Why would two homes in the same Richmond subdivision, listed within a few thousand dollars of each other, arrive with tax bills that differ by more than a thousand dollars a year? The house doesn't explain it. The lot size doesn't explain it. The builder doesn't explain it. The answer sits in a line item most buyers don't look at until the mortgage company sends the escrow analysis: which Municipal Utility District the address falls inside.
Richmond is not one tax rate. It's a patchwork of dozens of them, layered under a single zip code, and the gap between the lowest and the highest is wide enough to change what a buyer can actually afford.
One Subdivision, Three Different Numbers
Harvest Green, the 1,700-acre Johnson Development community built around a working farm, is the clearest example because the community publishes its own numbers. For 2026, the combined tax rate depends on which internal MUD section a lot sits in. Homes in MUD 134E carry a combined rate of roughly 2.72%. A few streets over, in MUD 134F, that combined rate climbs to roughly 2.93%. Same HOA. Same amenities. Same builders on the active roster, which currently includes David Weekley Homes, Perry Homes, Highland Homes, D.R. Horton, and several others. Different tax district, different bill.
Run that gap on a $600,000 home and the difference is about $1,260 a year, arriving as a permanent line on every future statement, not a one-time closing cost. Harvest Green's own tax page puts the estimated annual bill on a $600,000 home in MUD 134E at roughly $16,300 before any exemptions. Move that same house eighty feet into 134F and the number goes up from there.
Why the Rate Has Nothing to Do With the House
A MUD doesn't tax based on how nice a home is. It taxes to repay the bonds the district issued to build the water lines, sewer systems, and drainage that let the subdivision exist in the first place. A newer section, still carrying most of its original construction debt, sets a higher rate. An older section, further along in paying that debt down, sets a lower one. Over years, as the bonds retire, the rate drifts down, which is why a home built in an early phase of a community can end up taxed at a different rate than one built in a later phase of the same neighborhood, even though nothing about the two houses is different.
That mechanism is what explains the second gap, the one that shows up when you compare Harvest Green to a more established community a few miles away.
The Citywide Version of the Same Gap
Long Meadow Farms, a 1,400-acre community zoned to Lamar Consolidated ISD and sitting near the Grand Parkway and Westpark Tollway, carries a combined tax rate of roughly 2.02%. That figure breaks down to Lamar CISD at 1.1469%, Fort Bend County's general fund at 0.4120%, county drainage at 0.0100%, and MUD 149 at 0.4500%.
Set that next to Harvest Green's high end of roughly 2.93% and the spread is close to a full percentage point.
| Community | School District | Approx. Combined Rate (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Long Meadow Farms | Lamar CISD | ~2.02% |
| Harvest Green (MUD 134E) | Fort Bend ISD | ~2.72% |
| Harvest Green (MUD 134F) | Fort Bend ISD | ~2.93% |
On a $500,000 home, the difference between the low end and the high end of that range works out to roughly $4,550 a year. That's not a rounding error in a rate expressed to two decimal places. It's closer to a car payment, recurring every single year, and it has nothing to do with square footage or finish level. It has to do with which district's bonds a buyer is helping to retire.
New Supply Is Adding a New Version of This Question
Richmond isn't standing still while buyers work through this math. Toll Brothers and Tri Pointe Homes broke ground in early 2025 on Evergrove, a 1,655-home community on 911 acres off FM 723 and Old Pecan Road, with presales that opened in June 2026 and first move-ins projected for early 2027. Johnson Development, the company behind Harvest Green, is also building The George, a roughly 1,500-acre, 4,500-home community near Benton Road and FM 2977, with six builders lined up across a range of lot widths.
Both are brand new districts, and brand new districts almost always start closer to the top of the rate range, not the bottom, because none of the original infrastructure debt has been paid down yet. A buyer weighing an established section of Long Meadow Farms against a first-phase lot in Evergrove or The George isn't just comparing home prices. They're comparing a mature MUD against one that hasn't started retiring its bonds, and the difference will show up in the tax line long before it shows up in the resale value.
Harvest Green Closing Costs to Check
Harvest Green also has community-specific closing costs to account for. It is worth checking the community's specific requirements when a title company pulls them a few weeks before closing.
What This Means If You're Comparing Richmond Right Now
Fort Bend County's housing supply has been loosening through 2026. Active listings across the county rose from roughly 5,292 in April to about 5,981 by June, giving buyers more room to shop and compare than the market offered a few years ago. That extra room is exactly what makes checking the MUD rate worth the ten minutes it takes. When inventory is tight, buyers take what's available and sort out the tax bill later. When there's more to choose from, there's no reason to skip the step that tells you whether two similarly priced homes are actually similarly priced once the county mails the bill.
The rate itself is public. The Fort Bend Central Appraisal District lists every parcel's taxing entities, including its specific MUD, by address. Before an offer goes in, that's the number worth pulling, not the one on the flyer.
A Few Questions Worth Asking Before You Write an Offer
Is the MUD rate the same thing as HOA dues? No. HOA dues fund community amenities and are set by the homeowners association. The MUD rate is a property tax that funds water, sewer, and drainage infrastructure, set annually by the district's board, and it shows up as a separate line on the county tax bill alongside school district and county taxes.
Can I look up the rate before I tour a home? Yes. The Fort Bend Central Appraisal District's property search shows every taxing entity tied to a specific address, MUD included, so the rate is available before an offer, not something you find out after closing.
Two homes in Richmond can look identical on paper and cost meaningfully different amounts to own. The only way to know which one you're looking at is to ask the question the listing price doesn't answer.
If you're comparing communities in Richmond and want someone to walk through the specific tax rate, builder lineup, and phase timing on a property before you write an offer, Turner Mangum can help you Request a Call and get straight answers before you're under contract.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
