Pomona's Tax Rates Went Down This Fall. So Why Is the Average Bill in One Half of the Community Going Up?

Pomona's combined 2026 property tax rate is lower than last year's. Brazoria County, Alvin ISD and Brazoria Drainage District No. 4 each cut their rates. Alvin College held its rate. Brazoria County MUD No. 39 kept its rate flat, and Brazoria County MUD No. 40 has proposed a cut. Even so, MUD 40's own public hearing notice says the tax on its average residence homestead will go up $495.32 this year, an increase of 7.82%.

For a buyer looking at Pomona in fall 2026, the rate gets most of the attention, but it explains the bill least. Pomona is roughly 1,000 acres split between two utility districts. Those districts are on different tax paths this year, and the difference comes from appraisals as much as from rates. Builders are also posting closeout discounts as the community wraps up, so the gap between what you pay at closing and what you pay every year after is wider than usual.

Nearly every rate went down, and one bill went up anyway

Here is the overlapping rate stack for Pomona, which sits in Manvel's extraterritorial jurisdiction and pays no city tax. Rates are per $100 of value.

Add it up and the all-in 2026 rate is about 2.973 per $100 in MUD 39 and about 3.063 in MUD 40, assuming MUD 40 adopts its proposed 1.28. The Pomona HOA's published rate card is labeled "2026" but uses last year's figures, 2.99381 and 3.10381. A buyer working from that card will slightly overestimate the 2026 rate.

The cuts came from different places. The Facts reported that commissioners adopted the no-new-revenue rate for the second year running. Community Impact reported that Alvin ISD trustees approved $1.1249 at their Sept. 1 workshop, about 2% below the prior year. ESD No. 3 went the other way, rising by less than a cent. The overall direction is still clearly down. The bill depends on more than the rate, though.

The two MUD notices, side by side

The notices for Pomona's two districts compare last year's tax on the average residence homestead in each district with this year's proposed tax, and tell different stories.

MUD 39 held its rate, and its average appraised homestead rose about 1.4%. MUD 40 cut its rate by two cents, but its average appraised homestead rose about 9.5%, from $487,581 to $533,888. A 1.54% rate cut can't offset a 9.5% increase in value, so the average bill in MUD 40 goes up by nearly five times as many dollars as in MUD 39.

The 7.82% figure also sits just below a legal threshold. The MUD 39 notice explains that if a district's combined rate would raise taxes on the average residence homestead by more than 8%, qualified voters can petition for an election to reduce the operations and maintenance portion of the rate. MUD 40's proposal comes in under that line. Its board will hold the hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. at the offices of Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP on Southwest Freeway in Houston.

Why MUD 40's average home moved so much

The notices give the change but not the reason. One explanation fits what is being built. An "average residence homestead" is a moving target in a district that is still adding homes. When newer, larger homes are finished and homesteaded, they enter the average, so the average can climb even if existing homes barely change in value. Coventry Homes' 60-foot product, priced well above Pomona's entry tier, is still actively selling. Section 28 improvements were identified as serving MUD 40 in an October 2024 Manvel council agenda. That is an inference. The notices don't break down where the increase came from.

The rate history explains why MUD 40's rate is higher in the first place. Its rate was $1.50 from 2019 through 2021, then dropped to $1.40 in 2023 and $1.35 in 2024. In 2024, $0.55 of that rate went to road debt service and $0.54 to maintenance and operations. MUD 39's adopted 2026 rate splits into $0.275 operations, $0.665 debt service and $0.250 road tax. In late 2025, MUD 40 issued $18.1 million in Unlimited Tax Bonds, Series 2025, dated Dec. 1, 2025.

On a home valued at $500,000, the roughly 0.09-per-$100 gap between the two districts' 2026 all-in rates comes to about $450 a year before exemptions. That is real money, but over the first few years of ownership it matters less than how quickly the appraisal on a new home catches up.

Which side of the line is a given lot on?

Pomona doesn't publish a clean section-by-section split. What the public record shows:

1. Sections 1 through 8, the original 598 lots developed by mid-2018, are in MUD 39.
2. Section 28 improvements were identified as serving MUD 40 in a Manvel City Council agenda dated Oct. 21, 2024.
3. Section 29 improvements were identified as serving MUD 39 in a council agenda dated Jan. 21, 2025.
4. Everything else needs a parcel-level check. Brazoria Central Appraisal District publishes a map for each district, but notes that the boundaries are approximate and not suitable for legal or surveying purposes.

Ask for the MUD name on the specific lot or inventory home, then confirm it against the appraisal district record before you sign. The MUD 39 and MUD 40 websites post rate histories. One caution: as of early October, MUD 40's financial page still listed 2024 as its current rate and its 2025 rate as proposed. Use the 2026 hearing notice for current figures.

Closeout discounts and the carrying-cost math

All of this matters more right now because of where Pomona is in its build-out. Hillwood describes the community as entering "its final chapter," and the builders currently listed are Coventry Homes, David Weekley Homes and Highland Homes. As of Oct. 4, 2026:

• Highland Homes lists its 40-foot section as selling its final section and its 42-foot section as "Final Opportunities," with one move-in-ready home showing in each. Its 50-foot section is no longer available.
• Coventry Homes shows one remaining home in its 50'/55' section, a Celina at $404,990, marked $51,000 off a displayed $456,423. Its 60-foot section has seven homes listed, including a Gordon at 5119 Mulberry Shrubs Lane at $664,990, marked $99,000 off $764,273.
• David Weekley Homes is selling its 40-foot Grove Row collection from the $327,000s and its 45-foot Reserve Collection from the $362,000s. Its Pomona pages also carry a Houston-area offer of up to $40,000 on select homes purchased Sept. 1 through Oct. 18, 2026. Eligibility depends on the specific home.

A $99,000 price cut is a one-time saving. The tax bill comes every year, and it follows the appraised value, not the original sticker price. At MUD 40's proposed all-in rate of about 3.063 per $100, the Gordon's $664,990 price works out to roughly $20,370 a year before exemptions. At MUD 39's rate, the same price would come to about $19,771. A buyer comparing two closeout homes in different districts needs both numbers: the discount and the district.

Some amenity plans are still open. David Weekley's Pomona pages list The Zone sports courts and The Hive pocket park as future amenities, with no delivery date. In Alvin ISD, Emmett Miller Elementary is under construction and scheduled to open for the 2027-28 school year with room for about 800 students, according to Community Impact.

Quick answers

Is MUD 40's 2026 rate final? Not yet. The $1.28 rate is proposed, and the board's public hearing is set for Oct. 21, 2026.

What school homestead exemption applies? The Texas Comptroller says school districts must exempt $140,000 of a qualifying residence homestead's value. The Comptroller's exemptions page lists the qualifications. This article is general information, not tax advice.

Are there HOA dues on top of taxes? Yes. The HOA listed 2025 dues of $1,375 per home, plus $500 a year for gated sections. Confirm the 2026 figure with the HOA.

Builder discounts in Pomona are published. The MUD a lot sits in and how its appraisal will track are things you have to ask about. At Nicole Freer Group, we confirm the district on every Pomona lot, compare first-year carrying costs across the closeout inventory, and negotiate with the builder on what the home will cost to own, beyond the price on the sign.

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