MUD and PID Districts in Bastrop County, TX
You find the house. The listing shows an annual tax figure. Then the lender’s estimate comes back two or three hundred dollars a month higher than you budgeted, and nobody can immediately tell you why.
In Bastrop County the answer is very often a special district — a MUD or a PID. Both are legitimate, both are common in newer subdivisions, and neither is a reason on its own to walk away from a house. But they are a reason to run the real numbers before you write the offer, because the difference is not small.
I am a REALTOR®, not a tax advisor or an attorney. Nothing here is tax or legal advice. What follows is sourced to the Texas statutes, IRS Publication 530, the Bastrop Central Appraisal District and the City of Bastrop, so you can verify it and take the specifics to your own CPA or title attorney.
MUD versus PID: the difference that costs you money
| Category | MUD (Municipal Utility District) | PID (Public Improvement District) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A political subdivision that may levy property taxes and provide authorized facilities or services. | A defined area where a city or county levies assessments to fund approved public improvements or services. |
| What you pay | Usually an ad valorem tax rate per $100 of taxable value, plus any utility charges. | An assessment calculated under that PID’s service and assessment plan; the method is not always the same from one PID to another. |
| Does it scale with value? | Generally, because the tax is value-based. | Not necessarily. Review the parcel’s assessment roll and current annual installment. |
| Where does it show up? | Normally as a taxing-unit line on the property-tax record or bill. | Billing and collection depend on the local plan. Hunters Crossing is administered by the City of Bastrop. |
| Can it be prepaid? | Property tax itself is annual; district debt is not a homeowner payoff balance. | Texas’s required PID notice states that the assessment may be paid in full at any time. Obtain the official payoff amount and instructions from the administering city or county. |
| Does it ever end? | District taxes and rates can change; annexation does not always mean immediate dissolution. | Capital assessments commonly follow a stated schedule, but maintenance or supplemental-service assessments may be treated differently. Read the current plan. |
| Federal tax treatment? | It depends on whether the charge meets federal rules for deductible real-property taxes and on the taxpayer’s circumstances. | Local-benefit assessments are generally not deductible except qualifying maintenance, repair, or interest portions. Confirm the actual split with a tax professional. |
One legal point buyers rarely hear: a PID assessment is not a bill, it is a lien. Local Government Code §372.018 makes it “a first and prior lien against the property assessed,” superior to everything except state, county, school and municipal ad valorem tax liens; it is “a personal liability of and charge against the owners” and it “runs with the land.” It is enforceable by tax-style foreclosure. That is a materially different animal from an HOA due.
What a MUD actually adds: the arithmetic on a $350,000 home
One of the highest published 2025 MUD rates in Bastrop County was West Bastrop Village MUD at 1.000000 per $100 of valuation. Using that adopted rate as an illustration, a $350,000 taxable value produces:
$350,000 ÷ 100 × 1.000000 = $3,500 per year — about $292 a month in escrow.
Set against the ordinary 2025 adopted rates inside the City of Bastrop:
| Taxing unit | 2025 rate | On $350,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Bastrop County | 0.350500 | $1,226.75 |
| Bastrop County Road | 0.078210 | $273.74 |
| City of Bastrop | 0.504000 | $1,764.00 |
| Bastrop ISD | 1.067900 | $3,737.65 |
| Subtotal, no special district | 2.000610 | $7,002.14 |
| West Bastrop Village MUD | 1.000000 | $3,500.00 |
| Total inside the MUD | 3.000610 | $10,502.14 |
That is a 50% larger tax bill before any exemption. Apply the school homestead exemption — now $140,000, not $100,000 — and the proportional gap gets wider, not narrower, because a MUD is not required to grant a homestead exemption at all. Tax Code §11.13(n) makes that an optional local exemption a district’s board has to affirmatively adopt.
Read the fine print on that table. These are 2025 adopted rates. Texas taxing units generally adopt the following year’s rates in late September, so 2026 figures do not exist yet as of this writing. The City of Bastrop line only applies inside city limits; outside them you drop the city rate and pick up an Emergency Services District instead. Use this as a shape, not a quote — then get the real number for the actual address.
The myth: “MUD rates always go down as the bonds get paid off”
This is the most repeated claim about Texas MUDs, and Bastrop County’s own published rate history contradicts it. From the Bastrop CAD tax rate table:
| District | 2019 | 2021 | 2023 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Bastrop Village MUD | 1.000000 | 1.000000 | 1.000000 | 1.000000 |
| The Colony MUD #1A | 0.850000 | 0.850000 | 0.850000 | 0.850000 |
| Bastrop County MUD #1 | 0.877900 | 0.777000 | 0.615000 | 0.607100 |
Two of these three districts have not moved their rate by a single hundredth in seven years. Only MUD #1 declined, and that took six years to fall by about a quarter.
There are two reasons rates hold flat. First, a growing district issues new bonds as more sections are developed — retiring old debt is offset by taking on new. Second, part of the rate is maintenance and operations, which is permanent; it funds running the water and sewer system and does not go away when construction debt does.
So the honest version is: a MUD rate may decline over time, and some do. But it is not a promise, and in Bastrop County several have not moved at all. Budget for the rate you see today, and treat any reduction as a bonus.
Which special districts exist in Bastrop County
More than most buyers expect. Alongside the county, the city and the school district, the Bastrop CAD roll carries municipal utility districts including West Bastrop Village MUD, The Colony MUD #1A through #1G, Bastrop County MUD #1, #3 and #4, Altessa MUD, Elgin MUD #1 and #2, Lund Farm MUD and Wildwood MUD; a water control and improvement district, WCID #3; emergency services districts ESD #1, #2 and #3 plus Bastrop–Travis Counties ESD #1; a County Road District; the Centex Drainage District; and, for part of the county, ACC–Elgin. Hunters Crossing PID sits on the roll too, though as a PID it is not a taxing unit.
I am deliberately not reprinting the full rate table here. Rates are re-adopted every fall, several of these districts currently levy nothing at all, and a stale table on a real estate website is worse than no table. Pull the current one straight from the source: Bastrop CAD’s taxing units page.
A district shown with a $0.00 adopted tax rate is still a district, but the zero is only the published rate for that year. Do not assume a future tax without evidence, and do not assume the rate must remain zero. Also distinguish district property taxes from retail utility charges: the presence of a district name does not by itself establish that the parcel currently owes an ad valorem district tax.
Hunters Crossing: the county’s best-known PID
Hunters Crossing in Bastrop is a Public Improvement District created on September 11, 2001. Its assessments help fund public improvements and district obligations, and the City reviews the service plan and assessment roll annually.
The most reliable current source is the City of Bastrop’s Hunters Crossing PID page and the latest adopted annual service plan. The City adopted a fiscal-year 2026 update, so figures taken only from the 2019 plan or older news coverage should not be treated as current.
If you are buying in Hunters Crossing, contact City of Bastrop Finance at (512) 332-8820 and request the parcel’s current annual installment, outstanding assessment or payoff amount, billing method, and remaining schedule in writing. Also confirm the figures through title review. A county appraisal record alone may not show every PID obligation.
What the seller must give you, and exactly when
Texas gives buyers real protection here, and it is time-sensitive in a way most people do not realize.
If the property is in a MUD or similar water district
Texas Water Code §49.452 requires the statutory notice to be delivered “prior to execution of a binding contract of sale and purchase.” If a contract is signed without it, “the purchaser shall be entitled to terminate the contract.”
The form itself was overhauled in 2023. House Bills 2815 and 2816 consolidated three previous notice formats into one prescribed notice under §49.4521, which requires a caption in 24-point bold type reading “NOTICE TO PURCHASER OF SPECIAL TAXING OR ASSESSMENT DISTRICT.”
The notice requires disclosure of the current or projected tax rate, the total bonds authorized and issued by facility type, and the fact that the district may levy an unlimited rate for voter-approved bonds. Both seller and buyer sign and date it.
The current form is TREC No. 59-0, effective February 12, 2024 — though if the district publishes its own notice, that one governs. If you are handed something that looks nothing like this, it may be out of date.
If the property is in a PID
Texas Property Code §5.014 prescribes the form — captioned “NOTICE OF OBLIGATION TO PAY IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT ASSESSMENT” and stating that the assessment “MAY BE PAID IN FULL AT ANY TIME.” The termination right lives one section over, in §5.0141, added in 2021: notice must be given “before the execution of a binding contract of purchase and sale,” and if it is not, “the purchaser is entitled to terminate the contract.” A second copy with current figures is executed at closing, notarized and recorded.
Do not wait until closing to review a district notice. Texas law generally requires these notices before a binding contract, and a buyer’s termination or damages remedies can depend on the type of district, the timing of delivery, and whether the buyer proceeds to close after receiving a late notice. Have the title company or a Texas real-estate attorney evaluate any late or missing notice before you waive a right or fund the purchase.
The deductibility question, where even good sources get it wrong
A MUD levy may qualify as a deductible real-property tax when it meets federal requirements, but deductibility depends on the character of the charge and the taxpayer’s circumstances. The federal limit and income rules can also change. Confirm the current treatment with a tax professional.
A PID assessment mostly is not, and this trips up otherwise reliable sources. IRS Publication 530 is explicit: “You can’t deduct amounts you pay for local benefits that tend to increase the value of your property. Local benefits include the construction of streets, sidewalks, or water and sewer systems.” Those amounts are added to your basis instead. The Publication continues: you can deduct assessments “if they are for maintenance, repair, or interest charges” — but “if you can’t show what part of the assessment is for maintenance, repair, or interest charges, you can’t deduct any of it.”
Applied to Hunters Crossing’s 2019 figures, that suggests the $380 capital portion is not deductible and the $23.16 maintenance portion, plus any interest component, generally is. You will see Texas real estate sources — including some very reputable ones — state flatly that PID assessments are deductible in the year paid. That conflicts with IRS guidance. Take the actual split to your CPA; do not take it from a listing.
How to check a specific Bastrop County address
- Bastrop CAD property search. Search the address. The account detail lists every taxing jurisdiction attached to that parcel — which is how you find a MUD you were not told about.
- Bastrop CAD taxing units for the current adopted rate of each jurisdiction you just found.
- Bastrop County Tax Office for the actual historical bill on that parcel — far more informative than an estimate.
- Texas Comptroller’s Special Purpose District database, filtered to Bastrop County. Every district in the state is required to report here.
- The city or county that created the PID. For Hunters Crossing that is City of Bastrop Finance, (512) 332-8820. A PID is the one thing the appraisal district will not fully answer for you.
- Demand the statutory notices in writing before you sign. The TREC 59-0 / district notice for a MUD, the §5.014 notice for a PID. If a seller cannot produce one, that is information too.
A caution the appraisal district publishes itself: its search data is “for research purposes only” and should be verified before being relied on. Treat all of these as screening tools. The authoritative number comes from the district’s own notice and the city or county that levies it.
Six things other real estate pages get wrong
- “MUD rates always decline.” Two of Bastrop County’s three established MUDs have held the same rate for seven straight years.
- “PID assessments are tax-deductible.” IRS Publication 530 says local-benefit assessments for streets, sidewalks, water and sewer are not deductible — they add to basis.
- “Your right to cancel over a missing PID notice is in §5.014.” It is in §5.0141. §5.014 prescribes the form; §5.0141 supplies the timing and the remedy.
- “You only need the MUD notice at closing.” Texas law generally calls for delivery before a binding contract. If notice is late or missing, obtain legal guidance before closing because available remedies and waiver rules depend on the statute and facts.
- “A PID is basically an HOA.” An HOA due is contractual. A PID assessment is a statutory first-and-prior lien, a personal liability, enforceable by tax-style foreclosure, that runs with the land.
- “A PID shows up on your county tax bill.” In Bastrop it is billed by the City. Review only the county statement and you will miss it entirely.
Your option period checklist
- Pull the CAD account for the exact address and list every jurisdiction on it.
- Ask the listing agent directly, in writing: is this property in a MUD, a PID, or both?
- Get the actual prior-year tax bill from the county tax office rather than an estimate.
- If there is a PID, ask for the current annual installment and official payoff figure. Compare prepayment with keeping the installment schedule only after reviewing the current plan, payoff instructions, financing, and tax consequences.
- Re-run your monthly payment with the special district included before your option period ends. This is the step people skip.
- Confirm you received the statutory notice before you signed. If you did not, you have a decision to make while you still can.
The honest summary
A MUD or a PID is not a defect. It is how a lot of infrastructure in fast-growing Texas counties gets financed, and the houses are often excellent. What it is, unambiguously, is a number that belongs in your budget before you are emotionally committed to a house — and one that will not appear in most online payment calculators.
Find out early. Ask for the notice. Get the real bill. Then decide.
Related reading: property taxes and homestead exemptions · flood zones and elevation certificates · water, wells and Aqua WSC · septic systems and OSSF · wildfire risk and home insurance
Sources: Texas Local Government Code §§372.017–372.018; Texas Water Code §§49.452 and 49.4521 as amended by HB 2815 and HB 2816 (88th Legislature, 2023); Texas Property Code §§5.014 and 5.0141; TREC form 59-0 effective February 12, 2024; IRS Publication 530; Bastrop Central Appraisal District 2025 adopted tax rates; City of Bastrop Hunters Crossing PID Service and Assessment Plan (2019) and Community Impact reporting, December 2025. Rates shown are 2025 adopted rates; 2026 rates are typically adopted in late September. This page is general information from a REALTOR®, not tax or legal advice.
Written by Bre Meador, REALTOR® — All City Real Estate, Bastrop County, TX · U.S. Army veteran and former nurse · TREC #0835116
Read client reviews. Last updated August 5, 2026. This page is general information from a licensed REALTOR®, not tax, legal, engineering or insurance advice.
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