Frisco and McKinney Property Tax Rates: What Changes in September

Your City Could Lower Its Tax Rate in September and Your Bill Could Still Go Up

Every September, cities across North Texas adopt property tax rates for the coming fiscal year. Headlines follow, usually framed as a rate going up or coming down.

Those headlines are close to meaningless on their own, and homeowners who plan around them are often surprised in January.

Here is what actually determines your bill, what happened last year in Frisco and McKinney, and what to check before the next round of votes.

Your City Is Not Your Tax Bill

A North DFW property tax bill is not one number set by one government. It is the sum of several independent taxing entities, each setting its own rate: the city, the county, the school district, the community college district, and in newer subdivisions sometimes a MUD or PID.

The city is usually the smallest piece. The City of McKinney reports that roughly 23 cents of every property tax dollar funds city services.

That ratio is the whole point. If your city cuts its rate by a few thousandths of a cent and your school district raises its own, or your appraised value climbs, your total bill goes up regardless of the city's headline.

What Happened Last Year

Frisco held its fiscal year 2026 rate at $0.425517 per $100 of valuation — unchanged from the prior year. Separately, in June, the City Council raised the homestead exemption from 15% to 20%, the maximum allowed under state law. The city estimated homeowners would save roughly $120 on their city bill as a result.

McKinney lowered its fiscal year 2026 rate to $0.412284 per $100, down from $0.415513. Fiscal year 2026 runs October 1 through September 30, 2026.

Two neighboring cities, two different moves — and in both cases, the city rate was a minority of what homeowners actually paid.

The Part You Control

You do not vote on the rate. You do control your exemptions, and this is where most money is left on the table.

Homestead exemption. Available on your primary residence. It reduces the taxable value your rate is applied against.

Over-65 and disabled exemptions. Frisco offers an additional $80,000 exemption for homeowners age 65 or older or disabled, plus a tax freeze effective January 1, 2022 — once frozen, city taxes do not increase as long as you continue to own and live in that residence and do not improve it.

Three things people get wrong:

• Exemptions do not transfer with the house. They attach to the owner, not the property. If you bought recently and assumed the prior owner's exemption carried over, it did not.
• The city does not administer them. Exemption applications go through the chief appraiser at the appraisal district, and must be filed before May 1 of the tax year.
• Appraised value is not market value. Appraisal-district values exist for tax administration. They are not an appraisal of what your home would sell for, and not a comparative market analysis.

One Wrinkle Specific to Frisco

Frisco spans two counties — Collin and Denton. Which county your property sits in determines which appraisal district sets your value and how many statements you receive. Owners in the Collin County portion get one consolidated statement. Owners in the Denton County portion receive two: one from Denton County, and one from Collin County covering City of Frisco taxes.

If you are shopping in Frisco, confirm the county before you compare tax estimates between two homes.

What to Do Before September

• Pull your parcel record and list every taxing entity on it. Not just the city.
• Confirm your exemptions are on file in your own name. Do this even if you have owned the home for years.
• If you bought in the last 18 months, verify the homestead exemption transferred to you. This is the single most common miss.
• Watch the September votes for every entity that taxes you, not only the city.

Verify Everything Here

• City of Frisco Property Tax Rate — friscotexas.gov/153/Property-Tax-Rate
• City of Frisco Tax Administration — friscotexas.gov/145/Tax-Administration
• City of McKinney Property Tax Value — mckinneytexas.org/2090/Property-Tax-Value
• Collin Central Appraisal District — collincad.org · (469) 742-9200
• Denton Central Appraisal District — dentoncad.com · (940) 349-3800

Current as of August 21, 2026. Rates, exemptions, and deadlines change. Confirm current figures with the appropriate taxing authority or appraisal district before making a decision.

Buying or selling in Collin or Denton County and want the tax picture on a specific address before you make an offer? I work in English and Spanish across the North DFW corridor.

Eugenia Grajales · welcome@nextlevel.realestate · 945-400-7492