Farm and ranch land in Leander ISD

Key facts

• Farm and ranch land, sale value (2026): about $494 million¹
• Value it is taxed on: about $394,000¹
• Travis County part (2026): about $360 million, taxed on about $2.3 million²
• Share of all district property value, both counties: about 1.4% (our math)¹²³
• Back tax when it is built on: the tax difference for the last 3 years⁴

In short

Some land is used to farm, raise animals or care for wildlife. Texas lets it be taxed on what it can grow, not on what it would sell for.⁴ In the Williamson County part of the district, this land would sell for about $494 million. It is taxed on about $394,000.¹ When the land is built on, the owner pays some tax back.⁴

Related: property tax bill · homestead exemption effect · school taxes collected · where the money comes from

Layer 1: The 30-second version

Most property is taxed on its sale value. Farm and ranch land can be taxed on its “use value” instead. That is based on the income the land can earn from farming.⁴ The owner has to apply to the appraisal district, and the land must be really used that way.⁴ People call this the “ag exemption,” but it is a different way to set the value, not an exemption.

Layer 2: The numbers

Williamson County part of the district only (the appraisal district’s certified values):¹

Year	Farm and ranch land, sale value	Taxed on (use value)	All property, sale value
2016	$521.9 million	$0.66 million	not shown
2024	$642.9 million	$0.34 million	$38.7 billion
2025	$639.6 million	$0.36 million	$40.6 billion
2026	$493.9 million	$0.39 million	$41.5 billion

Travis County part of the district (2026): farm and ranch land with a sale value of about $359.9 million is taxed on about $2.3 million. This count includes some values still under protest in July.²

Both counties together (2026): about $854 million of sale value is taxed on about $2.7 million. That is about 1.4% of all property value in the district. (Our math.)¹²³

• In 2026 the taxed value was less than 0.1% of the sale value. (Our math.)¹³
• From 2025 to 2026 the sale value of this land fell about $146 million (our math). The source does not say why.¹³

Layer 3: How to read it (the other side)

• Supporters say it lets farms and ranches stay in business as homes go up around them.
• Critics say some land qualifies with very little farming while it waits to be built on, and other owners carry more of the tax.
• The amount is small here. Farm and ranch land is about 1.4% of the district’s value, so the effect on other owners’ school tax is small. (Our math.)¹³
• Some money comes back. When the land is developed, the owner pays the tax difference for the last 3 years.⁴

What happens when the land is built on

If the land stops being used for farming, the owner owes extra tax. It equals the difference between the tax paid and the tax on full value for each of the last three years.⁴ That money goes to each local body that taxes the land, including the school district.⁴ Interest is added only if the bill is paid late.⁴

Questions to ask

• How much back tax has the district received from land that changed use?
• How much school tax does farm land valuation shift to other owners, by the appraisal district’s count?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: Added questions to ask.
• Nov. 2, 2026: Added a note that shows how we worked out the figures. Took out a guess about why the land value fell.

What you can do or watch next

• Look up a property’s value and land type on wcad.org.
• Watch next year’s certified values to see if farm and ranch land keeps shrinking.

What we still don’t know

• How much back tax the district has received from land that changed use. The public reports we checked do not give a total.⁵
• How much school tax this shifts to other owners each year.

Numbers marked “our math” are our estimates, not official figures. The notes show the inputs and the steps.

Footnotes

1. Williamson Central Appraisal District, Certified Values 1999–2026 spreadsheet, Leander ISD row (columns AgMkt, AgUse, Market), 2016, 2024, 2025 and 2026 sheets. https://www.wcad.org/historical-data/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. Travis Central Appraisal District, 2026 Certification Totals (July 18, 2026), Leander ISD, total column (Land Ag Market Value, Ag Productivity, Total Market). https://traviscad.org/wp-content/uploads/totals_2026_AsOfRollCorr_0_RunID_6885_20260718_171007.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Our math. Williamson part 2026: sale value $493,935,466; taxed on $393,697; all property $41,453,869,584. Travis part 2026: $359,890,097; taxed on $2,332,685; all property $21,224,306,297. Sale value: $493,935,466 + $359,890,097 = $853,825,563. Taxed: $393,697 + $2,332,685 = $2,726,382. All property: $41,453,869,584 + $21,224,306,297 = $62,678,175,881. $853,825,563 ÷ $62,678,175,881 = 1.36%, about 1.4%. Williamson taxed share: $393,697 ÷ $493,935,466 = 0.08%. Drop: $639,553,388 − $493,935,466 = $145,617,922. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

4. Texas Tax Code ch. 23, subchapter D, §§23.51, 23.52, 23.54, 23.55 (open-space land, value, application, change of use). Texas Legislature, statutes.capitol.texas.gov. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

5. Williamson County FY2025 annual report (tax collections table leaves out farm-land back taxes) and Williamson Central Appraisal District Annual Report 2025 (no total given). https://emma.msrb.org/P11938140.pdf ↩