How much of a New Braunfels city tax bill pays debt?

New Braunfels taxpayers now have an adopted 2026 city rate that assigns 46.7% to debt service, leaving the rest for current operations.

By Comal.News Government Desk · Source-linked local reporting

Published October 11, 2026 at 9:35 AM CDT2 min read

Adopted 2026 city rate

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A blank sheet in a grassy foreground sends two blue streams toward a large civic building, with a house to the left. — Illustration: A city tax bill divides into two streams leading toward a civic building; the scene does not depict a reported event.Original editorial illustration; not a photograph and does not depict the reported event or an exact property.Comal.News Visual Desk · Original illustration · Source ↗ · Comal.News original illustration ↗

Debt service takes 46.7% of New Braunfels' adopted 2026 city property-tax rate.

On a hypothetical $300,000 taxable value, the city-only levy is $1,246.84, with $581.76 for debt service and $665.08 for maintenance and operations, according to Comal.News calculations. The split follows the two components of New Braunfels' row in Comal County's adopted-rate table.

What it costs

The adopted 2026 city tax rate is $0.415613 per $100 of taxable value. Of that rate, $0.221692 is designated for maintenance and operations, or M&O, and $0.193921 is designated for interest and sinking, or I&S, the debt-service portion. Comal.News applied each rate to the same taxable value so the two dollar amounts are comparable.

Adopted New Braunfels city rate and illustrative city-only levy on identical taxable value, 2026 tax year
City levy component	Rate per $100	Illustrative levy
Maintenance and operations	$0.221692	$665.08
Interest and sinking (debt service)	$0.193921	$581.76
Total city levy	$0.415613	$1,246.84

Comal.News calculation from Comal County's adopted-rate table. Rounded component amounts add to the rounded total.

This is a rate illustration, not a bill for an identified property. Taxable value is the amount after applicable exemptions, rather than market value, and the illustration excludes school, county and other overlapping taxes. A property's actual taxable value determines its city levy.

Who pays and what the split means

The debt-service share identifies the part of the city rate assigned to repayment rather than current operations. It does not by itself identify a particular facility or show that a current service was cut. The operating share remains slightly larger: on the illustration above, it is $83.32 more than the debt-service share. That comparison describes how this city levy is divided, not whether either amount changed for a particular taxpayer.

The city's FY 2027 approved-budget page says the budget was approved Sept. 14, 2026. It also says an earlier proposed-budget document was prepared using a proposed $0.408936 rate. The illustration here uses the adopted rate in the county table, not that preliminary figure.

What to verify next

A bond-by-bond debt-service schedule or official debt statement would let residents connect this rate share to outstanding principal, annual principal and interest, maturities and the projects financed. Those details are the next test of what the debt portion buys over time. Taxpayers can inspect the adopted 2026 New Braunfels rate split in Comal County's taxing-unit table.

From the source record

Adopted 2026 city levy · Dollars on $300,000 taxable $

Maintenance and operations$665.08

Debt service$581.76

Illustration uses identical taxable value for both portions; it excludes other taxing units.

City-only levy split on a hypothetical $300,000 taxable value, calculated by Comal.News from Comal County's adopted 2026 rates.Taxable value is after applicable exemptions; it is not market value.