Waxahachie PID Assessments on New Construction: Understand Your Costs

The 2026 Public Improvement District installment bills for parts of Waxahachie were scheduled to go out from the Ellis County Tax Office on or around October 1, 2026, according to MuniCap, and payment is due by January 31, 2027. For a household that bought a 60-foot lot in Phase 2 of Waxahachie PID No. 1, the estimated bill is $471. A schedule published by the district administrator projects that the same lot's bill will rise for most of the next two decades.

None of that appears in a list price. In Waxahachie's newer neighborhoods, two homes priced the same can carry different yearly costs because they sit in different districts. Those districts also use different formulas, and the formula that will apply at Minto's Kemp Ranch works differently from the PIDs already in place.

What every Waxahachie home pays before any district

Start with the base rate that applies across the city. For the 2026 tax year, Waxahachie ISD adopted a total rate of $1.1545 per $100 of value. On September 8, 2026, Ellis County adopted $0.2735 per $100. The City of Waxahachie proposed $0.61 per $100, the same rate it adopted the year before. The vote on that rate was scheduled for September 8.

Added together, the three come to roughly $2.04 per $100 before exemptions. Every home in the city starts from that number. A PID or a management district adds a second line to the bill on top of it.

A PID charges by the lot

Waxahachie's PIDs are administered by the City of Waxahachie, with MuniCap, Inc. acting as the district administrator. The annual installment arrives on its own bill from the Ellis County Tax Office and is collected on the same schedule as property taxes. According to MuniCap, the amount depends on the lot type and phase, not on what the house is worth. Saddlebrook Estates, for example, sits inside Waxahachie PID No. 1.

These are the estimated 2026 installments from MuniCap's published lot-type schedules:

Every schedule is labeled an estimate. The exact installment is set each year when City Council approves the district's Annual Service Plan Update. Council approved North Grove's 2026-27 update on September 8, 2026. Waxahachie PID No. 1 is still growing. A plan update dated July 20, 2026 adds Phase 5, which projects 252 dwelling units and $1,621,000 in PID-financed improvements.

Because the charge follows the lot and not the price, a PID weighs more heavily on a modest house than on a larger one in the same lot class. A $616 installment means one thing on a starter home and much less on a home priced well above it.

Some PID bills hold flat and some climb

The schedules don't all move the same way over time. North Grove's Improvement Area #3 schedule for a 70-foot lot stays almost level, at about $616 a year from 2026 through 2050. The Phase 2 schedule for a 60-foot lot in Waxahachie PID No. 1 starts at $471 in 2026, jumps to $569 in 2027, and keeps rising to $774 in 2044 before a smaller final payment in 2045. That is about 64 percent higher than the first bill.

Two parts of the schedule explain the climb. Principal payments grow each year, and the "annual collection costs" line roughly doubles between 2026 and 2027, from $69 to $135. Those collection costs are themselves estimates that get updated every year.

Over the life of that schedule, the Phase 2 lot pays $12,775 in total against an outstanding assessment of $5,418. North Grove's IA #3 schedule totals $16,523. The required notice says the assessment may be paid in full at any time. Until it is, it is a lien that ranks ahead of everything except property tax liens, and not paying can lead to foreclosure.

Kemp Ranch will charge by the dollar

Minto's Kemp Ranch uses a different structure. City Council approved the 3,169.6-acre planned development at 300 Brookside Road by a 3-2 vote on January 28, 2026. It allows up to 13,270 dwellings and at least 400 acres of open space. About 4,000 units are planned as age-restricted 55+ housing, and buildout is expected to take roughly 16 years.

On June 1, 2026, council unanimously dissolved the Emory Lakes PID, which had been created in 2021 on part of the property. Waxahachie Municipal Management District No. 1 takes its place. As the Waxahachie Sun explained, a PID levies an assessment that the city administers, while an MMD levies property taxes as an independent body with its own board.

A tax works differently from a lot-based installment. The January minutes record a proposed MMD tax cap of $0.72 per $100 of value, and a staff estimate of "about $1.33" as the combined rate for homes in the project. The minutes don't break that figure down. It does equal the city's $0.61 rate plus the $0.72 cap. School district and county rates are levied separately, so a buyer should not read $1.33 as the full tax bill.

At the cap, the MMD charge alone on a home with a $435,000 taxable value would be $3,132 a year, or $261 a month. That figure is an illustration at the proposed maximum, not an adopted rate. The district's September 24, 2026 meeting agenda covered Phase 1 engineering and a development report and listed no tax-rate, levy, or bond item, so ask the district directly for its current rate before you rely on any number. During the approval debate, Council Member Wright acknowledged the project would come with "MMD and HOA fees" and argued they would pay for the amenities.

Infrastructure timing is also built into the agreement. The four-lane Brookside Road bridge over Waxahachie Creek is due no later than 120 days after the project's 1,500th building permit. Minto said in February 2026 that site development was expected to begin in late 2026. The state's TDLR registry lists a $12 million Kemp Ranch Welcome Center with an estimated start date of December 15, 2026.

The builder's rate follows the same pattern

Builder financing promotions have the same gap between the advertised number and the long-term cost. Trophy Signature Homes' fall sales event, which lists eligible homes in Dove Hollow, advertises rates "starting at 3.25%." That rate is a 2/1 buydown. In Trophy's September 24, 2026 example, the rate is 3.25% in year one, 4.25% in year two, and 5.25% for years three through thirty, with a stated APR of 6.080%. To qualify, contracts must be signed by October 15, 2026 and closed by October 30, 2026 using the builder's preferred financing and title providers.

So a buyer comparing a new Waxahachie home to a resale home has two numbers that change after closing: a mortgage rate that steps up, and a district charge that may hold flat, climb, or follow value.

Why county medians leave this out

MetroTex's August 2026 report for Ellis County shows a median sale price of $435,000, up 8% from a year earlier, with 1,366 active listings. Homes averaged 77 days on market, and inventory stood at 4.5 months, down from 4.9 in August 2025. These are county figures and include no district charges. They also miss part of the new-home market, because the underlying MLS data leaves out builder sales made outside the MLS. A buyer comparing a resale home on an older street to a new build in a PID phase is comparing two different yearly costs, even when the list prices match.

What to get in writing before you sign

Texas law sets the order of these steps. Under Property Code §5.014, as summarized by Texas A&M's Texas Real Estate Research Center, the seller must deliver the PID notice before a binding contract, and the buyer acknowledges receiving it. The rule covers new construction too. A buyer who doesn't get timely notice may be able to terminate before closing or pursue remedies after closing. Districts governed by Water Code Chapter 49 have their own required notice, signed by both seller and buyer.

For any lot you are seriously considering, ask for:

1. The district name, phase, and lot type, which together determine the installment.
2. The full projected installment schedule, not just this year's bill, so you can see whether it holds flat or climbs.
3. The payoff amount, if paying the assessment in full is an option you want to price out.
4. For anything inside Waxahachie MMD No. 1, the district's own written notice and its adopted tax rate once one exists.
5. The buydown terms in writing, with the payment for year three onward.

Your lender and a tax professional can turn these documents into exact figures for your situation and help you assess how those costs fit your budget.

Quick answers

Does every new Waxahachie subdivision have a PID? Not every Waxahachie neighborhood falls inside one. Waxahachie PID No. 1, which includes Saddlebrook Estates, and North Grove PID are two active districts. Check each subdivision individually.

Is the PID installment included in my property tax bill? It comes from the Ellis County Tax Office on the same schedule, but it is an assessment on its own bill, not part of the tax rate.

Will Kemp Ranch homes be in a PID? No. The Emory Lakes PID was dissolved in June 2026, and the community will use Waxahachie MMD No. 1, which levies property taxes based on value.

Before you sign for a new home in Waxahachie, get the district schedule, the notice, and the buydown terms together, so you can see the payment for year one and year ten side by side. Quentin Crayton can help you collect those documents and compare the real yearly cost before you commit. Let's Connect.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.