Local government & your money
Friendswood’s Proposed Tax Increase: What Homeowners Would Pay—and What It Would Fund
A higher city tax rate does not automatically mean every homeowner receives a higher bill. Here is what the proposal would change, what the budget would support, and which numbers matter for your household.
At an unchanged city taxable value of $400,000, Friendswood’s proposed rate would add approximately $182 a year to the city portion of the property-tax bill. But the city’s own median-home illustration shows a lower bill because it assumes a lower taxable value. Understanding that distinction is essential.
Friendswood is proposing a 2026 property-tax rate of $0.559723 per $100 of taxable value, compared with $0.514172 in 2025. That is an increase of about 4.56 cents per $100—or 8.86% in the city rate. Those figures appear in the city’s August 3 taxpayer-impact statement and published tax information.
The percentage describes the rate, not a guaranteed increase in every household’s bill. Your result also depends on the property’s taxable value, applicable exemptions and any tax ceiling. It is also a change to the city’s share, not to every taxing entity on your statement.
- 2025 city rate
- $0.514172 Per $100 of city taxable value
- Proposed 2026 city rate
- $0.559723 Per $100 of city taxable value
- Rate increase
- 8.86% Not the increase in your entire tax bill
What “tax increase” means here
The city’s certified calculation worksheet sets the 2026 no-new-revenue rate at $0.514843 per $100. Broadly, that benchmark is designed to produce the same property-tax revenue from properties taxed in both years, after the required adjustments.
The proposed rate is approximately 8.72% above that benchmark. That comparison is different from the 8.86% increase over last year’s adopted rate. Neither percentage, on its own, tells an individual homeowner what the final bill will be.
What the rate change would cost at the same taxable value
Holding taxable value constant isolates the effect of the rate itself. The following calculations use the published 2025 and proposed 2026 city rates.
| Unchanged city taxable value |
At the 2025 rate |
At the proposed 2026 rate |
Annual increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| $300,000 | $1,542.52 | $1,679.17 | $136.65 |
| $400,000 | $2,056.69 | $2,238.89 | $182.20 |
| $500,000 | $2,570.86 | $2,798.62 | $227.76 |
| $750,000 | $3,856.29 | $4,197.92 | $341.63 |
Talk of Friendswood calculations: city taxable value ÷ 100 × tax rate. Taxable values are after applicable exemptions; examples assume no tax ceiling. Amounts and differences are calculated before rounding to the nearest cent. On smaller screens, scroll the table sideways.
For the $400,000 example, the rate-only increase is approximately $15.18 per month when the annual amount is divided by 12. That is a budgeting comparison, not a prediction of a mortgage escrow adjustment.
Why the city’s own example shows a lower bill
The taxpayer-impact statement attached to the August 3 agenda uses a median-valued homestead amount, after the 20% homestead exemption, that falls from $384,073 to $320,823.
Using those different values, the statement displays an estimated city tax bill of approximately $1,796 under the proposed rate, compared with approximately $1,975 in the preceding year. It also shows approximately $1,652 at the no-new-revenue rate for the newer median value.
Both comparisons can be true. The proposed rate charges more than last year’s rate on the same taxable value. The city’s median-home example can nevertheless show a lower bill when the value used in that example drops sufficiently.
The statement is an illustration using the city’s selected median values—not a forecast that every homeowner’s taxable value or bill will fall. Your own property record is the relevant starting point.
Use your city taxable value—not the listing price
The city’s tax information page lists a 20% regular homestead exemption, with a $5,000 minimum. It also lists an additional exemption and a tax-levy freeze for qualifying homeowners who are 65 or older or disabled.
In a simplified example, a $500,000 appraised homestead with only the city’s 20% exemption would have a $400,000 city taxable value. That is why “a $500,000 home” and “$500,000 in city taxable value” are not interchangeable descriptions.
School, county and other applicable taxes are separate. Friendswood spans Harris and Galveston counties; although the city rate is the same on both sides, the other taxing entities can differ. The estimates above do not project changes in those other taxes.
What the proposed budget would support
The August 3 meeting minutes document an approximately $129.4 million all-funds budget proposal, including roughly $53.2 million for capital improvements and $23.8 million for public safety.
That total is not funded entirely by property taxes. The presentation identifies approximately $32.5 million in property-tax revenue, about one-quarter of proposed all-funds revenue, alongside utility revenue, other taxes, grants and other sources.
The presentation identifies debt obligations, personnel costs, deferred maintenance, severe-weather expenses and emergency vehicles as budget drivers. Its General Fund detail includes a $600,000 fire/EMS equipment-replacement transfer, $500,000 for deferred maintenance, $500,000 for severe-weather expenditures and a $312,067 fire-department contract increase. A 2.75% merit-pay proposal carries a $310,126 General Fund cost.
These are items in the August proposal—not a claim that every dollar comes from the rate increase or that every item survived subsequent deliberations unchanged.
The decision is about priorities as well as percentages
In its August 4 coverage, Community Impact reported that Councilmember Michael Ross expressed concern that an increase exceeding four cents could establish a pattern of repeated rate increases. The same account described City Manager Morad Kabiri’s concerns about financing services in a slow-growth community.
For residents weighing the proposal, the useful questions are specific: How much additional revenue supports existing debt obligations? How much covers recurring operating expenses? Which maintenance projects would proceed, and which would be delayed under a lower rate?
A large budget total does not answer those questions by itself. The clearest explanation would connect the additional revenue to identifiable expenses, alternatives and consequences for services.
The public hearing and the final rate
The city’s published hearing notice schedules the tax-rate hearing for September 14, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. at Friendswood City Hall, 910 S. Friendswood Drive.
This article explains the published proposal; it does not report a final tax-rate adoption. Readers checking after the hearing should consult the city’s official meeting records and tax information page for the adopted rate and any changes.