One City, Three Counties: Why Two Fair Oaks Ranch Homes Can Get Very Different Tax Bills
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
Picture two Fair Oaks Ranch homes, each appraised at $700,000. Both pay the same city tax rate and the same Boerne ISD rate, and both get fire and EMS through the same city contract. Put one on the Bexar County side of the county line and the other on the Kendall County side. Use the 2026 adopted rates and the most recent published exemptions. If the owners live in their homes, the Bexar-side owner pays about $1,870 more a year. If neither owner lives there, the difference is closer to $2,700.
Both numbers come from the same two houses. The county line sets the rate, and whether the house is a homestead decides how much of that rate the owner actually pays. For a buyer comparing listings across Fair Oaks Ranch, this tax line can change from one street to the next, and the online estimate often misses it.
Fair Oaks Ranch covers parts of Bexar, Kendall and Comal counties. The city's own property tax handout says properties in both Bexar and Kendall counties are in Boerne ISD. Comal County properties generally get Comal ISD bills, though some are in Boerne ISD instead. So for a large share of the city, the school tax, which is the biggest line on any Texas bill, is the same on both sides of the Bexar–Kendall line. The difference is in the county-level layers.
A San Antonio Express-News property tax explainer notes that every Bexar County homeowner, wherever they live in the county, pays the Alamo College District, the San Antonio River Authority and University Health on top of the county tax itself. In Fair Oaks Ranch, that is the gap. Here are the 2026 rates that make up each side of the city:
Kendall County's rate alone is higher than Bexar County's. That's the reason a quick look at county rates suggests the Kendall side costs more. Add up the full bill and the result reverses. Boerne ISD's adopted 2026 rate is $1.0065 and the City of Fair Oaks Ranch's is $0.311760. With those added, the Bexar-side total comes to about $2.08 per $100 and the Kendall-side total to about $1.70.
A tax rate applies to taxable value, and the Bexar-side units are more generous with homestead exemptions than Kendall County. The latest Bexar Appraisal District chart, dated December 2025 and covering the 2025 tax year, shows these exemptions:
Kendall Appraisal District's 2026 table shows no general homestead exemption for Kendall County. It only lists $10,000 for homeowners who are over 65 or disabled. Boerne ISD's $140,000 general homestead exemption applies on both sides, and so does the city's $5,000.
Run the $700,000 example both ways and the effect is clear:
| Taxing unit | Bexar side, homestead | Bexar side, not a homestead | Kendall side, homestead | Kendall side, not a homestead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| County, incl. road and flood | $1,680 | $2,100 | $2,611 | $2,611 |
| University Health | $1,547 | $1,934 | none | none |
| Alamo Colleges | $1,155 | $1,167 | none | none |
| San Antonio River Authority | $130 | $135 | none | none |
| Cow Creek GCD | none | none | $35 | $35 |
| Boerne ISD | $5,636 | $7,046 | $5,636 | $7,046 |
| City of Fair Oaks Ranch | $2,167 | $2,182 | $2,167 | $2,182 |
| Approximate total | $12,315 | $14,563 | $10,449 | $11,874 |
The table is an illustration, not a bill. It uses 2026 adopted rates with the most recent published exemption schedules. Most of those schedules cover the 2025 tax year, and exemptions can change. It assumes an owner under 65 and leaves out any parcel-specific district. Still, it shows the pattern. For an owner-occupant, the Bexar-side premium is about $1,866 a year. Without a homestead, the premium is about $2,689. That makes the county-line premium roughly $820 a year larger for a home the owner doesn't live in.
The homestead column covers a family that lives in the house and has the exemption on file. The other column covers everyone else: an investor buying a rental, a buyer keeping a second home in the Hill Country, or someone who will hold a property empty for a while. For these buyers, the Bexar side's lower county rate never makes up for its extra layers, and the gap is at its widest.
Over-65 exemptions change the math again. On the Bexar side, the 2025 chart lists a $30,000 over-65 exemption from University Health and $50,000 from both Alamo Colleges and the city. Bexar County lists $5,000. Kendall County lists $10,000, and Boerne ISD lists $60,000 for over-65 homeowners. Kendall's appraisal district also notes that Boerne ISD offers a tax freeze for qualified homesteads. A buyer 65 or older should run their own numbers rather than use the table above.
The one line every Fair Oaks Ranch parcel shares also went up. The City Council adopted a 2026 rate of $0.311760 per $100. That's $0.274473 for maintenance and operations and $0.037287 for debt service, up from $0.285300 in 2025. The first reading passed 7–0 on September 17, and the ordinance records final adoption on September 22, 2026. City staff estimated an increase of about $209 a year for a home with the average taxable value. At the September 17 budget hearing, two residents asked the council to cut or defer nonessential spending and raised concerns about debt and the tax burden.
The city's agenda item says the rate funds city services, infrastructure and debt obligations. One cost in the city budget explains why Fair Oaks Ranch bills don't have an emergency services district line. The city doesn't run its own fire department and is outside the tax zone of Bexar County ESD No. 4. Instead, the city pays the district under a contract. Community Impact reported that the September 2025 renewal starts at about $1.1 million, rises in steps over four years and then ties payments to the district's tax rate. The city expects to pay $24.7 million over 10 years. At the time, City Manager Scott Huizenga said:
"While we acknowledge that we are not paying the same rate that ESD residents are, the city cannot triple its expenditures effectively in one year."
The contract goes through the city budget. Residents on either side of the county line pay for fire and EMS through the same city rate, and that cost is set to grow on a schedule already in place.
Before an offer, buyers can turn the example above into a real figure with a few steps:
Comal County adopted $0.305015 for 2026, the same as 2025. Comal ISD adopted $1.0748. Add the city rate and the total is about $1.69 per $100, almost the same as the Kendall side. Comal Appraisal District's 2025 schedule lists a county homestead exemption of 20% or $5,000, whichever is greater. For Comal ISD it lists $140,000 plus 20%, so the homestead math there works differently from either the Bexar or Kendall side.
The Trinity Glen Rose Groundwater Conservation District, which covers the Trinity Aquifer section of northern Bexar County, reports a 2026 adopted tax rate of $0.0000 and is funded by fees.
The rates above are the published 2026 adopted rates. Most of the adoption dates fall in September 2026, though Kendall's rate sheet and the River Authority's finance page give the rate and tax year without an adoption date. University Health's unchanged rate comes from a meeting summary of the September 15 action. Most exemption figures come from schedules published for the 2025 tax year. Your appraisal district account is the final word for any address, and this article isn't tax advice.
On any Fair Oaks Ranch listing, check both the county and the homestead status before you compare tax bills, because together they can move the number by thousands of dollars. At Frontline Properties, we look up the tax entities on the account before we price a listing or write an offer, so buyers and sellers start with the real figure. If you own here and want to know how your side of the county line affects your home's value, Get a Free Home Valuation.
Monique is here to guide you every step of the way. With care, clarity, and a focus on results, she’ll help make your next move easy and successful. Reach out today and let’s get started!
Frontline Properties
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