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How much of a Cypress tax bill is MUD, school, county and flood-control tax?
Answered by Allen Markel, REALTOR®, Texas Premier Realty ·
Short answer
For a typical Cypress home in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD with a MUD, the 2025 rate stack is about 2.66% in total. School tax is the largest piece at $1.0669 per $100 (40% of the total), the MUD is next at a median $0.82 (31%), county-level units add about $0.63 (24%, including $0.04966 for flood control), and Lone Star College plus an emergency services district add about $0.14 (5%). On a $421,000 home that is roughly $4,490 school, $3,450 MUD, $2,650 county units and $610 other.
What are the pieces in dollars on a $421,000 home?
Using the 2025 rates from the HCAD table and the most common MUD (Harris County MUD 165, $0.82), the pre-exemption bill on a $421,000 Cypress home is: Cypress-Fairbanks ISD $1.0669 = $4,491; Harris County $0.38096 = $1,604; Harris County Hospital District $0.18761 = $790; Harris County Flood Control District $0.04966 = $209; Port of Houston Authority $0.0059 = $25; Harris County Department of Education $0.004798 = $20; Lone Star College $0.106 = $446; Harris County Emergency Services District 9 $0.038831 = $163; MUD 165 $0.82 = $3,452. The total is $11,200, which is 2.6607% of value. The county, hospital, flood-control, port and education units together are $0.628928 per $100, or $2,648. Read the table as a share of the bill: school 40%, MUD 31%, county-level units 24%, college 4% and the emergency services district 1%. Homes in a district with a lower MUD line shift the mix toward school and county tax, while homes with a $1.50 MUD line see the MUD approach the size of the school line. Every share here is a 2025 rate; the 2026 rates for each unit are adopted in the fall and can move the percentages by a point or two.
Which lines are the same for every home, and how do exemptions change the split?
The school district, county, hospital district, flood-control, port, education-department and college lines are the same for every home inside those boundaries. In our Cypress data the county-level lines are identical on all 1,055 homes we checked, and CFISD applies to 875 of them (83%). The lines that change are the school district (a few Cypress addresses sit in Waller ISD or Tomball ISD), the emergency services district, and the MUD or water-district lines. That is where the comparison between two homes lives. If a buyer is choosing between two subdivisions, the only lines worth comparing are the MUD and water-district lines, plus the ISD if the two addresses are in different districts. Exemptions come off the taxable value before the rate is applied, and each unit sets its own. State law gives a $140,000 school-tax homestead exemption (Tax Code 11.13(b)); other units may offer their own, which I do not list here. On the $421,000 example, the school homestead exemption alone saves about $1,494 on the CFISD line. Confirm your exemptions on the HCAD account; they depend on filing and eligibility.
Amounts and rules change every year. For the most current and accurate answer, contact the county office directly: the Harris Central Appraisal District (hcad.org, 713-957-7800) for values, exemptions and protests, and the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector (hctax.net, 713-274-8000) for tax bills and payments.
| Taxing unit | Rate per $100 | Annual $ |
|---|---|---|
| Cypress-Fairbanks ISD | 1.0669 | 4,491 |
| Harris County | 0.38096 | 1,604 |
| Harris County Hospital District | 0.18761 | 790 |
| Harris County Flood Control District | 0.04966 | 209 |
| Lone Star College System | 0.106 | 446 |
| Harris County Emergency Services District 9 | 0.038831 | 163 |
| Port of Houston Authority + Dept. of Education | 0.010698 | 45 |
| Harris County MUD 165 (most common MUD) | 0.82 | 3,452 |
| Total | 2.660659 | 11,200 |
Common follow-up questions
What is the biggest part of a Cypress tax bill?
The school district line, $1.0669 per $100, is the largest single unit; the MUD is second on most homes.
Does flood control tax show up on my bill?
Yes. The Harris County Flood Control District line was $0.04966 per $100 in 2025, about $209 a year on a $421,000 home.
Do all Cypress homes have a MUD?
No. In our data 89% do; 117 of 1,055 complete stacks show none.
Sources
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Related questions
How much are property taxes in Cypress, TX?
The median total property-tax rate on Cypress homes for sale is 2.63% of taxable value, measured on the 1,055 of 1,326 active listings where we hold a complete 2025 tax stack.
Read answerWhich MUDs serve Cypress and how do their tax rates compare?
Cypress homes for sale sit in dozens of districts, and the ten most common combinations range from $0.37 to $1.50 per $100 of value.
Read answerWhat does the Harris County Flood Control District add to a Cypress tax bill?
The Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) charged $0.04966 per $100 of taxable value for 2025, which is about $209 a year on a $421,000 Cypress home, or 1.9% of the total rate. The rate was $0.
Read answerWhat taxing units make up a Harris County tax bill and what does each charge?
A Harris County bill stacks up to seven kinds of taxing unit. For 2025 the county levies $0.38096 per $100, the hospital district $0.18761, flood control $0.04966, the Port of Houston Authority…
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Answers describe transactions and public data. They are not legal, tax or financial advice.