The property taxes that Dallas County residents pay every year fund teacher salaries, fire departments and other services.
First, the taxes get allocated to school districts, cities and counties. In any given property tax season, the Dallas County Tax Office processes billions of dollars in property taxes.
The majority of Dallas County property taxes goes to residents’ local school districts. Cities within the county also receive a large share of property taxes. Dallas County, Dallas College and Parkland Hospital receive funds from across the county.
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For example, the City of Dallas estimated in its 2025-26 budget that when a resident pays their tax bill, about 45% goes to the Dallas Independent School District (DISD), 31% goes to the city, just under 10% goes to the county and Parkland, and under 5% goes to Dallas College.
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The percentages may vary depending on the location of a taxpayer’s property. Residents can find what tax jurisdictions they fall under by searching their address on Dallas County’s Truth in Taxation site.
School districts
School districts receive the largest share of property taxes in Dallas, funding salaries, debt payments and maintenance costs.
Property taxes combine with state and federal dollars in school district budgets, but local funds tend to be the majority. For example, local funds made up about 88% of the Dallas Independent School District’s revenue, according to its 2025-26 budget.
Federal funds tend to pay for other specialized purposes that may be separate from the district’s budget, like school lunches. Local funds also tend to make up the majority of debt service funds for the schools.
The largest items in the Dallas ISD’s budget includes instruction including teacher salaries, facilities and maintenance costs, debt services and school leadership
Other school districts in Dallas County also had instruction as their biggest expense, usually followed by maintenance and operations costs.
The Dallas Independent School District has a 2025 property tax rate of about $0.994 per $100 of valuation, according to the Dallas Central Appraisal District.
The average taxable value of a home in Dallas ISD is about $335,000, meaning that the average tax bill is about $3,300. The average taxable value is a figure used for tax purposes and is different from the market value of the home.
As of the end of February, the Dallas County Tax Office had collected about $1.84 billion in taxes for the school district, according to the office.
Ferris Independent School District has the highest tax rate in the county, at about $1.231 per $100 of valuation. Based on an average taxable value of $61,442 residents pay about $760 to the school district.
Meanwhile, Highland Park Independent School District has the lowest tax rate at about $0.835 per $100 of valuation. But the area’s high-priced homes lead to a larger tax bill. Based on an average taxable value of $2.39 million, residents pay an average bill near $20,000 to the school district.
Countywide taxes
There are three taxing authorities that collect taxes from the entirety of Dallas County: Dallas County, Parkland Hospital and Dallas College.
Dallas County has a 2025 property tax rate of $0.216 per $100 of valuation. The funds from property taxes go into a general fund that makes up about 51% – or $828 million – of the county’s total budget, according to the county’s 2026 budget.
The district attorney’s office, facilities management, detention facilities and reserves have some of the largest allocations within the county.
Parkland primarily funds its operations with patient services, government programs and property taxes, according to a summary of the hospital’s finances.
The hospital has a 2025 property tax rate of $0.212 per $100 of valuation.
The largest expenses include salaries and benefits, supplies and services and debt related payments.
Dallas College receives property taxes for maintenance and operations costs, as well as principal and interest payments on debt, according to the college’s 2025-26 budget.
The college has a property tax rate of $0.107 per $100 of valuation.
Salaries, wages and benefits is the largest category of the college’s budget. Operations, academics and student success have the largest budget allocations.
The school with the largest budget is the School of Engineering, followed by the School of Creative Arts.
Cities
The City of Dallas receives the second-largest share of property taxes within city limits after the school district. It has a tax rate of nearly $0.699 per $100 of valuation, according to the appraisal district.
Based on an average taxable value of about $377,000, residents pay about $2,600 to the city.
Property taxes paid to the city are used to support the general fund and debt service fund of the city, according to the city budget. In the 2025-26 budget, property taxes made up about $1.13 billion of the city’s general fund.
The largest recipients of the city’s funds were the Dallas Police Department, Dallas Fire-Rescue and Transportation and Public Works.
Police and fire departments were also the largest recipients of money from the general funds of cities like Irving, Garland and Mesquite.
Currently, Highland Park has the lowest property tax rate of any Dallas County city, at about $0.199 per $100 of valuation. Based on an average taxable value of about $3.17 million, Highland Park residents pay about $6,300 in property taxes to their city.
Meanwhile, Balch Springs had the highest rate at about $0.795 per $100 of valuation. Residents pay about $1,645 in property taxes to the city, based on an average taxable value of about $207,000.
The tax rates of other cities can be found on the website of the Dallas Central Appraisal District.
Special districts
Dallas County also has a variety of special districts that include municipal utility districts, road utility districts and flood control districts.
The Dallas County Municipal Utility District #4, an area near Lake Ray Hubbard, has the highest rate at $1.00 per $100 of valuation. Municipal Utility Districts are subdivisions requested by property owners and to pay for infrastructure that provides water, sewer and other services in a certain area. They often serve masterplanned communities.
Meanwhile, some districts like the Denton County Road Utility District #1 and the Railroad Rolling Stock have inactive property tax levies.
A full list of the different jurisdictions can be found on the Dallas County website.