Change the taxes. See what happens.

Move a tax up or down — Smith County’s or Tyler’s property tax rate, or a sales tax — and see what it does to a household’s bill, to each budget, and to what that money could pay for or would have to give up. Every rate and tax base comes from a cited document. Updated 2026-09-26.

Turn the dials — up or down

Property tax

Smith County tax rate — now 37.4088¢ per $100
City of Tyler tax rate — now 24.2063¢ per $100
Tyler ISD tax rate — now 83.5¢ per $100
Tyler Junior College tax rate — now 21.0312¢ per $100

Sales tax

Smith County sales tax — now 0.5%
City of Tyler sales tax — now 1.5%

Your household

Home value ($)
Taxable purchases a year ($)
It’s my homestead (takes off the $140,000 school exemption) Reset

The household example is a home inside Tyler city limits, Tyler ISD, and the Tyler Junior College district, so it pays all four property taxes and both sales taxes. All four 2026 rates are from the county tax office’s Truth-in-Taxation database.

Your household — a $240,428 home, $20,000 of taxable purchases a year

Property tax a year	$2,826	→ $2,826
Local sales tax a year	$400	→ $400
Change		no change

Texas taxes property on its full appraised value, in cents per $100. The default home is Tyler’s median-valued homestead for 2026 ($240,428, from the city’s taxpayer impact statement). The homestead box takes off the state’s $140,000 school exemption (Tax Code §11.13(b)); county, city, and college homestead exemptions aren’t confirmed yet and aren’t subtracted, and over-65 exemptions and tax ceilings aren’t modeled. Taxable purchases are your own guess; most groceries aren’t taxed in Texas.

What one step is worth — before you change anything

Smith County tax rate — now 37.4088¢ per $100

+0.5¢ raises about $1.5 million a year. That’s 1.2% of the county’s General Fund.

Each 1¢ per $100 raises about $2,932,847 a year — the county’s own budget math (General Fund taxes $77,754,758 on 26.5117¢). The 37.4088¢ is 31.7617¢ for operations and 5.6471¢ for debt. Smith County FY2026-27 Budget (posted as “FY 2027 Proposed Budget”), pp. 18, 27, 30

City of Tyler tax rate — now 24.2063¢ per $100

+0.5¢ raises about $698,742 a year. That’s 0.7% of Tyler’s General Fund.

Each 1¢ per $100 raises about $1,397,484 a year: the city’s General Fund expects $33,827,912 in property tax at 24.2063¢. City of Tyler FY2026-27 Budget, p. 5 of 70

Tyler ISD tax rate — now 83.5¢ per $100

+0.5¢ raises about $656,860 a year.

Each 1¢ per $100 raises about $1,313,720 a year on the district’s $13,137,201,946 of 2026 taxable value (Form 50-859, line 21). The board cut the rate from 84.5¢ to 83.5¢ for 2026. Tyler ISD — 2026 Tax Rate Calculation Worksheet (Form 50-859), Form 50-859, lines 21 and 35–37

Tyler Junior College tax rate — now 21.0312¢ per $100

+0.5¢ raises about $1.0 million a year.

Each 1¢ per $100 raises about $2,069,423 a year on the college district’s $20,694,229,152 of 2026 taxable value (Form 50-856, line 22). The rate rose from 18.5068¢ in 2025 to 21.0312¢ — its voter-approval rate, the most it could set without an election. Tyler Junior College — 2026 Tax Rate Calculation Worksheet (Form 50-856), Form 50-856, line 22

Smith County sales tax — now 0.5%

+0.125% raises about $7.5 million a year. That’s 6.2% of the county’s General Fund.

Each 1% would raise about $60 million a year: the county’s half-cent brings its General Fund about $30,000,000 (FY27). By state rule this half-cent exists to lower property taxes — the county’s rate worksheet counts it as replacing about 11.8¢ per $100. Smith County FY2026-27 Budget (posted as “FY 2027 Proposed Budget”), revenue detail p. 30; rate worksheet line 41

City of Tyler sales tax — now 1.5%

+0.125% raises about $5.6 million a year. That’s 5.4% of Tyler’s General Fund.

Tyler’s 1.5% is 1% for the General Fund plus the voter-approved half-cent run by a separate corporation. Each 1% raises roughly $45 million: the General Fund expects $45,175,855 in sales and use taxes in FY27. City of Tyler FY2026-27 Budget, p. 5 of 70

Where the law draws the lines

Smith County's FY27 rate is 37.4088¢ per $100. Its no-new-revenue rate — the rate that would raise the same money as last year from the same property — is 35.764¢, and its voter-approval rate is 39.2898¢. Above the voter-approval rate, voters decide in most cases. Smith County FY2026-27 Budget (posted as “FY 2027 Proposed Budget”), p. 18
2026 adopted rates for a home in Tyler, per $100: Smith County 37.4088¢, City of Tyler 24.2063¢, Tyler ISD 83.5¢, Tyler Junior College 21.0312¢ — $1.661463 in all. Tyler and TJC adopted exactly their voter-approval rates; Tyler ISD cut its rate a penny. Smith County Truth-in-Taxation database, 2026
Every Texas homestead gets a $140,000 exemption from school district taxes, and $60,000 more if the owner is 65 or older or disabled. Texas Tax Code §11.13(b)–(c)
The voter-approval rate lets operating taxes grow at most 3.5% a year on the same property, plus what debt payments require. Texas Tax Code §26.04
Texas caps combined local sales tax at 2% at any location (state 6.25% + local 2% = 8.25%). Tyler is at the cap, so neither the county nor the city can raise sales tax there. Texas Tax Code §323.101
Smith County's half-cent is the kind voters adopt "to reduce the county property tax rate" — the county's rate worksheet counts it as replacing about 11.8¢ per $100. Texas Tax Code §323.404
Counties may grant a homestead exemption of up to 20% of value, and may freeze county taxes for over-65 and disabled homeowners (Tax Code §§11.13(n), 11.261). Smith County's current exemption amounts aren't confirmed here yet. Texas Tax Code §11.13

What this doesn’t show — the honest limits

Tax bases are held at this year’s values. Appraisals rise and fall, and Texas truth-in-taxation math resets the no-new-revenue and voter-approval rates every year.
A sales-tax change can change where people shop. This page assumes the same spending.
Smith County’s rate applies across the whole county, not just Tyler; Tyler’s rate applies only inside the city.
Only the $140,000 school homestead exemption is modeled. Over-65 and disability exemptions, local optional exemptions, and tax ceilings are not.
Tyler ISD’s taxable value already excludes homesteads frozen under the over-65 ceiling, so its per-cent figure is on the low side.
Paying bonds off early is only possible when the bonds allow it (their call dates).
Saving-up times ignore interest earned and rising construction costs.

See also: What if we saved instead of borrowing? · The money trail. This page computes and cites; it doesn’t recommend raising or cutting anything. Spot an error? Report it.