Taxes & Finance

One-Half of a Penny Change to the Tax Rate

If both propositions are approved by voters, the Interest & Sinking tax rate will increase by one half penny. For a home valued at $325,000, which is the average property value in CHISD, this rate change would result in an increase of $10.00 per year to the homeowner’s tax bill.


New Exemptions Lower Taxable Values


Homestead Exemption

In November voters approved a measure to increase the homestead exemption from $40,000 to $100,000. A homestead exemption is the amount a homeowner can take off the value of the house they live in before it is taxed.  In other words, a $300,000 home is Cedar Hill ISd has a taxable value of $200,000.




Senior Exemption

In addition to the new $100,000 exemption, homesteaders 65 and older continue to qualify for the extra $10,000 exemption they are already allowed to receive — for a total exemption of $110,000.

And for those seniors whose taxes were “frozen” when they turned 65 years old, the law has been revised to ensure that they can take advantage of this and any future increases to the exemption. Their school taxes are now “capped” rather than “frozen” so they can go down but they cannot go up.

School Finance

Public school taxes involve two figures, which divide the school district budget into two “buckets.” The first bucket is the Maintenance and Operations budget (M&O), which funds daily costs and recurring or consumable expenditures such as teacher and staff salaries, supplies, food and utilities. Most of the district’s M&O budget goes to teacher and staff salaries. In November, voters approved an increase to the M&O tax rate. This increase is helping CHISD retain good teachers.

The second bucket is the Interest and Sinking Fund (I&S), also known as Debt Service, and that is used to repay debt for capital improvements approved by voters through bond elections. Proceeds from a bond issue can be used for the construction and renovation of facilities, the acquisition of land and the purchase of capital items such as equipment, technology and transportation. By law, I&S funds cannot be used to pay M&O expenses, which means that voter-approved bonds cannot be used to increase teacher salaries or pay rising costs for utilities and services.


Maintenance & Operations

Funds the day-to-day maintenance and operations of the district:

In November, voters approved an increase to the M&O tax rate. This increase is helping CHISD retain teachers.


Interest & Sinking

Funds debt repayment for major capital expenses: