Round Rock, Texas
Planning for Round Rock households, where the headquarters is a neighbor.
About 8,400 Round Rock households earn $200,000 or more, and roughly 14,500 earn at least $150,000, in a city of 128,000 that has been Dell’s global headquarters since 1994. The planning here runs on vesting dates, hospital pay schedules, and a property-tax bill split between two counties, in a city that deliberately funds itself with sales tax.
The situation
A headquarters city that grew a quarter in a decade
Round Rock added about 26,000 residents between 2014 and 2023, from 103,000 to 129,000 by the city’s own count. Dell remains the largest employer, with roughly 12,000 people at its Round Rock campus in 2023, and the medical corridor has become the second engine: St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center, Baylor Scott & White, and Ascension Seton Williamson together employ close to 2,900. Round Rock ISD, with about 6,600 staff, is the second-largest employer outright.
Most of the city is in Williamson County; the southern part is in Travis County, and Round Rock ISD extends into both. The household balance sheets that result are recognizable: a Dell or hospital-system 401(k), equity awards vesting on a schedule, a home worth around the $418,600 median, and a tax picture in which the city’s levy is the small line and the school district’s is the large one.
Why it’s complex
Five Round Rock decisions that compound
Dell’s headquarters, and pay that arrives as stock
Dell moved its global headquarters to Round Rock in 1994 and employs about 97,000 people worldwide from One Dell Way. Its equity awards vest on a calendar, and each vest is taxable income whether or not you sell. The question is how much of one employer a household should hold once the 401(k) match, the awards, and the paycheck all point at the same company.
Equity compensation and concentrated stockA city that funds itself with sales tax
Round Rock’s 2025 city rate is $0.372 per $100, up from $0.360, and its General Fund leans on sales tax, with a half-cent of the local rate dedicated to property-tax reduction. The city grants no general homestead exemption, only $22,000 at 65 or older, so the city tax on the average homestead of $460,888 is about $1,714.
Williamson or Travis: the county line changes the bill
Williamson County’s 2025 rate is $0.413776 per $100; Travis County’s is $0.375845, with a 20% homestead exemption and $143,220 more at 65 on the county line. Round Rock ISD taxes both sides at $0.8931, below neighboring Leander ISD’s $1.0869.
Three hospitals and the households that staff them
Physician and nurse-leader households in Round Rock often hold a 403(b) or 401(k), a 457(b), and sometimes a practice interest, alongside income high enough that a direct Roth contribution is off the table. Backdoor Roth contributions, disability coverage sized to earned income, and buy-in financing are recurring topics.
Planning for physiciansThe chip corridor is arriving in Williamson County
Samsung’s $17 billion fab in Taylor, also in Williamson County, was announced with more than 2,000 direct jobs, and Toppan Photomasks, in Round Rock since 1986, chose the city for a near-$200 million expansion. Relocation packages and new-employer equity are becoming a second source of Round Rock planning questions.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates; City of Round Rock, FY2023 Popular Annual Financial Report; City of Round Rock, notice of 2025 tax rate; Williamson County, FY25-26 tax rate; Travis County FY2026 taxpayer impact statement; Dell Technologies FY2026 Form 10-K; Texas Comptroller 2025 ISD rate report.
Our approach
One plan for pay that comes in pieces
We treat every layer of compensation as a separate decision with its own tax date, then add the house. A worked example on a home at Round Rock’s median value of $418,600: the $140,000 state exemption lowers the school-taxable value to $278,600, which at Round Rock ISD’s 2025 rate is about $2,488 a year for the school portion ($278,600 × $0.8931 / $100). The city taxes the full value, since it grants no general exemption: about $1,557 ($418,600 × $0.372 / $100). At 65, the district exempts $60,000 more (worth about $536 a year, then frozen) and the city $22,000 (about $82).
Decide before the shares land
A standing rule for what to sell, what to keep, and how to cover the withholding gap, so that a vest is a routine event rather than a decision made under a stock price.
Fill the accounts in the right order
401(k) or 403(b) to the match and beyond, the 457(b) where a hospital offers one, backdoor Roth contributions above the income limits, and a taxable account that is not another bet on the employer.
Convert the pieces into a paycheck
Roth conversions in the years after the awards stop, Social Security timing, the over-65 filings with the appraisal district, and a withdrawal order that treats the school tax as the recurring cost it is.
The work
What you’ll work through with us
- A written policy for RSU and performance-share vests, including tax withholding
- Concentrated-stock reduction plans, with capital-gains budgeting by year
- Backdoor Roth and mega-backdoor Roth analysis where the plan allows it
- 403(b), 457(b), and 401(k) coordination for hospital and physician households
- Homestead, over-65, and county-exemption filings in Williamson or Travis County
- Relocation-package review for households arriving with a new employer
- Roth conversion sizing in a no-income-tax state
- Investment management built around after-tax outcomes
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 Round Rock households
Do you have an office in Round Rock?
We work with Round Rock households by video and, by arrangement, in person. We do not maintain a public office location.
I work at Dell. How should we think about the shares that vest each year?
Each vest is ordinary income at that day’s price, and the default withholding is often below your actual bracket, so the first job is covering the tax. The second is a rule for how much Dell stock the household holds relative to everything else, including the 401(k). Selling at vest carries little additional tax; holding is an investment decision, not a tax one.
Does the City of Round Rock offer a homestead exemption?
Not a general one. The city exempts $22,000 for homeowners 65 or older and $3,000 for disabled homeowners, and does not freeze city taxes. The larger exemptions are the school district’s $140,000 (plus $60,000 and a ceiling at 65) and, for homes in the Travis County part of the city, the county’s 20%.
We live in the Travis County part of Round Rock. What changes?
The county line on your appraisal notice. Travis County levies $0.375845 per $100 with a 20% homestead exemption and $143,220 more at 65; Williamson County levies $0.413776. Round Rock ISD and the city tax both sides the same way. Confirm which appraisal district holds your homestead filing.
I am a physician at one of the Round Rock hospitals. What is different about the plan?
Usually three things: a 457(b) alongside the 403(b), an income too high for direct Roth contributions, and a large share of net worth in future earnings rather than current assets. That argues for filling every pre-tax and Roth space available, insuring the earning capacity, and keeping a separate taxable account growing from the first year.
What does working with you cost?
A fee paid directly by the client. We do not earn commissions or sell products, so a recommendation to hold, sell, or move an account pays us nothing either way.
Reviewed by Theo Halbardier, CFP® · Updated September 2026 · Figures current for 2026
Tell us where you are.
The first conversation is 30 minutes. Bring a vesting schedule if you have one; nothing else is needed.
We work with individuals and families across Round Rock and throughout Texas, meeting by video or in person by arrangement.
Meet with usWe do not maintain a public office at this location; Round Rock is part of the area we serve. Figures reflect law and published rates as of September 2026 and may change.