $0.50 to under $0.75 | 193 | $1,700 to $2,550 a year |
| $0.75 to under $1.00 | 206 | $2,550 to $3,400 a year |
| $1.00 to under $1.25 | 137 | $3,400 to $4,250 a year |
| $1.25 to under $1.50 | 50 | $4,250 to $5,100 a year |
| $1.50 or more | 55 | $5,100 or more a year |
No Texas MUD set a 2025 rate above $1.50. 55 sit exactly at $1.50, most of them in Harris (21), Waller (11), Montgomery (11). Those are mostly new districts with few homes and fresh bonds; a rate usually comes down as more homes are built and share the debt. Look any district up on the water districts index.
Questions people ask
Is a MUD the same as an HOA?
No. A MUD is a unit of local government with taxing power; its tax is on your property tax bill and it is run by a board of directors. An HOA is a private association that bills dues under recorded covenants. Many Texas neighborhoods have both, with separate boards, budgets and rules. Our address lookup shows both for an address.
Who sets the MUD tax rate?
The district's board of five directors (Water Code §54.101) sets it every year. The part that repays bonds is not optional: while any bonds are outstanding, the board must levy a tax each year large enough to pay them (§54.601). The bonds themselves need voter approval first, and the notice a seller must give the buyer spells it out: "The district may impose an unlimited rate of tax in payment of such bonds" (§49.4521). The operations part also needs voter approval (§49.107), and water districts follow their own tax-rate election rules instead of the ones cities and counties use (§§49.23601–49.23603).
Does the seller have to tell me the house is in a MUD?
In an ordinary sale, yes (foreclosures and a few other transfers are exempt). Before the contract is signed, the seller must give the buyer a written "Notice to Purchaser" that names the district and states its current tax rate and bonds (Water Code §49.452, content set by §49.4521). If the contract is signed without it, the buyer is entitled to terminate. But a buyer who gets the notice late and closes anyway is treated as having given up that right. So read the notice before closing, not after.
Does a MUD tax ever go away?
Not while the district owes money. The state can dissolve an inactive district only if it "has no outstanding bonded indebtedness" (Water Code §49.321). The usual ending is annexation: when a city takes in the whole district, the city takes over its assets, "assumes all the debts, liabilities, and obligations of the district," and the district is abolished (Local Government Code §43.075). The MUD tax line then disappears from the bill, and the city's tax takes its place.
How do I find out which MUD I'm in?
Use the lookup above, or find your property on the district map. Your county appraisal district's account page and your tax bill also list every taxing unit.
Sources and method
Rates: Texas Comptroller, Special District Rates and Levies, tax year 2025; 965 municipal utility districts carry a rate. Districts the appraisal districts did not report are left out, never counted as zero. Debt: Texas Bond Review Board, fiscal year 2025. Debt per parcel: county parcel files placed inside TCEQ district boundaries; a parcel is not a household (vacant lots and commercial tracts count too), so the ratio is shown only for districts with at least 500 parcels. Medians are of districts, not homes. Examples use $340,000 of taxable value and are not tax bills.
Cite as: "The HOA Book, What is a MUD tax?, Texas Comptroller 2025 rates, data as of 2026-08-08." Wrong or missing? Tell us.