The Austin Community College District (ACC) Board of Trustees voted to lower the college’s tax rate for 2021-22. The unanimous decision happened during the board’s regular meeting on Monday, September 13.
The tax rate of $0.1048 (10.48 cents) per $100 valuation consists of $0.09 for Maintenance and Operation and $0.0148 for Debt Service. It’s less than the 2020 rate of $0.1058 due to a decreased debt service rate and remains among the lowest among all community colleges across the state. Trustees also previously approved new and expanded tax exemptions to help ease the burden for homeowners in the district.
ACC’s 2021-22 tax exemptions include:
Standard Homestead Exemption: ACC provides a $5,000 homestead exemption to all residential taxpayers (or 1% of property value, whichever is greater).
Senior/Disabled Homestead Exemption: In June, Trustees unanimously approved a freeze on property tax homestead exemption for senior taxpayers and homeowners with disabilities. In addition to the $5,000 homestead exemption, ACC increased its Senior/Disabled homestead exemption by $16,000 to $180,000. The freeze means qualified homeowners will never have an increase from ACC unless they make improvements to their property.
Commercial Property Owners Exemption: Commercial properties are taxed at the same rate as residential property; however, per Texas Property Tax Code, commercial properties are taxed on both real property and personal property, while residential properties are only taxed on real property.
Based on the adopted rate, the annual amount of taxes imposed on an average home valued at approximately $430,000 will be $416.62 for the year.
Annual Budget
About 60 percent of ACC’s annual budget comes from its property tax revenue. Other funding is through student tuition and fees and state funding.
In July, ACC Board of Trustees approved a $443 million budget for FY2022. The increased budget includes a 4 percent merit increase for all employees, and new initiatives, such as ERP and the Highland Campus Phase 2 and Rio Grande Campus openings, and the implementation of Workday Student.
Tuition and fees will remain at just $67 per credit hour for in-district students. The rates remain unchanged for in-district students and beginning fees will drop for out-of-district and out-of-state students.
For more information, visit the college’s property tax informational webpage.