Abbott pitches property-tax relief in Gainesville as city lists a higher rate

By GvilleTX Newsroom

Gov. Greg Abbott came to Gainesville on Sept. 22 to promote his plan to cut property taxes, according to his campaign. The city he visited relies on property taxes more than on any other source for its general operating money, and its published tax table lists a higher city rate for 2026–27.

The campaign said Abbott met rural families and business owners at a local hat manufacturer. State Rep. David Spiller went with him. Their discussion covered property taxes and housing, plus health care, insurance and data-center growth. The campaign said Abbott's tax plan could save the average homeowner more than $3,000 a year. That figure is the campaign's own projection.

In Gainesville, property taxes make up a little more than a third of budgeted General Fund revenue for fiscal 2026, the city budget shows. The budget credits the past decade's growth in taxable value to rising values on existing property and to new construction. The city's table shows the rate falling from about 62 cents per $100 of value in 2022–23 to about 54 cents in 2024–25. It then climbed back, and the listing for 2026–27 is about 61 cents. On the same taxable value, a higher rate means a larger city bill.

Abbott laid out his plan in April, according to his campaign platform. Local governments would need two-thirds of voters to approve a property-tax increase. The yearly cap on homestead appraisal increases would drop from 10% to 3%, and that cap would cover all property, not only homesteads. Local spending could grow no faster than population growth plus inflation or 3.5%, whichever is lower.

Austin does not send those bills. Texas has no state property tax, and the comptroller neither collects the tax nor sets local rates, the comptroller's office says. Cities, counties and school districts set the rates.

The data-center talk followed an order Abbott issued a day earlier. On Sept. 21 he told the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to stop permits sought by data centers until ERCOT completes an audit, his office said. He also told state agencies to hold development approvals until the required information is in hand.

Cooke County's rate also rose for 2025–26, according to the county's fiscal 2025 financial report. The report says the county ended its debt-service tax after paying off its last bond. Commissioners adopted the fiscal 2026 budget 4-1, with John Roane voting no, the budget document records.

The comptroller calls school taxes generally the largest part of a property-tax bill. Texas voters raised the school homestead exemption to $100,000 in 2023, the comptroller reports, and current comptroller guidance sets it at $140,000. That exemption does not carry over to city and county taxes. Those units may offer their own optional exemption. Statewide, local levies rose slightly in 2023 while school levies fell, the Legislative Budget Board reports.

According to a separate campaign release, Abbott also held an affordability roundtable on Sept. 22 at Old Magnolia Mercantile in Palestine with state Sen. Bryan Hughes and Rep. Cody Harris.