If both cities that govern The Hollows on Lake Travis raised their property tax rates this fall, why did a Lago Vista council member tell the public that the average tax paid on existing homes should go down?
This year the rate tells you little about the bill. It shows that taxable values across the north shore fell between 2025 and 2026, and that each city reset its rate to make up for the drop. For someone deciding between a resale home and a new build in The Hollows, or between the Jonestown side and the Lago Vista side, the useful number is the change in the dollar amount on the bill.
One community, two city lines
The Hollows does not sit inside a single municipality. The community's own FAQ gives two total tax rates for 2026, "Jonestown Tax Rate: 2.11" and "Lago Vista Tax Rate: 2.13," and names two water and wastewater providers: the City of Lago Vista and Jonestown Water Supply Corp. Every home is zoned to Lago Vista ISD, and the FAQ lists Travis County ESD1 Fire Station 103 as the fire response station.
Those two totals come from the developer and are only estimates. The city-level numbers below come from the governments that set them, and they follow the same pattern on both sides.
What each city adopted, and what it had to work with
| City of Jonestown | City of Lago Vista | |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 adopted rate, per $100 | $0.398100 | $0.420000 |
| 2026 adopted rate, per $100 | $0.419100 | $0.451988 |
| 2026 no-new-revenue rate | $0.419112 | $0.451988 |
| 2026 voter-approval rate | $0.483488 | $0.554462 |
| Direction of taxable value, 2025 to 2026 | Down | Down |
The Jonestown figures and Lago Vista's 2025 rate come from the Travis County adopted tax rate table. Lago Vista's 2026 rate was adopted on September 17, 2026, as Ordinance 26-09-17-02, by a 4–3 roll-call vote, with $0.265525 for maintenance and operations and $0.186463 for debt service.
The no-new-revenue rate is the key row. Texas requires taxing units to calculate it each year. It is the rate that would raise the same total revenue from properties taxed in both years. When values rise, that rate falls below last year's rate. When values fall, it rises above it. Both cities adopted almost exactly that number this year. Jonestown's adopted rate sits $0.000012 below its no-new-revenue rate, and Lago Vista adopted its no-new-revenue rate to the sixth decimal.
The values fell on both sides. Jonestown's 2026 Truth-in-Taxation worksheet shows a current-year total taxable value of $1,086,163,934, counting values still under protest. The prior-year figure on the same worksheet was $1,105,456,730, a decline of about 1.75 percent. At Lago Vista's September 17 budget hearing, city staff presented a chart of taxable value since 2021 and told council that property values "have dropped from 25 to 26," so the rate "is going to need to raise a little bit to keep us level."
How Lago Vista ended up exactly at that line
Lago Vista's rate was capped at the no-new-revenue figure before the budget debate started. Here is how it unfolded, based on the city's recorded council meetings:
- August 24, 2026. With the notice deadline the next day, the city attorney advised that the city "can't go above" the no-new-revenue rate because required voting and notice steps had not been completed. Council unanimously set $0.451988 as the maximum proposed rate and scheduled the public hearing for September 17.
- September 17, 2026. Staff presented an all-funds budget with $30.73 million in revenue. Council adopted the budget and the $0.451988 rate, each by a 4–3 vote.
- September 25, 2026. At a special meeting, motions to change the adopted rate to $0.42 and then to $0.446795 both failed, so the September 17 rate stands.
As a result, Lago Vista's 2026 rate is set by a formula rather than by a decision to grow the budget. The formula is designed to hold existing-property revenue steady when values move. The city's own numbers show it didn't quite do that.
Where the extra revenue comes from
Moving to the no-new-revenue rate raised Lago Vista's total property tax revenue by $143,182.44, or 1.36 percent over the prior year's budget. Staff said $222,186.10 came from new property added to the most recent tax roll, and added that "had we not had all of the new property come in, we would actually be receiving less property taxes."
Subtract the new-construction revenue from the total increase, and existing property yields less than it did last year. During the vote, council put that gap at about $74,000. A council member said in the September 17 meeting that across existing properties "on average it should go down. Some will go up, some will go down."
For a buyer in The Hollows, the bill depends on whether a given home's value kept pace with the market:
- A home whose taxable value held flat pays more city tax. On the Lago Vista side, a home at $800,000 would see its city line go from $3,360 at $0.42 to about $3,616 at $0.451988.
- A home whose taxable value fell more than the city average pays less. Lago Vista's rate rose about 7.6 percent, so a Lago Vista-side home whose taxable value dropped by more than roughly 7 percent ends up with a smaller city line. Jonestown's rate rose about 5.3 percent, so the break-even there is a drop of roughly 5 percent.
- A newly completed home goes onto the roll as new property at the higher rate, with no earlier-year value to lower its share. In Lago Vista, new construction accounts for the full revenue increase this year.
These figures are arithmetic on the city portion only. Each owner's actual taxable value depends on their own appraisal, exemptions and any protest.
The rest of the stack, and what isn't settled
The city line is one of several. The Travis County table gives these 2026 adopted rates per $100 for the other taxing units that commonly overlap the north shore:
- Travis County: $0.386210, up from $0.375845 in 2025
- Lago Vista ISD: $1.016900, unchanged from 2025
- Travis County ESD No. 1: $0.100000, unchanged from 2025
- Travis Central Health: $0.132863
- Austin Community College: $0.103643
The school and fire rates didn't change, and the county's rose by about a penny, so most of the year-over-year change in a Hollows bill shows up on the city line. The table covers every unit whose territory falls even partly inside Travis County. It doesn't show which units apply to a specific address. Public records also don't say which sections of The Hollows fall within Jonestown and which within Lago Vista. A specific home's taxing units, and the city it pays, are listed on its Travis Central Appraisal District record. That record, rather than any community-wide total, is the right starting point for comparing two homes.
The second bill that follows the city line
The two-city split also shows up in the water bill. Jonestown Water Supply Corp.'s rate notice dated April 3, 2025 sets a standard-meter base charge of $40 that includes 1,000 gallons, then $6 per 1,000 gallons from 1,001 to 15,000, $8 per 1,000 from 15,001 to 30,000, and $13 per 1,000 above 30,000. A 1-inch meter carries a $100 base charge that includes 2,500 gallons. Above that allowance it uses the same $6, $8 and $13 per 1,000-gallon rates, but the gallon ranges for each tier are set differently.
On the Lago Vista side, the city runs water and wastewater as an enterprise fund, and that fund supports more than the pipes. The FY 2026–27 budget presented on September 17 includes a $1.6 million transfer from the utility fund into the general fund. That fund pays for administration, police, streets, parks, aquatics and the library. The same presentation listed wastewater treatment plant repairs among the fully funded items.
POA dues apply across both sides. The Hollows FAQ lists them at $205 per month, managed by CCMC.
A short FAQ
Did Jonestown or Lago Vista raise taxes on existing homeowners in 2026? Both adopted higher rates. Lago Vista set its rate exactly at the no-new-revenue rate. Jonestown set its rate $0.000012 per $100 below it. That rate is which is designed to hold revenue from existing property flat when values fall. In Lago Vista, council discussion put revenue from existing property down about $74,000.
Why does new construction carry the increase? New homes are added to the roll at the new, higher rate. In Lago Vista, new property brought in $222,186.10, more than the city's entire $143,182.44 revenue increase.
Are the developer's 2.11 and 2.13 totals the actual 2026 rates? They are the developer's community-wide estimates. Totals for a specific home depend on the taxing units listed on its appraisal district record.
Could Lago Vista's rate still change this year? Two motions to lower it failed on September 25, 2026, so the September 17 ordinance stands.
This post is general information about publicly adopted rates and is not tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm the taxes and fees on any specific property with the appraisal district, a tax professional or your lender.
If you are weighing a resale home on one side of the city line against a new build on the other, Thomas Luxury Group can pull the appraisal district records for both and compare the 2026 bills line by line. Request a private consultation.
