Allen homeowners will see a lower school tax rate on their 2026 bills, but most will still pay more than last year because their homes are worth more.

The Allen ISD board of trustees voted Monday, Aug. 24 to set the 2026-27 property tax rate at $1.1037 per $100 of assessed valuation, a two-cent drop from last year's $1.1258 rate. It is the district's lowest rate since 1993, according to a district presentation reported by Community Impact.

The catch: the average taxable value of a single-family home in Allen rose more than $10,000 between 2025 and 2026, reaching $457,872, according to certified totals from the Collin Central Appraisal District. At the new rate, the owner of that average-valued home could pay about $5,053 to the school district this year.

Why the rate dropped

The rate is split into two pieces: a maintenance and operations component of $0.7137 per $100, which funds daily district operations, and an interest and sinking component of $0.3900 per $100, which covers bond debt.

The operations rate is tied to a maximum compressed rate set each year by the Texas Education Agency. That figure dropped for 2026, pulling the overall rate down with it.

"That number comes to us from TEA," Kyle Penn, assistant superintendent of business and technology, said at the Monday, Aug. 24 meeting. "We do not set that rate. It's looking at the values that we receive from the appraisal district."

Budget backdrop

The tax rate vote came roughly two months after the board adopted a $226 million general fund budget on June 15. That budget projects a $5.3 million shortfall between revenues and expenses, with nearly $221 million in projected revenues falling short of expenditures. The gap is driven by declining enrollment, rising fuel and maintenance costs, and teacher raises.

The district's budget is divided into three funds: the general fund covering daily operations, a student nutrition fund for school meals, and a debt service fund for bond payments. The new tax rate generates revenue for both the general fund and debt service fund.