Comal County property taxes: the money on the table

Every April, the same envelope shows up from the Comal Appraisal District. It's about as welcome as a June hailstorm...

and at least the hailstorm doesn't send a bill.

Inside is a number: what the county thinks your house is worth. Lately that number climbs faster than the Guadalupe after a wet week.

Most of us do the same three-step. Wince, stick it in a drawer, pay whatever October says.

Here's what nobody prints on the envelope: this is the only big bill in your life you're actually allowed to argue with.

And in Comal County, the folks who argue usually win.

Comal County property taxes run about $1.79 per $100 of taxable value for a New Braunfels homeowner in 2025, but two free levers pull that bill down: the homestead exemption package, worth roughly $3,000 a year on a median-value home, and a protest, which about three in four Comal homeowners win when they file one. This guide walks through both.

None of it requires a lawyer.

Most of it doesn't require leaving the couch.

How much are property taxes in Comal County?

A New Braunfels homeowner pays a combined property tax rate of roughly $1.75 to $1.79 per $100 of taxable value in 2025, really three bills rolled into one: the school district, the city, and the county. On a typical Comal County home ($445,000, per the Census), the owner pays about $4,827 a year.

Here's the stack, using the 2025 adopted rates:

Two fine-print things worth knowing. If you live on the Guadalupe County side of New Braunfels, swap the county line for Guadalupe's $0.3304 and the school line for NBISD's $1.0377, which lands you at about $1.78. And if you're in one of the newer neighborhoods with a MUD or WID (a special water or utility district), that district adds its own tax on top, anywhere from around eleven cents to nearly a dollar per $100.

One more thing your neighbors probably didn't notice: Comal County raised its own rate in 2025, from about $0.264 to $0.305015. Rates don't only go down in the era of tax relief. That's exactly why the exemption and the protest matter more, not less.

The three numbers on your notice. Your appraisal notice carries three different values, and mixing them up is how most tax-bill confusion starts. Market value is what the district thinks your home would sell for. Appraised value is market value after the 10% annual homestead cap is applied. Taxable value is appraised value minus your exemptions, and it's the only one your bill is actually calculated from. When you protest, you're arguing the first number. When you file exemptions, you're shrinking the last one.

What is the Comal County homestead exemption worth?

The homestead exemption package is worth roughly $3,000 a year to a typical New Braunfels homeowner, because Comal County is unusually generous with the optional exemptions that stack on top of the state's $140,000. Most people know about one layer. Almost nobody stacks all four.

The layers, for a home you own and live in:

• $140,000 off school district taxes. Texas voters raised this from $100,000 in November 2025, and it applies retroactively to the 2025 tax year. If you're reading anything that still says $100,000, it's out of date.
• 20% off from Comal County. The county chooses to knock a fifth off your value for its share of the bill.
• 20% off from Comal ISD. The school district adds its own 20% on top of the state $140,000. NBISD works differently, with a fixed local amount instead of a percentage.
• 20% or $5,000 off from the City of New Braunfels, whichever is greater.

And if you're 65 or older, or disabled: an additional $60,000 on the school portion, taking the school exemption to $200,000 combined, plus smaller add-ons from the city and county.

Here's what the stack does to the median home, quick napkin math at 2025 rates for a Comal ISD address in the city. Treat it as an estimate; your notice is the truth.

That's about $3,100 a year for filling out one free form.

Not a coupon. Not a promotion. A standing discount that sits unclaimed on thousands of Comal County homes, mostly belonging to people who bought recently and never got the memo.

The exemption does one more quiet job: it caps how fast your appraised value can rise at 10% a year, starting your second year with the exemption. In a county where values have been climbing hard, the cap alone can outgrow the exemption's face value.

How do I file a homestead exemption in Comal County?

You file a homestead exemption once, for free, with the Comal Appraisal District, online at portal.comalad.org or by emailing or mailing the state form. You must own the home and actually live in it as your main residence, and the address on your Texas driver's license needs to match.

The details that catch people:

• There is no fee. Ever. Companies that offer to file it for $50 or $100 are charging you for a stamp. The district will process the same form at no cost.
• Bought mid-year? You don't wait. Since 2022, buyers can receive the exemption for the portion of the year after they qualify, instead of waiting for the next January 1.
• Missed it entirely? You can go back. The district accepts late applications up to two years after that year's payment deadline passed. If you bought in 2024 and never filed, there's a real chance you can claim last year's savings, not just next year's.
• You file once. It stays on the home while you own and occupy it. The district audits exemptions roughly every five years and may ask you to reconfirm, which is normal, not a problem.

Ten minutes, one form, and the discount runs every year you live there.

Now for the second lever.

How do I protest my property taxes in Comal County?

To protest, file with the Comal Appraisal District by May 15 or within 30 days of the date on your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later, using the online portal at portal.comalad.org, email, mail, or the office on Loop 337 in New Braunfels. The process is an informal review first, then a formal Appraisal Review Board hearing if you want one.

What the process actually looks like:

1. File the protest. Check the boxes for market value and unequal appraisal, both. The second one is legalese for "homes like mine are valued lower than mine." It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
2. The informal review. A district appraiser looks at your evidence, often entirely online. Photos of needed repairs, your closing statement if you bought recently, and sales of comparable homes are the currency here.
3. The ARB hearing, if needed. A panel of local citizens, not county employees, hears both sides. New for 2026: the district must share the evidence it plans to use at least 14 days before your hearing, so you get to see their case before you walk in.
4. Accept or continue. Most protests end at the informal step with an adjusted value.

The evidence bar is lower than people fear. This isn't court. It's closer to returning something at the hardware store with a receipt: bring the paper, be polite, state the number you think is right.

Is it worth protesting your appraisal?

For most Comal County homeowners, yes. In 2024, about 26,000 Comal properties were protested and roughly 74% of informal protests came back with a reduction, according to numbers protest companies pulled from the county's own data. Ownwell's Fall 2025 client report put the average Comal savings at $1,160 per successful protest, the highest in the San Antonio region.

Ground that in the rate math. Every $10,000 the district takes off your value saves you about $179 a year at the combined New Braunfels rate. Talk them down $30,000 on a number that came in hot and that's roughly $535 back, every year, until the district catches up again.

The honest caveats: the $1,160 figure is a protest company's own client data, not a countywide audit, and a protest can also end with no change. What it essentially never does is raise your value. The downside is an hour of your time.

Three in four is not a lottery.

It's a habit the savviest homeowners in the county repeat every single spring, the same way they change their air filters.

The Comal County property tax calendar

The whole system runs on a handful of dates, and knowing them is half the game:

FAQ

What is the deadline to protest property taxes in Comal County?

The deadline to protest is May 15, or 30 days after the date on your Notice of Appraised Value, whichever is later. Notices usually land between late March and mid April, so most Comal County homeowners are working with a mid-May deadline. You can file online at portal.comalad.org.

How much is the homestead exemption in Comal County?

A Comal County homestead gets a $140,000 exemption on school district taxes, plus a 20% local exemption from the county, another 20% from Comal ISD, and 20% or $5,000 from the City of New Braunfels. Homeowners 65 and older or disabled get an additional $60,000 on the school portion.

Why are property taxes so high in New Braunfels?

A New Braunfels tax bill stacks three main rates: the school district (about $1.04 to $1.07 per $100), the city (about $0.41), and the county (about $0.31 in Comal, $0.33 in Guadalupe). The school line is roughly 60% of the bill, and fast-rising home values push the whole stack up.

Do I have to file the homestead exemption every year?

No. You file once with the Comal Appraisal District and the exemption stays on the home as long as you own it and live in it. About every five years the district may check that you still qualify, which is routine. There is no yearly filing and never a fee.

The Hill35 take

Property taxes are the biggest bill in most Hill Country households that nobody negotiates. The mortgage got shopped. The insurance got quoted twice. The tax bill just gets paid.

Here's what we believe. The exemption is not a loophole and the protest is not a fight. Both are the system working exactly as designed, for the people who show up and use it. The county built the portal, the state raised the exemption, and the review board exists to hear you out.

File the free form. Open the April envelope. Ask the question.

And when the county and the school districts vote on next year's rates, usually late summer, the Hill 35 Insider is where we break down what it means for your bill.

Get the Hill 35 Insider

The money on the table has your name on it, and in this county, three out of four people who reach for it get it.