Cameron County Property Tax & Sales Tax
Cameron County's own adopted property tax rate is $0.4244 per $100 of value (about 0.42%) for the 2025 tax year - that is the Cameron County government's portion only (M&O $0.387046 plus I&S $0.037347). Your actual bill adds several overlapping units: on a typical City of Brownsville / Brownsville ISD parcel it stacks the school district, the city, South Texas ISD, and Texas Southmost College, for a nominal combined rate of about $2.02 per $100. The typical TOTAL effective rate is about 1.50% of market value - a Census ACS estimate (median tax $2,042 / median home value $136,500, ACS 2024 5-year). Your exact rate depends on which city, school district, and special districts cover your parcel. Texas has no annual car tax, and the combined sales tax in Brownsville is 8.25%.
Data current as of July 2026. County, city, school, and special-district rates from the Cameron Appraisal District 2025 Adopted Tax Rates schedule (tax year 2025); typical effective rate from Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates. See official sources.
Pay or look up your bill: use the official Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector at cameroncountytx.gov/tac to search and pay property tax bills and handle vehicle registration. For appraised values, exemptions, and protests, use the Cameron Appraisal District at cameroncad.org.
Key Takeaways
- Two numbers, not one: Cameron County's own rate is $0.4244 per $100 (0.42%); the typical total effective rate across all taxing units is about 1.50% of market value (a Census ACS estimate).
- Cameron County parcels stack five taxing units in Brownsville: Brownsville ISD, the City of Brownsville, Cameron County, South Texas ISD, and Texas Southmost College - more units than most Texas counties in our coverage.
- The school district is the single largest slice of the bill. On a Brownsville / Brownsville ISD parcel, Brownsville ISD ($0.8315 per $100) is about twice the entire county levy.
- The nominal combined rate is about $2.02 per $100 (~2.02%) on a City of Brownsville / Brownsville ISD parcel; the effective rate people actually pay county-wide is about 1.50%.
- Cameron County has one of the lowest median home values of any large Texas county ($136,500), so the median annual property tax bill of about $2,042 is low in dollar terms even though the stacked rate is not.
- The homestead exemption removes $140,000 of school-district taxable value (+$60,000 more if the owner is 65+) - which, at Cameron County's median value, eliminates the school-district portion entirely for many homesteads.
- Texas has no annual car/vehicle property tax. Instead there is a one-time 6.25% motor-vehicle sales tax at purchase plus a flat annual registration fee.
- Combined sales tax tops out at 8.25% (6.25% state + 2.0% City of Brownsville). Cameron County levies no county sales tax. Groceries are exempt.
- Property tax is due January 31 and becomes delinquent February 1.
Cameron County Tax Rates - At a Glance
| Tax Type | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Property Tax (combined) | ~2.02% of value | No single county rate - the sum of county, city, school, South Texas ISD, and Texas Southmost College on a Brownsville / Brownsville ISD parcel. Representative nominal stack; typical effective rate runs about 1.50%. |
| Annual Vehicle (Car) Tax | None | Texas levies no annual value-based vehicle property tax |
| Sales Tax | 8.25% | 6.25% state + 2.0% City of Brownsville; Cameron County levies no county sales tax; qualifying groceries exempt |
| Homestead Exemption | $140,000 school + 10% cap | Over-65 adds $60,000 school exemption plus a school-tax ceiling |
| Due Date | January 31 | Delinquent February 1; protest deadline May 15 |
Cameron County Property Tax
Cameron County property tax comes in two numbers that are easy to confuse. The county's own adopted rate is $0.4244 per $100 of value for the 2025 tax year (M&O $0.387046 plus I&S $0.037347) - and it is only the Cameron County government's portion. Your actual bill is the sum of every overlapping taxing unit that covers your parcel: your school district, your city, the county, South Texas ISD, and Texas Southmost College. Combined, the typical total effective rate in Cameron County is about 1.50% of market value - an estimate from Census ACS 2024 5-year data (median real estate taxes paid $2,042 divided by median home value $136,500). Because the mix of taxing units differs from parcel to parcel, there is no single "Cameron County rate" for a full bill; the figure below is a worked example.
How a typical Brownsville bill is built (taxing-unit stack)
| Taxing unit | Rate /$100 | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Brownsville ISD | $0.831460 | School |
| City of Brownsville | $0.603504 | City |
| Cameron County | $0.424393 | County |
| Texas Southmost College | $0.111809 | Junior college |
| South Texas ISD | $0.049200 | Special school district |
| Nominal total | ~$2.0204 | ~2.02% |
Rates from the Cameron Appraisal District 2025 Adopted Tax Rates schedule (Cameron County $0.424393 = M&O $0.387046 + I&S $0.037347; City of Brownsville $0.603504 = M&O $0.355526 + I&S $0.247978; Brownsville ISD $0.831460 = M&O $0.786900 + I&S $0.044560; Texas Southmost College $0.111809; South Texas ISD $0.049200). This example is for a City of Brownsville / Brownsville ISD parcel; your total depends on your city, school district, and special districts. Many Brownsville-area parcels also sit in a drainage district (Drainage District #1 is $0.026983) or the Brownsville Navigation District ($0.025589), which are not included in the stack above. Other parts of the county sit in Harlingen CISD, San Benito CISD, Los Fresnos CISD, Point Isabel ISD, or La Feria ISD with a different city.
Two things stand out. First, the school district ($0.8315) is the single largest slice - on its own it is about twice the entire Cameron County levy ($0.4244). Second, Cameron County stacks more units than most Texas counties we cover: in addition to the county, city, and ISD, Brownsville parcels also pay Texas Southmost College and South Texas ISD, a regional magnet-school district that levies across the Rio Grande Valley. That is part of why the nominal stacked rate of about $2.0204 per $100 (~2.02%) sits mid-pack for Texas even though the county's own rate is modest.
Where your property-tax dollar goes
On a typical City of Brownsville / Brownsville ISD parcel, Brownsville ISD is about 41% of the nominal bill ($0.8315 / $2.0204 nominal total), the City of Brownsville about 30%, Cameron County about 21%, and Texas Southmost College plus South Texas ISD about 8% between them. The city's share is unusually large here - the City of Brownsville's $0.603504 rate is among the higher city rates in our Texas coverage. Percentages are rounded and use the nominal posted rates before any exemption - after the $140,000 homestead exemption the school slice shrinks sharply, and at Cameron County's median home value it disappears entirely.
Your total varies by school district, city, and special district. The example above is one common combination. Other Cameron County parcels sit in a different school district (Harlingen CISD, San Benito CISD, Los Fresnos CISD, Point Isabel ISD, La Feria ISD, Rio Hondo ISD, Santa Rosa ISD), a different city (Harlingen, San Benito, Los Fresnos, Port Isabel, South Padre Island, La Feria, Rancho Viejo), or in unincorporated areas with no city tax at all. Several drainage districts, the Brownsville Navigation District, the Port of Harlingen, the Laguna Madre Water District, and a few municipal utility districts also levy on specific parcels. Look up your parcel's exact rates and any proposed changes on the official Truth-in-Taxation site: texas.gov/propertytaxes.
Homestead exemption, the 10% cap, and key dates
If you own and occupy your home as your principal residence on January 1, you can claim a residence homestead exemption. For a Brownsville ISD parcel, that exemption removes $140,000 from the value the school district taxes for the 2025 tax year. If the owner is 65 or older, an additional $60,000 ISD exemption applies, plus a school-tax ceiling (freeze) that caps the school portion of the bill going forward. The school-district exemption lowers the school-district taxable value only - Cameron County, your city, Texas Southmost College, and any drainage or navigation district still tax your value. Check your parcel's full exemption list with the Cameron Appraisal District.
This exemption matters more in Cameron County than almost anywhere else in Texas. With a median home value of about $136,500, a typical Cameron County homestead is worth less than the $140,000 school-district exemption - so for many owner-occupied homes here the Brownsville ISD portion of the bill is reduced to zero, and what remains is the city, county, college, and special-district portions. That is the main reason the county's effective rate (about 1.50%) sits well below its nominal stacked rate (about 2.02%).
Separately, the 10% homestead appraisal cap limits how much your homestead's appraised (taxed) value can rise to 10% per year, not counting new improvements. The cap applies to the appraised value used for your bill, not the market value the appraisal district sets, and it starts the year after you first qualify for the homestead exemption.
How to protest your appraisal
You can pursue an informal review with a Cameron Appraisal District appraiser, a formal Appraisal Review Board (ARB) hearing, or the district's online protest process. The protest deadline is May 15. File and track everything at cameroncad.org. Some private firms offer to handle protests for a percentage of any tax savings; such firms exist and charge a contingency fee, but we do not cite any savings figure or success rate as fact - results vary by parcel and year.
Estimate your Cameron County property tax
Uses a typical City of Brownsville / Brownsville ISD taxing-unit stack (county + city + school + college + South Texas ISD). The homestead exemption is applied to the school-district units only, the way the real bill works. Local-option and drainage-district amounts are not modeled, so this can over- or understate the bill.
| Market value | |
| Est. taxable value (school district, after exemption) | |
| Estimated annual property tax | |
| Monthly equivalent | |
| Effective rate |
Estimate only, using a typical City of Brownsville / Brownsville ISD taxing-unit stack and applying the homestead exemption to the school-district units only. Drainage, navigation, and municipal utility districts are not modeled. Your exact bill depends on which city, school district, and special districts cover your parcel. Look up your parcel on the Cameron Appraisal District (cameroncad.org) and Truth-in-Taxation (texas.gov/propertytaxes) sites.
Sources: the Cameron Appraisal District (2025 Adopted Tax Rates schedule for county, city, school, college, and special-district rates; appraisal and exemptions), the Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector (billing, payment, and due dates), and Census ACS 2024 5-year estimates (typical effective rate).
Vehicle Taxes in Texas
Unlike many states, Texas does not levy an annual value-based property tax on cars or other vehicles. There is no yearly "car tax" bill in Cameron County. Instead, vehicle taxes in Texas work two ways:
- One-time motor-vehicle sales/use tax of 6.25% at purchase. For a private-party sale, the tax is charged on the greater of the actual sales price or 80% of the vehicle's Standard Presumptive Value (SPV). A vehicle received as a gift is taxed at a flat $10 instead.
- A flat annual registration fee (plus any local add-ons), which is a fixed fee, not a tax on the vehicle's value. In Cameron County you register and title through the Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector.
So if you searched for a Texas car or vehicle sales tax, the answer is the one-time 6.25% charged when the vehicle is titled - there is no recurring vehicle property tax to budget for each year.
Cameron County Sales Tax
The combined sales tax rate in Brownsville is 8.25%. It is built from the state rate plus a local component - and unlike many Texas counties, Cameron County levies no county sales tax at all. In Brownsville the entire 2% local ceiling is taken by the city.
| Component | Rate |
|---|---|
| Texas state rate | 6.25% |
| City of Brownsville | 2.00% |
| Cameron County | 0.00% |
| Combined rate | 8.25% |
Texas law caps the total local portion at 2.0%. This is a shared ceiling, not additive past 2%: once the city, county, and any special-purpose district rates add up to 2%, no further local rate can stack on top. That is why 8.25% is the maximum combined sales tax anywhere in Texas, including Cameron County. In Brownsville the local 2% is entirely the city rate; the mix differs by city. Qualifying groceries are exempt from sales tax.
Real Example: a $136,500 Brownsville Home
Here is how the numbers flow on a representative $136,500 City of Brownsville / Brownsville ISD home (the county median value) with a homestead exemption (owner under 65), applying the school-district homestead to the school units and no other local-option exemptions or special districts:
- Market value: $136,500.
- Homestead exemption: the $140,000 school-district homestead exemption is larger than the home's value, so the Brownsville ISD and South Texas ISD taxable value falls to $0. The county, city, and Texas Southmost College tax the full $136,500 in this simplified example.
- Stacked total: school $0; city $136,500 × 0.603504% = ~$824; county $136,500 × 0.424393% = ~$579; Texas Southmost College $136,500 × 0.111809% = ~$153.
- Estimated annual bill: about $1,556 per year.
- Monthly equivalent: about $130 per month.
- Effective rate: about 1.14% of market value in this simplified example. The county-wide ACS median effective rate is higher at about 1.50%, because that figure includes non-homestead parcels (rentals and second homes get no exemption), higher-value homes where the school exemption does not wipe out the school bill, and drainage-district levies this example excludes.
Limitations:
- Your total varies by school district, city, and any special district covering your parcel; parcels in Harlingen, San Benito, Los Fresnos, Port Isabel, or South Padre Island are not modeled here and can be materially different.
- Drainage districts, the Brownsville Navigation District, and municipal utility districts add to real bills on many Cameron County parcels and are not included above.
- Local-option exemptions (plus over-65, disability, and disabled-veteran exemptions) vary by unit and can lower the bill further; this simplified example applies only the school-district homestead.
- New-construction homes are often taxed on land only in the first year, then jump once the structure is on the roll.
- This is an estimate, not a parcel-exact bill. The typical effective rate is a Census ACS estimate, not a guaranteed rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did my Cameron County property tax jump the second year after I bought?
In your first year you often inherit the prior owner's capped and exempted value, so the bill looks low. In year two the appraised value resets toward your purchase price, and your own homestead exemption and 10% appraisal cap only start once you qualify (you must own and occupy the home on January 1). An escrow shortage from your mortgage servicer frequently lands at the same time, which makes the jump feel larger. The effect is especially sharp in Cameron County because home values here are low relative to the $140,000 school-district homestead exemption: a modest change in appraised value can move a parcel from paying almost no school tax to paying a real school bill.
How does the homestead exemption work in Cameron County and when does it start?
To qualify for a residence homestead exemption you must own and occupy the home as your principal residence on January 1 of the tax year. For a Brownsville ISD parcel, the school district homestead exemption removes $140,000 from the value taxed by the school district for the 2025 tax year, plus $60,000 more if the owner is 65 or older. Because Cameron County's median home value is about $136,500, that exemption eliminates the school-district portion entirely for many homesteads here. The exemption reduces school-district taxable value only; Cameron County, your city, Texas Southmost College, and any drainage or navigation district still tax your value. File your exemption with the Cameron Appraisal District.
What is the 10% appraisal cap?
The 10% homestead appraisal cap limits how much the appraised (taxed) value of a qualified homestead can rise year over year to 10%, not counting the value of new improvements. It caps the appraised value used for your bill, not the market value the appraisal district sets, so your market value can still be listed higher. The cap starts the year after you qualify for the homestead exemption, which is one reason a newly purchased Cameron County home can see a larger increase in the second year.
How do I protest my Cameron County appraisal and when is the deadline?
File a protest with the Cameron Appraisal District by May 15, or 30 days after your appraisal notice is mailed, whichever is later. You can pursue an informal review with an appraiser, a formal Appraisal Review Board (ARB) hearing, or the appraisal district's online protest process. File and track your protest at cameroncad.org.
Why are Cameron County property taxes high?
Texas has no state income tax, so local property tax carries more of the cost of public services than it does in income-tax states. On a City of Brownsville / Brownsville ISD parcel the bill stacks five taxing units - Brownsville ISD, the City of Brownsville, Cameron County, South Texas ISD, and Texas Southmost College - for a nominal combined rate of about 2.02% per $100. That said, Cameron County's typical effective rate is about 1.50% and its median home value is one of the lowest of any large Texas county, so the median annual bill here (about $2,042) is well below most large Texas metros in dollar terms.
Does Cameron County have a county sales tax?
No. Cameron County is not among the Texas counties that levy a county sales and use tax. In Brownsville the 8.25% combined rate is the 6.25% Texas state rate plus a 2.0% City of Brownsville rate, which uses the entire local ceiling on its own. Texas caps the total local portion at 2.0% as a shared ceiling, so 8.25% is the maximum combined rate anywhere in Texas. The local split differs by city and by parcel. Qualifying groceries are exempt from sales tax.
Next Steps
- Protest your appraisal if your value looks too high - file with the Cameron Appraisal District by May 15 at cameroncad.org.
- Look up your exact parcel rates on the official Truth-in-Taxation site at texas.gov/propertytaxes.
- Pay your bill through the Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector at cameroncountytx.gov/tac.
- Compare with other Texas counties - see all counties on the Texas property tax comparison.
Texas Property Tax Tools
Property Tax Cap Calculator
Will your taxes go up? Project next year's taxable value under the 10% homestead appraisal cap.
LiveProperty Tax Protest Calculator
Should you protest? Estimate the annual savings, plus the May 15 protest and April 30 exemption deadlines.
LiveOver-65 Property Tax Calculator
Over-65 exemption and school-tax ceiling (freeze) estimate.
LiveCounty Tax Comparison
Compare this county's tax to other Texas metros on the same home value.
LiveOfficial Sources
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Cameron Appraisal District - 2025 Adopted Tax Rates
Official source for every adopted 2025 rate used on this page: Cameron County $0.424393, City of Brownsville $0.603504, Brownsville ISD $0.831460, Texas Southmost College $0.111809, and South Texas ISD $0.049200, each with its M&O and I&S split.
cameroncad.org (2025 Adopted Tax Rates, PDF) - last verified July 2026 -
Cameron Appraisal District
Official appraisal district: appraised values, homestead/over-65/disability exemptions, the 10% appraisal cap, and the protest deadline (May 15), with an online protest portal.
cameroncad.org - last verified July 2026 -
Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector
Official county tax office: property tax billing, payment and lookup, due dates, and vehicle registration and titling.
cameroncountytx.gov/tac - last verified July 2026 -
Texas Truth-in-Taxation
Official statewide site to look up the exact rates and proposed changes for the taxing units that cover your parcel.
texas.gov/propertytaxes - last verified July 2026 -
Texas Comptroller - Sales and Use Tax
Official source for the 6.25% state rate, the 2.0% local cap, the 2.0% City of Brownsville rate, the fact that Cameron County levies no county sales tax, and the grocery exemption.
comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/sales - last verified July 2026 -
U.S. Census Bureau - American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-year
Source for the typical total effective property tax rate estimate (median real estate taxes paid $2,042 / median home value $136,500). This effective rate is an estimate, not an official adopted rate.
data.census.gov - last verified July 2026
Data current as of July 2026. All adopted 2025 rates on this page come from the Cameron Appraisal District 2025 Adopted Tax Rates schedule. Cameron County local-option homestead exemption amounts, the exact county due-date and penalty schedule, and which drainage or navigation districts cover a given parcel are being confirmed against official records and are not stated as fact here. The typical effective rate is a Census ACS estimate. Rates and dates change. Verify current figures with the Cameron Appraisal District before making financial decisions based on this page.
Nearby Texas Counties
Cameron County is the southernmost county in Texas, at the tip of the Rio Grande Valley (Brownsville, Harlingen, San Benito, Los Fresnos, Port Isabel, South Padre Island). Compare it with neighboring Texas counties we cover:
- Hidalgo County (McAllen)
- Bexar County (San Antonio)
- Harris County (Houston)
- El Paso County (El Paso)
For statewide context, see Texas Property Tax & Sales Tax by County.
Texas Property Tax Map
The Texas counties with published tax rates are shaded by their combined property tax rate. This county is highlighted - select any other to compare.
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Written by Munib Ur Rehman, founder of CountyTaxTools and author of the site's tax-data verification methodology.