"In terms of our sales tax per capita, we're doing as well as any city in the state of Texas, that's where we focus, that's where we get our money," Grapevine City Manager Bruno Rumbelow told the city council in September, as Community Impact reported.
That explains why Grapevine's property tax rate keeps going down. At its Sept. 15 meeting, the council adopted a city rate of $0.226817 per $100 of valuation for fiscal year 2026-27. That is 4.4% below the prior year's $0.237228, and the rate has fallen every year since FY 2020-21. On the same night, Colleyville adopted a rate 13% higher than the year before.
If you're comparing homes across these suburbs, it's easy to treat the city rate as a ranking. It works better as a description of each city's tax base. A city rate goes up or down based on where the city gets the rest of its money and on what the appraisal district did to home values that year. Neither has much to do with any single house you're considering.
Where Grapevine's General Fund Gets Its Money
Grapevine's FY27 budget was proposed July 22 and adopted with the $262.4 million citywide budget on Sept. 1. It shows how little the general fund depends on homeowners.
| General Fund revenue, FY2026-27 budget | Amount | Share of total |
|---|---|---|
| Sales taxes | $45,892,000 | about 49% |
| Property taxes | $16,943,000 | about 18% |
| All general fund revenue | $93,904,382 | 100% |
Source: City of Grapevine FY27 budget.
Sales tax brings in roughly 2.7 times as much as property tax. Hotel occupancy tax sits on top of that, in separate funds. The FY27 budget projects $17,164,033 in hotel occupancy tax for the Convention and Visitors Bureau and visitor shuttle funds, up from $16,979,702 in the FY2025-26 adopted budget. The budget states the purpose of that spending directly. The CVB's goals connect promotion to more visits and overnight stays, which the city expects to raise both hotel tax and sales tax collections. Its visitor shuttle carries hotel and airport guests to Grapevine's restaurants.
So a large share of what Grapevine's city services cost is paid by people who come to visit and shop. That is why the city can set its rate at the no-new-revenue level year after year. The no-new-revenue rate is the one that collects the same property tax revenue as the previous year once value changes are accounted for. When existing home values go up, that rate goes down automatically. A homeowner at the FY 2026-27 average taxable value of $393,431 will pay $892.37 to the city, compared with $944.87 at last year's value and rate.
The council has also discussed what this approach costs the city. In the same Community Impact account, council member Duff O'Dell called the lowest rate "a badge of honor." He also noted that even a very small increase makes "a huge difference in revenue generation." Grapevine has chosen to hold its rate down and absorb the tradeoffs in its budget.
The Seesaw in Colleyville
Colleyville shows the same arithmetic in the other direction. Its council adopted a 2027 rate of 35.248 cents per $100, up from 31.19 cents. City staff estimated the owner of a home at the city average of $678,000 will pay $283 more per year in city tax.
Much of that increase comes from appraisals. In the summer, the Fort Worth Report covered the Tarrant Appraisal District's new values for Colleyville. Total appraised value fell 3.09% to $8.9 billion, and residential values fell 3.52% to $7.8 billion. The average home value dropped from $705,492 to $678,440. The same report notes that TAD now reappraises residential property every two years instead of every year, which has affected city budgets.
Colleyville finance director Cassie Smith described the mechanism to the council:
"If appraised values go down, our tax rate goes up. This is if we're maintaining the exact same revenues. If our appraised values go up, tax rate goes down. Lovely seesaw effect."
A city that relies more on property tax swings further on that seesaw. Colleyville's rate also had to cover new costs, including recreation center staff, a compensation study, a transfer to its rainy day fund and debt on equipment such as a fire ladder truck. The Fort Worth Report also said about 24% of the city's total taxable value is under a tax ceiling, which freezes bills for qualifying residents. The part of the roll still exposed to rate changes is smaller than the total suggests. Mayor Bobby Lindamood's view, as reported, was that the roughly $20 a month "is worth it" given the city's services.
Four City Rates, Side by Side
With both mechanisms in mind, the FY2026-27 city rates around Grapevine compare like this.
| City | FY2026-27 adopted city rate per $100 | Direction | What moved it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grapevine | $0.226817 | Down 4.4% | No-new-revenue policy backed by sales and hotel tax |
| Southlake | $0.290000 | Down from $0.295000 | Set below a no-new-revenue rate that rose to $0.301616 |
| Keller | $0.300417 | Up from 28.7 cents | Ninth straight year below the no-new-revenue rate, per the city |
| Colleyville | $0.352480 | Up 13% | Lower appraisals plus new costs |
Sources: Community Impact, Southlake FY2027 budget, Fort Worth Report on Keller, Fort Worth Report on Colleyville.
Southlake's own budget shows the seesaw. Its no-new-revenue rate rose from $0.274049 to $0.301616, and the council still adopted $0.290000, down from $0.295000. Keller shows how loosely "increase" and "no-new-revenue" relate. Its council approved a 1.34-cent increase, and the city still says it stayed below the no-new-revenue rate for a ninth consecutive year. The Fort Worth Report puts the average Keller homeowner's city bill at $1,381 a year, which it says is $7.34 more than under the prior rate. A rate can go up while revenue from existing homes stays flat, and a rate can go down while the bill on a home that gained value stays about the same.
The City Is the Smallest Line on the Bill
City rates get the most attention, yet they make up a small share of what a Grapevine homeowner pays. Grapevine is in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD, and the 2026 rates for the taxing units on a typical Grapevine bill stack up like this:
- Grapevine-Colleyville ISD: $0.8686, adopted Aug. 24. The total is unchanged from last year, but maintenance and operations fell from $0.7122 to $0.7054 while debt service rose from $0.1564 to $0.1632.
- City of Grapevine: $0.226817, adopted Sept. 15.
- Tarrant County: $0.1860, adopted Sept. 15, down slightly from $0.1862.
- Tarrant County Hospital District, JPS Health Network: $0.159, adopted Sept. 15.
- Tarrant County College: $0.12, approved Sept. 10.
Sources: Community Impact on GCISD, Fort Worth Report on Tarrant County, Fort Worth Report on JPS, Tarrant County College.
Together these come to about $1.56 per $100. The city's rate is roughly 14.5% of that combined rate, and GCISD's is more than half. Each taxing unit applies its own exemptions, so the share on any particular bill will differ. Still, the order holds. The difference of about 13 cents between Grapevine's and Colleyville's city rates matters, but it is a small part of a combined rate dominated by the school district. Grapevine and Colleyville homes inside GCISD share that school district rate.
What This Changes When You Compare Homes
The rate itself is public. Reading it correctly depends on knowing where it came from. A few practical points for a buyer weighing Grapevine against its neighbors:
- Look at the whole rate stack. A comparison that uses only city rates leaves out most of the bill.
- The seller's last bill is a weak forecast. Rates were reset this September across every taxing unit above, and TAD's two-year residential reappraisal cycle means a home's assessed value can lag its sale price in either direction.
- A falling rate follows rising values. Grapevine's no-new-revenue cut shows that values on existing property rose. Colleyville's increase shows that its values fell.
- City fees sit outside the rate. Grapevine's FY2026-27 budget doubled the single-family storm drain utility fee from $4 to $8 a month, the first increase since the fee began in 1997.
- New development affects the tax base. In June, Grapevine approved a Trammell Crow Company and Northland Properties project on 28.7 acres near Grapevine Mills. It includes up to 248 apartments and a 222-room Sandman Signature Hotel, and the developer's representative, Joel Behrens, estimated its tax impact for the city at $2.9 million a year. If the project is built, its hotel rooms would add to the same kind of revenue behind Grapevine's past rate cuts.
This post explains how local tax rates are set and is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Please confirm exemptions and estimated bills for a specific property with the appraisal district or a qualified tax professional.
Questions We Hear About Grapevine's Tax Rate
Does Grapevine have the lowest city rate among these four suburbs? Among Grapevine, Southlake, Keller and Colleyville for FY2026-27, yes. Grapevine's $0.226817 is the lowest of the four adopted rates listed above.
When did the new rates take effect? Grapevine's fiscal year 2026-27 began Oct. 1, 2026, and the rates above apply to the 2026 tax year.
Will Grapevine keep cutting its rate? Rumbelow described staying at the no-new-revenue rate as a long-standing policy, made possible by hotel and sales tax growth. If values on existing homes keep rising, that policy keeps producing lower rates. If sales or hotel tax growth slows, the cuts get harder to sustain.
If you're weighing Grapevine against Southlake, Colleyville or Keller and want the full tax picture for specific homes, including school district rates, appraisal timing and city fees, the owners of Selling Southlake will go through those numbers with you, property by property. Request a Concierge Consultation.