How much does the City of Bee Cave collect from a homeowner each year? For the average homestead in fiscal year 2026-27, the answer is about $153.61. That figure comes from Community Impact's report on the city budget. The council kept the rate at $0.0200 per $100 of valuation, and the city has held that rate for more than 15 years.
Buyers comparing Spanish Oaks with Rough Hollow, Barton Creek or Westlake often see that rate and file Bee Cave under "low tax." The rate stays that low because the city leans on shoppers. Two kinds of special district have paid for the roads and infrastructure around the gated community. And the Spanish Oaks name now belongs to a second place across Highway 71 that is financed in its own way and built on its own schedule.
A City Paid For at the Register
Bee Cave's adopted budget expects roughly $11.1 million in sales tax and $320,879 in property tax. Community Impact reports that sales tax makes up almost 78% of city revenue. The city's own audit for the year ended September 30, 2025 says sales taxes, franchise taxes and license and permit fees pay for most basic government activities, including police, culture and recreation.
That puts the city's finances in the hands of the retail centers along SH 71 and Bee Cave Parkway. Trader Joe's opened at 12812 Shops Parkway in the Shops at the Galleria on Oct. 29, 2025, in a space that used to be an Office Depot. A Cava and a Chipotle on East Ladera Boulevard got permit extensions this month. Site work was expected to start in October 2026, and the developers expect to open in May or June 2027.
The model has a soft spot. The new budget's sales tax line is $600,000 higher than last year's budgeted amount. Meanwhile, the Texas Comptroller's city sales tax allocation data shows Bee Cave received $12,823,289.96 through the October 2026 payment, about 1.6% less than the $13,027,739.42 it received over the same stretch of 2025. The September 2026 payment alone came in 29.62% below September 2025. The Comptroller dates these figures by the month the city received the money, which is not necessarily the month the sales took place. One bad month doesn't make a trend. Still, this is the revenue line a homeowner's low city rate depends on.
The Road District Called "Galleria"
The retail district also carries a property tax of its own. On August 19, 2008, the Travis County Commissioners Court took up bonds for Travis County Bee Cave Road District No. 1. The county's transcript of that session labels it "(GALLERIA)." The county's financial advisor said the district was created in 2006, and the court approved $14,725,000 in unlimited-tax road bonds. The proceeds were used partly to reimburse developer Opus West for project costs under a road district operations agreement. The advisor said he had insisted the bonds not be issued until "there's enough value on the ground to produce a tax rate less than 50 cents per hundred."
Eighteen years later, the district still levies a tax, and all of it goes to debt service. Its 2026 rate is $0.204195 per $100, down from $0.289176 in 2025. The drop does not mean the bonds were paid off. The 2026 rate worksheet shows $943,085 in debt service due this year, slightly more than in 2025. The rate fell because $160,561 in excess collections from the prior year was subtracted, a 100% collection rate was assumed, and the levy was spread across $383,223,182 in taxable value.
So the roads around 71, 620 and Bee Cave Road were paid for largely by the commercial district's own tax. A Spanish Oaks buyer should know that before reading any single rate as "the Bee Cave rate."
The Village Funds Itself, Too
The Village at Spanish Oaks is a planned development district of nearly 81 acres on the south side of Highway 71, near RR 620. The plan calls for residential, retail, office, hotel and senior living uses. The developer's materials also describe restaurants, trails, Class A offices and an Inn & Spa, without naming tenants.
The Village's infrastructure is set up to be paid for inside its own boundary. In July 2021, Community Impact reported that developer CCNG Real Estate Investors II, LP was asking for a public improvement district to fund up to $25 million in improvements. Under that structure, the City of Bee Cave issues the bonds, and assessments on property inside the district repay them until the bonds are retired. According to the council minutes, the City Council created the Spanish Oaks PID with Resolution No. 2021-07 on July 13, 2021, by a 6-0 vote. The Travis Central Appraisal District now lists "SPANISH OAKS PID" as a taxing entity in its 2025-2026 reappraisal plan.
Here is how the Village has moved since 2020.
- September 2020: Community Impact reported that construction on the 80-acre project would begin that fall.
- July 2021: A city rendering showed the Village fully built in seven to 10 years.
- April 2022: Preliminary site work was underway, including regional water-quality ponds, floodplain walls and wastewater lines.
- February 2026: Bee Cave approved the planned development district. The ordinance requires a city-approved replat and site plan before anything can be built.
- May 2026: Community Impact described the project as early-stage, with plans for 310 apartments and up to 225 senior living units.
- June 23, 2026: Council approved a pre-design package for Parcel E, the northeast parcel, which includes a five-story multifamily building.
- July 2026: An Austin Business Journal headline reported that Milhaus would build 289 apartments at the Village. That is a different count from the one cited in May.
The Parcel E design shows how much depends on demand. The plans include a parking structure that could be partly visible from Highway 71. City staff said they were "concerned" the exposed garage levels could stay "unscreened indefinitely" if the parcel next door is never developed. That neighboring parcel, Parcel D, is planned for offices. Developer Jack Creveling told Community Impact there are no plans for it yet because it "is driven by market demand." He added that he has "confidence in the market."
Roads on Paper, Not Yet on the Ground
Bee Cave knows Highway 71 can't carry all of this traffic. In March 2026, the council approved a revised Thoroughfare Plan. It realigns roads at the Village, adds neighborhood collectors between Bee Cave Parkway and the Skaggs Drive extension, and sets a Southwest Collector route as an alternative to SH 71. Community Impact reports the plans remain subject to change and further council action. Back in April 2025, city staff were already asking to keep state funding for the SH 71 segment from RM 620 to Vail Divide Drive, after TxDOT proposed moving the larger widening project to an unfunded list.
What Actually Shows Up on a Spanish Oaks Tax Bill
The 2026 rates below come from Travis County's published tax rate table, and the county's emergency services district list identifies ESD 6 as Lake Travis Fire and Rescue. Each one applies only to parcels inside that entity's boundary.
| Taxing entity, 2026 | Rate per $100 | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Travis ISD | $1.032900 | Lake Travis ISD territory |
| Travis County | $0.386210 | Countywide |
| Travis Central Health | $0.132863 | Countywide |
| Travis County ESD No. 6 | $0.093639 | Lake Travis Fire and Rescue's district |
| Travis County Bee Cave Road District No. 1 | $0.204195 | The Galleria-area road district |
| Austin Community College | $0.103643 | ACC taxing district only |
| City of Bee Cave | $0.0200 | Inside city limits only |
The largest line is the school district. The smallest is the city. Two rows depend on where a parcel sits. Austin Community College's list of in-district school districts leaves out Lake Travis ISD, which ACC lists only in its wider service area. The city line depends on jurisdiction. Travis County agendas labeled Spanish Oaks Section 7 and Section III B as being in the "Village of Bee Caves ETJ" in March 2006, and Spanish Oaks Section XI as being in the "City of Bee Cave ETJ" in June 2013. Those labels are snapshots from the dates of those plats.
The place to start is the specific parcel, which can be looked up by owner, address or account number in the Travis Central Appraisal District property search. We look up that record and check it against the current tax bill before writing an offer, so the buyer budgets for the entities that apply to that lot. This post is general information, not tax or legal advice. Confirm your own parcel and obligations with a qualified tax professional or attorney.
Questions We Hear About the Village
Do gated Spanish Oaks homeowners pay the Village's PID assessments? Under the structure Community Impact described in 2021, assessments fall on property inside the PID. Reporting places that PID on the Village at Spanish Oaks development south of Highway 71. For any particular lot, check its appraisal record and tax bill.
When will something open at the Village? The earlier start targets from 2020 and 2022 have passed, and no current start date for the Parcel E building has been announced. The Parcel E multifamily building has an approved pre-design, and the replat and site plan still require city approval before construction.
Is joining the club part of the Spanish Oaks cost? Spanish Oaks Golf Club says membership is by invitation and contingent upon application and approval. The club directs anyone interested in joining to its membership office.
If you're weighing Spanish Oaks, Dicker Morin Group can walk through the tax record for a specific parcel with you and show you what's planned across Highway 71 before you make an offer. Book a Consultation.
