"This is the lowest tax rate in over 20 years and the lowest ISD tax in Montgomery County." That's how Magnolia ISD described the 2.6-cent cut its board approved on August 24, 2026, which set the 2026-27 rate at $0.9325 per $100 of value.
Buyers notice school rates. In Audubon, the master-planned community on FM 1488, the school district is no longer the largest charge on a typical homestead's bill. The Audubon MUD line is larger. A "total tax rate" figure leaves out which lines get a homestead exemption, and it leaves out what each district's levy is paying for. Both explain the gap.
One Audubon Homestead, Line by Line
Audubon's resident information page estimates the community's 2026 total rate at $3.0164 per $100. Here are the parts that make up that total:
- Audubon MUD 1, MUD 2 or MUD 3: $1.1500
- Magnolia ISD: $0.9325
- Montgomery County: $0.3860
- Audubon WCID: $0.3000
- Lone Star College: $0.1058
- Emergency Services District No. 10: $0.0963
- Montgomery County Hospital District: $0.0458
The page calls this an estimate and tells owners to confirm current figures with each taxing authority. The rates match the Montgomery County Tax Office's 2026 schedule for the county-level entities. ESD 10 is the district whose property and sales taxes fund the Magnolia Fire Department.
A rate means little until it's applied to a home. Audubon MUD 1's 2026 truth-in-taxation worksheet, filed with the county, puts the district's average residence homestead at an appraised value of $440,729 for 2026, up from $422,155 the year before. The county's 2026 exemption schedule lists each entity's general homestead exemption. Putting the two together gives this illustration for that average home in tax year 2026, before any over-65 or disability exemptions:
| Taxing unit | 2026 rate per $100 | General homestead exemption | Taxable value | Approximate tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audubon MUD 1 | $1.1500 | $0 | $440,729 | $5,068 |
| Magnolia ISD | $0.9325 | $140,000 | $300,729 | $2,804 |
| Montgomery County | $0.3860 | 20% | $352,583 | $1,361 |
| Lone Star College | $0.1058 | 8% | $405,471 | $429 |
| ESD 10 | $0.0963 | 0% | $440,729 | $424 |
| MC Hospital District | $0.0458 | 20% | $352,583 | $161 |
The MUD's per-$100 rate is only about 23% higher than the school rate, yet in this example the MUD bill is close to double the school bill. The Audubon WCID's $0.30 sits on top of that. The appraisal record for the specific address shows whether the WCID applies an exemption.
Why the Exemption Stops Short of the MUD
Under Texas law the two layers get different treatment. The Texas Comptroller explains that Tax Code Section 11.13(b) requires school districts to give a $140,000 residence homestead exemption. Any taxing unit may choose to adopt a local-option exemption of up to 20% of appraised value. Apart from a $3,000 exemption required of counties that collect farm-to-market or flood control taxes, the general homestead exemption outside the school line is a choice each board makes.
Montgomery County and the Hospital District have each adopted 20%. Lone Star College has adopted 8%. ESD 10 lists no general homestead exemption, though it does offer $50,000 for owners over 65. Audubon MUD 1's worksheet records $0 in general exemptions for the average homestead in both the prior year and the current year.
So when a buyer files for a homestead exemption, the largest break goes to the school line, which in Audubon is already the smaller one. The MUD charge stays at its full rate on the full appraised value. As values rise, as they did between the 2025 and 2026 worksheets, the line that applies to the full value grows faster in dollars than the line taxed on value minus $140,000.
The same logic explains why the school cut barely shows. On the illustrative home above, 2.6 cents per $100 applied to $300,729 of taxable school value comes to about $78 a year. That's a real saving, but on that bill it's small next to a $5,068 MUD line.
A Flat Rate Whose Contents Are Changing
Audubon's MUD rate has held at $1.15 for the past three tax years. The county tax office's rate history shows Audubon MUD 1 adopting $1.15 in 2024, 2025 and 2026, after $1.50 in 2023. What has changed is the split between the two pieces every district levies. Maintenance and operations pays for running the system. Debt service pays bonds.
| District | Tax year | Adopted rate | M&O | Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audubon MUD 2 | 2025 | $1.1500 | $1.1500 | $0.0000 |
| Audubon MUD 2 | 2026 | $1.1500 | $0.6000 | $0.5500 |
| Audubon WCID | 2024 | $0.3000 | $0.3000 | $0.0000 |
| Audubon WCID | 2025 | $0.3000 | $0.1500 | $0.1500 |
| Audubon WCID | 2026 | $0.3000 | $0.1100 | $0.1900 |
In 2026 almost half of MUD 2's rate is going to debt, after a year in which none of it did. The WCID's debt share has grown in each of the last two years. The adopted rate on its own does not show this shift. The M&O and debt columns in each district's filings do.
For a buyer, the difference matters. Operating costs can shrink as a district matures. Debt service is tied to bonds that have already been sold. A rate that holds steady while the debt share climbs is a rate whose largest piece is now committed to repayment. The Audubon newsletter describes the MUDs' role as designing, building, operating and financing the utility, road and recreational infrastructure that made the community possible. A debt column in the filings is how that financing appears on owners' bills.
Magnolia Place Is Starting the Same Shift
The same pattern is just beginning a few miles west. Magnolia East MUD sits at FM 1488 and FM 149, and its official statement names Magnolia Place as the development, with single-family lots in Section 2. The district adopted $0.5775 every year from 2022 through 2025, all of it for maintenance and operations. For 2026 the rate is $0.6225, with $0.1915 for M&O and $0.4310 for debt.
That debt line matches the paperwork. The district's amended official statement, dated April 6, 2026, offers $5.9 million of Magnolia East MUD Unlimited Tax Bonds, Series 2026. The county's 2026 schedule lists the district's general homestead exemption at 0%. Its rate is lower than Audubon's, but it works the same way: a full-value levy on homesteads, now with bonds behind it.
The District Is Set by the Street
Every Audubon address sits in exactly one Audubon MUD. According to the community's 2025 newsletter, the three MUD boundaries do not overlap, and each is tied to specific sub-neighborhoods:
- Audubon MUD No. 1: Heron Heights, the Audubon Park District including Audubon Park and Parkside Oaks, and all of Creekside South, which covers Audubon Edge, Shoveler's Point, Shoveler's Tarn and Shoveler's Green
- Audubon MUD No. 2: Whistling Duck Rise and Whistling Duck View
- Audubon MUD No. 3: all of Heron Run, which covers Heron Landing, Painted Branch, Heron Park North, Heron Park East, Heron Park West, Heron Point and Bunting Branch
The three MUDs share the same $1.15 headline rate in 2026, but the debt split differs. MUD 3 shows all $1.15 as M&O and no debt for 2026, while MUD 2 shows $0.55 of debt. Two homes priced the same on either side of a sub-neighborhood boundary can have the same total rate and very different debt commitments behind it.
Owners can check their district on the water bill. Audubon's resident page says bills show the MUD number for the residence, and the City of Magnolia supplies water, water pressure and sewer service to the district. The City of Magnolia's own $0.2234 rate applies only to parcels inside city limits and does not appear on Audubon's list of taxing units.
Checking a Specific Magnolia Address
These steps use public records anyone can pull before writing an offer:
- Find the property's taxing units on its appraisal record. A home in Audubon carries a MUD and the WCID. An acreage tract or older subdivision outside a district may carry neither.
- Look up each district on the county tax office's rate history page and read the M&O and debt columns as well as the adopted rate.
- Check the general homestead exemption for each unit on the 2026 rates and exemptions schedule, or in the district's own filing if it isn't listed.
- Apply each rate to the right taxable value. Use value minus $140,000 for the school line and the full appraised value for any unit with no exemption.
- For districts in newer sections, open the worksheet linked from the county page. It shows the average homestead value the district used.
All of this is general information about how Texas property taxes are set, not tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm your own bill and exemptions with the Montgomery Central Appraisal District, the tax assessor-collector, or a tax professional.
A Few Questions Buyers Usually Ask
Did the 2026 school bond raise Magnolia ISD's rate? No. Community Impact reported that the 2026-27 rate of $0.9325, with $0.6399 for M&O and $0.2926 for debt service, came in lower than the previous rate after the 2026 bond passed. The district's bond site lists the election as May 2, 2026.
Is Audubon's $3.0164 total the number to budget with? It's the community's own estimate for 2026, and the page says it is based on prior-year and third-party figures. The per-entity rates on the county's schedule, applied to the home's taxable value for each line, give the closer figure.
Does an over-65 owner see the same gap? The exemptions differ by entity. On the 2026 schedule, Magnolia ISD offers $60,000 for owners over 65 and ESD 10 offers $50,000, while Magnolia East MUD lists none. Each unit's row on the schedule shows what applies.
If you're comparing an Audubon section with acreage outside any district, or pricing a home where buyers will ask about the MUD line, Jordan Weingrad can put the district filings next to the listing so the full tax picture is part of the negotiation. Request a free home valuation to see how your property's tax profile compares with others nearby.
