New Braunfels, Texas
Planning for New Braunfels households, where the city grew a third in five years.
The Census Bureau ranked New Braunfels the fifth fastest-growing city of 50,000 or more in the country in 2021 and counted it past 100,000 residents a year later; its July 2025 estimate is 122,492, about 35 percent above the 2020 Census. Four in ten homes here were built in 2010 or later. Growth on that scale brings households at both ends of a career: commuters working in San Antonio or Austin, and retirees who bought new construction near the Comal and Guadalupe rivers. Both need a plan that reads two counties, two school districts, and a city that exempts a fifth of the homestead.
The situation
Halfway between two metros, split by a county line
New Braunfels is the seat of Comal County, at the confluence of the Comal and Guadalupe rivers on Interstate 35, roughly thirty miles northeast of San Antonio and forty-five miles southwest of Austin. The city extends into Guadalupe County, and two school districts serve it: New Braunfels ISD in the core, with about 9,800 students, and Comal ISD around it, with more than 30,300 across 36 campuses. Which side of those lines your address falls on changes your tax bill by more than the rates alone suggest.
The household mix reflects the corridor. Citywide, 10.5 percent of households earn $200,000 or more, about 4,300 households, and the median owner-occupied home is worth $339,400; the affluent households cluster in newer subdivisions and river-adjacent property rather than spreading evenly. Residents 65 and older are about 15 percent of the population, and on the Comal Appraisal District’s 2025 roll, 6,178 of the city’s 16,134 homesteads on the Comal County side carry an over-65 exemption, about 38 percent. That is a large retiree base beside a large commuter base, and the two rarely need the same plan.
Why it’s complex
Five New Braunfels decisions with a number attached
The city exempts 20 percent of your homestead
The City of New Braunfels offers a general homestead exemption of 20 percent of appraised value or $5,000, whichever is greater, and Comal County matches it. At the 2025 city rate of $0.408936 per $100, that is worth about $278 a year on a median-value home; the same 20 percent comes off the county levy.
Two school districts, two very different bills
New Braunfels ISD (2025 rate $1.0377) applies the $140,000 state exemption. Comal ISD (rate $1.0748) adds a 20 percent local exemption on top of the $140,000. On a $339,400 home that is about $2,069 of school tax in NBISD and about $1,414 in Comal ISD, despite the higher rate. Your address decides which.
The over-65 stack is unusually deep here
At 65, New Braunfels ISD exempts $203,750 of value and freezes the school bill; Comal County adds a $50,000 exemption with its own ceiling, and the city adds $3,750 with a ceiling. For a retiree who bought new construction, the year the freeze is set matters, because it locks in the bill at that year’s value.
Commuting to two job markets
A household with one income in San Antonio and one in Austin often holds two employer plans, two sets of equity or bonus rules, and a retirement date that will not be the same for both. We build the plan around the earlier date and the later Social Security claim.
Social Security in a no-income-tax state
Texas taxes none of your Social Security, pension, or IRA income, and a former state cannot tax retirement income paid to you here. What remains is federal: up to 85 percent of Social Security can be taxable depending on other income, which makes the order of withdrawals a real decision.
The Social Security tax torpedoSources: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2021 fastest-growing cities release, Vintage 2025 city and town estimates and ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates; Comal Appraisal District, 2025 exemption schedule; City of New Braunfels, tax information; Texas Comptroller 2025 school district rate report.
Our approach
A plan that starts with the address
Because the bill depends on which district and county the house sits in, we begin with the appraisal notice. A worked example on the school layer in New Braunfels ISD: the median home value of $339,400 less the $140,000 exemption leaves $199,400 taxable; at the 2025 rate of $1.0377 per $100 that is about $2,069 a year ($199,400 × 1.0377 / 100). For the city, the 20 percent exemption removes $67,880, leaving $271,520; at $0.408936 that is about $1,110 ($271,520 × 0.408936 / 100). At 65, the school figure falls to about $1,408 ($135,650 × 1.0377 / 100), and the ceiling stops it from rising.
Choose the side of the line on purpose
If you are buying, we show the school, county, and city layers for each address you are considering, and the over-65 stack if that birthday is near.
Coordinate the plans you already have
Employer plans, equity, and bonus timing across San Antonio and Austin employers, sized against federal-only tax and a separate retirement date for each of you.
Set the freeze, then the income
File the over-65 exemptions in the right year, then sequence Social Security, IRA withdrawals, and Roth conversions so the federal tax on benefits stays where you want it.
The work
What you’ll work through with us
- Homestead, over-65 and disability filings across the city, county and school district
- Address-level tax comparison before a purchase in New Braunfels ISD or Comal ISD territory
- Social Security claiming for two earners, including spousal and survivor benefits
- Withdrawal sequencing around the federal tax on Social Security and Medicare premium thresholds
- Roth conversions in the years between work and required distributions
- Employer plan and equity coordination for households working in two metros
- Investment management built around after-tax outcomes
- Coordination with your CPA
Planning is led by Theo Halbardier, CFP®, CIMA®, CAIA®, the firm’s founder. We are fee-only: no commissions, no product sales. About Theo
Questions
Common questions from New Braunfels households
Do you have an office in New Braunfels?
We do not keep a public office. Meetings with New Braunfels households are by video, and in person by arrangement.
Am I in New Braunfels ISD or Comal ISD?
Both serve the city. NBISD covers the core, and Comal ISD serves portions of New Braunfels along with Bulverde, Garden Ridge and Spring Branch. Your appraisal notice or the Comal Appraisal District’s property search shows the taxing units for your address. On a median-value home the difference is about $655 a year in school tax, in Comal ISD’s favor, because of its extra 20 percent local exemption.
What does the city’s 20 percent homestead exemption actually save?
On a $339,400 home it removes $67,880 from the city’s taxable value, about $278 a year at the 2025 rate. Comal County offers the same percentage, so the saving repeats on the county line of the bill. The exemption is not automatic; it follows the homestead application filed with the appraisal district.
We retired here and bought new construction. When should we file the over-65 exemptions?
In the year one of you turns 65, or the year you move in if you are already past it. The school, county and city ceilings are set from the taxes owed in the first qualifying year, so filing promptly on a new home locks in a bill before further appreciation. If you later move within Texas, a percentage of the school ceiling can transfer.
How much of our Social Security will be taxed?
Texas taxes none of it. Federally, up to 85 percent of benefits can be included in taxable income once other income crosses fixed thresholds that are not indexed to inflation. Where each year’s withdrawals come from decides how much of the benefit is exposed.
Does it matter that part of New Braunfels is in Guadalupe County?
Yes. Guadalupe County sets its own rate and exemptions, and its portion of the city is appraised by a different appraisal district. The county figures on this page are for the Comal County side; confirm your county on the appraisal notice.
Reviewed by Theo Halbardier, CFP® · Updated September 2026 · Figures current for 2026
Tell us which side of the line you are on.
The first conversation is 30 minutes, by video. Bring your questions; nothing to prepare.
We work with individuals and families across New Braunfels and throughout Texas, meeting by video or in person by arrangement.
Meet with usWe do not maintain a public office at this location; New Braunfels is part of the area we serve. Figures reflect law and published rates as of September 2026 and may change.