Property Taxes
West University Property Taxes: The 2026 Rate, the Bill, and the Debt Behind It
Updated August 2026
Bottom line: West University Place adopted a 2026 city tax rate of $0.222219 per $100, lower than 2025. The tax on the average residence homestead still rose $121.20, because taxable value climbed faster than the rate fell.
What is the West University Place city tax rate for 2026?
The City of West University Place adopted a 2026 property tax rate of $0.222219 per $100 of taxable value, down from $0.229441 in 2025 and $0.241930 in 2024. This is the city's rate only. A West University Place owner also pays Houston ISD, Harris County and the other overlapping units that appear on the same statement, and those are set by their own governing bodies.
Two other rates are published beside it, and the difference between them is the whole story of this page. The no-new-revenue rate — $0.219761 per $100 — is the rate that would raise the same revenue from the same properties as last year. The voter-approval rate is the highest rate the city may adopt without holding an election. For 2026 the city adopted a rate equal to the voter-approval rate, to all six decimal places.
Why did the tax bill rise when the rate fell?
Because a rate is only half of a tax bill. The other half is taxable value, and in 2026 it rose faster than the rate fell. The city's notice sets the two side by side for the average residence homestead, and the arithmetic is not disputed by anyone: a lower rate applied to a higher value produced a larger bill.
This is also why the document announcing the change is headed a public hearing on a tax increase rather than a decrease. Under Texas truth-in-taxation rules, a proposed rate above the no-new-revenue rate is an increase, whatever it does in cents per hundred dollars.
| Measure | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total tax rate per $100 of value | $0.229441 | $0.222219 | down 3.15 percent |
| Average residence homestead taxable value | $1,668,280 | $1,777,039 | up 6.52 percent |
| Tax on the average residence homestead | $3,827.72 | $3,948.92 | up $121.20, or 3.17 percent |
| Total levy on all properties | $20,761,888 | $21,134,471 | up $372,583, or 1.79 percent |
What does the city owe, and what does it cost in 2026?
Part of every city tax bill pays debt rather than services. West University Place carries six series of outstanding debt secured by property taxes, and the total required for 2026 debt service is $6,649,076. The schedule below is reproduced from the city's tax notice, which was certified on 31 July 2026 by the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector.
Two features of the schedule are worth reading closely. The two refunding series are nearly retired: their remaining interest is small beside their principal, which is what the end of an amortisation looks like. The 2022 certificates of obligation are the opposite — they are roughly half the year's debt service on their own, and most of that is interest rather than principal.
| Series | Principal | Interest | Total payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 GO Refunding Bonds | $680,000 | $20,301 | $700,301 |
| 2019 Certificates of Obligation | $330,000 | $105,600 | $435,600 |
| 2020 GO Refunding Bonds | $370,000 | $22,600 | $392,600 |
| 2020 Certificates of Obligation | $300,000 | $814,550 | $1,114,550 |
| 2022 Certificates of Obligation | $1,270,000 | $2,028,625 | $3,298,625 |
| 2025 Certificates of Obligation | $230,000 | $477,400 | $707,400 |
What can this page not tell you?
What each series paid for. The tax notice lists the debt and its cost, not the projects behind it; that is in the official statement issued with each series, which is a separate document this page has not read. We would rather name the gap than fill it with a guess.
It also cannot tell you your own bill. Every figure above describes the average residence homestead or the city as a whole, and an average is not an address. Your bill depends on your own appraised value, your exemptions, and the other taxing units on your statement. Read this as the shape of the city's finances, then check your own account with the county.
Questions & answers
West University questions, answered
What is the city property tax rate in West University Place?
The City of West University Place adopted a 2026 property tax rate of $0.222219 per $100 of taxable value. That is down from $0.229441 in 2025 and $0.241930 in 2024, a decrease of 3.15 percent this year. The rate covers the city's portion of a tax bill only.
A West University Place tax statement carries several taxing units, and the city is one line on it. The city sets its own rate each August after publishing a no-new-revenue rate and a voter-approval rate alongside the proposal, as Texas truth-in-taxation rules require. For 2026 the adopted rate came in below the previous year's in cents per hundred dollars, which is what most coverage reports. What that headline leaves out is that a rate is applied to a value, and the value moved too. For how carrying costs sit against prices and inventory here, start with the West University neighborhood guide.
Why did my West University Place tax bill go up when the rate went down?
Because the rate is only half of the calculation. In 2026 the city rate fell 3.15 percent while taxable value on the average residence homestead rose 6.52 percent. A smaller rate applied to a larger value produced a larger bill: up $121.20, or 3.17 percent, on that average homestead.
This is the ordinary arithmetic of Texas property tax, and it is why the city's own document announcing the change is headed a public hearing on a tax increase rather than a decrease. Under truth-in-taxation rules, any proposed rate above the no-new-revenue rate — the rate that would raise the same revenue from the same properties as the prior year — counts as an increase, whatever direction the cents-per-hundred figure moved. Your own bill will not match the average, because it depends on your appraised value, the exemptions you carry, and the other taxing units on your statement. If the appraised value behind it is the part you want tested, request a home valuation.
What is the voter-approval tax rate, and did West University Place adopt it?
The voter-approval rate is the highest rate a Texas taxing unit may adopt without holding an election on it. For 2026 the City of West University Place adopted a rate equal to its voter-approval rate, to all six decimal places: $0.222219 per $100 of taxable value, against a no-new-revenue rate of $0.219761.
The distinction matters when reading a falling rate as a policy choice. Adopting the voter-approval rate is adopting the statutory maximum that does not require asking voters, so the rate can decline year over year while the city still collects the most the formula allows without an election. Neither reading is an accusation: the rate is lawful, the calculation is the state's, and the hearing was noticed and held. It simply means a lower number in cents per hundred dollars does not by itself show restraint. For what prices and sale pace have actually done over the same period, see the West University market update.
How much of West University Place's tax rate pays debt?
Part of the city rate services debt rather than operations. For 2026 the total required for city debt service is $6,649,076, spread across six outstanding series secured by property taxes. The city publishes the schedule, series by series, with the principal and interest due in the year.
Two things stand out in that schedule. The two refunding series are close to fully retired: their remaining interest is small next to their principal, which is the shape of an amortisation ending. The 2022 certificates of obligation are the opposite — on their own they are roughly half the year's debt service, and most of that payment is interest rather than principal, which is what an early-life issue looks like. What the notice does not say is what any series paid for; that lives in the official statement issued with each one, a separate document. For how the city's boundaries and sections fit together, read the West University neighborhood guide.
Which taxing units appear on a West University Place property tax bill?
The city is one of several. A West University Place statement typically carries the City of West University Place, Houston ISD, Harris County and the county's associated units. Each sets its own rate on its own schedule, so a change in the city rate moves only part of the total a homeowner pays.
This is why comparing one city's rate against another's is only a partial comparison: two addresses a short distance apart can sit in different cities and different school districts, and the combined bill is what a buyer actually pays each year. It is also why a city rate that falls does not guarantee a smaller statement — another unit on the same bill may move the other way, and appraised value moves independently of all of them. Harris County bills and collects for these units, so the county tax office account is where an owner can see the whole statement rather than any single line of it.