Richardson, Texas
Planning for Richardson households, where the pay comes with a vesting schedule.
Richardson is a city of about 118,700 people and the home of the Telecom Corridor, UT Dallas, Texas Instruments’ 300-millimeter wafer fabs and State Farm’s CityLine campus. About 8,100 households here earn $200,000 or more, and much of that income arrives as salary plus stock, a pension election, or a university retirement plan with a 90-day deadline. The planning starts there.
The situation
A technology city with a county line through it
Richardson’s employer base was built in stages. Collins Radio opened an office here in 1951, Texas Instruments chose a site in 1956, and the Telecom Corridor brand followed in 1992. Today TI runs two connected 300-millimeter analog fabs in the city; State Farm’s 2.1-million-square-foot CityLine campus, finished in 2016, houses more than 11,000 employees; and UT Dallas enrolled 30,139 students in fall 2025.
The city sits in two counties. The Dallas County side is served by Richardson ISD and the Collin County side by Plano ISD, and the two pairings carry different 2025 rates. The median home is worth about $431,400, median household income is about $98,100, and 29.7% of households earn $150,000 or more. The household we most often meet here is a two-income technical or academic one, with an employer plan, some company stock, and elections made once and rarely revisited.
Why it’s complex
Five Richardson decisions that reward attention
Which county, which district, which rate
In 2025 the City of Richardson levies $0.54218 per $100 on both sides of the line. In Dallas County a home adds Richardson ISD at $1.1052 and the county at $0.2155; in Collin County, Plano ISD at $1.03955 and the county at $0.1493. City, school and county alone come to about $1.86 versus $1.73 per $100.
Stock that arrives on a schedule
RSUs and ESPP shares from a Telecom Corridor employer are taxed on their own calendar: RSUs as wages at vest, ESPP shares under holding-period rules that split the gain between ordinary income and capital gain. We write the sell-or-hold rule before the shares land.
Equity compensation and concentrated stockTI’s Richardson fabs
Texas Instruments opened the world’s first 300-millimeter analog wafer fab in Richardson in 2009 and brought a second, connected fab into production in September 2022. For TI households the questions are specific, from RSU and ESPP timing to the 401(k) and the retirement date, so we keep a page for them.
Planning for Texas Instruments employeesTRS or ORP: a one-time choice at UT Dallas
Eligible faculty and senior staff at UT Dallas have 90 days from their first eligible day to choose the Optional Retirement Program over the Teacher Retirement System, and the choice is irrevocable. ORP takes 6.65% from the employee and 8.5% from the university, vesting after a year and a day; TRS is a pension. Voluntary 403(b) and 457(b) plans sit on top.
The city’s own senior exemption
Richardson removes $160,000 of a homestead’s value from city tax for owners 65 or older or disabled, raised from $145,000 in February 2025 and continued in the 2026–27 budget. At the city rate that is worth about $867 a year.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates; Texas Comptroller 2025 city, ISD and county rate reports; City of Richardson, 2026–27 budget; Texas Comptroller, homestead exemptions; Tex. Tax Code §§11.13, 11.26; UT Dallas, Fast Facts; UT Dallas HR, Optional Retirement Program; Texas Instruments, Richardson fabs.
Our approach
A plan built outward from the elections
Most Richardson planning begins with a form signed once: a grant agreement, an ORP election, a 401(k) match, a pension option. We start there and build outward. A worked example: at Richardson’s median home value of $431,400, the $140,000 exemption leaves $291,400 subject to school tax; at Richardson ISD’s 2025 rate that is about $3,221 a year ($291,400 × $1.1052 / $100), and on the Plano ISD side about $3,029 ($291,400 × $1.03955 / $100).
Make the one-time elections well
ORP versus TRS for university households, the 401(k) contribution and match elsewhere, and a written plan for how vesting stock will be handled when it lands.
Keep the employer to a share
A standing rule for RSU and ESPP sales, catch-up contributions after 50, and Roth versus pre-tax savings decided by bracket rather than habit.
Turn elections into income
Pension or lump-sum choices, Social Security timing, Roth conversions taxed federally only, and the city and school over-65 benefits on your Richardson home.
The work
What you’ll work through with us
- RSU, ESPP and stock-option decisions, with a written concentration limit
- The TRS-or-ORP election, plus 403(b) and 457(b) contributions
- 401(k) and pension elections at a Telecom Corridor or CityLine employer
- A line-by-line read of a two-county appraisal notice and its exemptions
- Roth conversion sizing in the years before required withdrawals
- Social Security timing and a withdrawal order for two-income households
- Community-property titling and beneficiary review with your estate attorney
- Investment management coordinated 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 Richardson households
Do you have an office in Richardson?
We work with Richardson households by video and, by arrangement, in person. We do not maintain a public office location.
Do I pay Richardson ISD or Plano ISD?
It depends on the county your home is in. The Dallas County side of Richardson is in Richardson ISD, which levies $1.1052 per $100 in 2025; the Collin County side is in Plano ISD at $1.03955. The $140,000 school exemption is worth about $1,547 a year in Richardson ISD and about $1,455 in Plano ISD.
Should I choose ORP or TRS at UT Dallas?
It is a personal decision with a 90-day deadline and no do-over. TRS is a defined-benefit pension tied to years of service and salary; ORP is a portable account funded at 6.65% from you and 8.5% from the university, with the employer share vesting after one year and one day. We run both paths side by side before the window closes.
How should we handle ESPP shares from a Richardson employer?
Start with a rule, not a reaction. The purchase discount is ordinary income when you sell, and the timing of the sale decides how the rest of the gain is taxed. Then decide how large one employer’s stock may become relative to everything else you own, since the same company pays the salary.
What does Richardson's $160,000 senior exemption actually do?
It removes $160,000 of your home’s value from the city levy only, once you are 65 or disabled, worth about $867 a year at the 2025 city rate. The school-district exemption is separate: $200,000 at 65 or if disabled, plus a ceiling on the school tax at the amount in the year you qualified.
Does the county line matter for anything besides the school district?
Yes. The 2025 county rates differ ($0.2155 in Dallas County versus $0.1493 in Collin County), about $285 a year on a median-value home before exemptions, and your appraisal notice comes from a different appraisal district depending on the side. The city rate is the same everywhere in Richardson.
Reviewed by Theo Halbardier, CFP® · Updated September 2026 · Figures current for 2026
Tell us where you are.
The first conversation is 30 minutes. Bring your questions; no preparation needed.
We work with individuals and families across Richardson and throughout Texas, meeting by video or in person by arrangement.
Meet with usWe do not maintain a public office at this location; Richardson is part of the area we serve. Figures reflect law and published rates as of September 2026 and may change.