If you buy in a City of Aubrey public improvement district, you'll be asked to sign a recorded notice before your contract becomes binding. It says you owe the City a separate assessment for its share of the public improvements the district paid for. The Jackson Ridge version of that notice also states that the assessment is a lien that ranks ahead of nearly every other claim on the property, behind only ad valorem property taxes. It can be paid off at any time. If it isn't paid off, it arrives every year as an installment.
Up the road in Sandbrock Ranch, which also uses an Aubrey address, the land sits inside Denton County MUD No. 6, which collects a property tax rate. Both neighborhoods are paying for infrastructure in two different ways, and the difference changes how much each one costs at different price points. A rate grows with the value of the house. An installment doesn't. With 2026 adopted numbers, the point where they meet sits in the price range many Aubrey new-construction buyers are shopping.
A rate that follows the appraisal
Sandbrock Ranch is in Aubrey's extraterritorial jurisdiction, so it pays no City of Aubrey tax. Its Phase 16 lies inside Denton County MUD No. 6. The Denton County Tax Office truth-in-taxation table shows how that district's rate per $100 of value has moved:
- 2022: $1.000
- 2023: $0.950
- 2024: $0.935
- 2025: $0.935
- 2026: $0.900
The 2026 cut has a detail inside it. The debt-service portion fell from $0.755 to $0.645, and the maintenance-and-operations portion rose from $0.180 to $0.255. The headline rate went down, but the two pieces moved in opposite directions, and the mix can change again next year.
Add the other two taxing units Sandbrock's own FAQ lists, Denton County at $0.183394 and Denton ISD at $1.1528 for Tax Year 2026, and the combined 2026 rate is about $2.2362 per $100. The community FAQ still shows a "current" total of 2.3278, which uses the 2025 MUD rate of $0.935 and Denton ISD's 2025 rate of $1.2069. If you're estimating a payment from that page, plug in the 2026 figures.
All of these costs are percentages of value. A $600,000 house pays twice what a $300,000 house pays toward the same water and sewer system. If the appraisal goes up, the MUD share goes up with it, unless the rate drops.
A dollar figure that ignores the appraisal
Jackson Ridge works the other way. Homes there pay the City of Aubrey's 2026 rate of $0.450 per $100, unchanged from 2025. On top of that comes the PID installment, which is billed by the Denton County Tax Office on the same schedule as property taxes.
The 2026-27 packet from MuniCap, the City's district administrator, estimates the Jackson Ridge Phase 1 installment for a 60-foot lot at $2,039 for 2026. It's billed around October 1, 2026, and due by January 31, 2027. The same schedule projects these installments:
| Year | Projected installment, Phase 1, 60-ft lot |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $2,039 |
| 2027 | $2,254 |
| 2030 | $2,238 |
| 2035 | $2,211 |
| 2040 | $2,178 |
| 2044 | $2,114 |
That line barely moves for almost two decades. According to the packet, principal and interest are fixed by the Series 2024 refunding bonds and won't increase over the life of those bonds. Only the administrative expenses get re-estimated in each year's service plan update. The outstanding assessment on that lot is $26,702. The projected installments add up to $41,688 through 2044, with interest included and a credit for the Mustang Special Utility District contract revenue subtracted.
A house that sells for $350,000 and one that sells for $650,000 pay the same installment if they're on the same lot type. In that sense the PID behaves like a flat fee and the MUD behaves like a percentage.
Where the two lines cross
For a home inside Aubrey city limits and in Aubrey ISD, the 2026 ad valorem rates are $0.183394 for Denton County, $1.2011 for Aubrey ISD and $0.450 for the City, about $1.8345 per $100 in total. That's roughly $0.40 per $100 below Sandbrock's $2.2362. The PID home then adds back a fixed installment.
The table below runs both structures on the same home values. It uses Jackson Ridge Phase 1's $2,039 installment and assumes Aubrey ISD for the city home. Before you rely on that assumption, confirm the school district for the specific lot. These are gross figures before any exemptions or credits.
| Home value | Sandbrock-style MUD stack | City + Jackson Ridge PID | Lower by |
|---|---|---|---|
| $350,000 | $7,827 | $8,460 | MUD, about $633 |
| $450,000 | $10,063 | $10,294 | MUD, about $231 |
| $550,000 | $12,299 | $12,129 | PID, about $170 |
| $650,000 | $14,535 | $13,963 | PID, about $572 |
On these 2026 numbers, the two lines cross at a home value of roughly $507,000. Below that, the percentage-based MUD stack costs less. Above it, the flat installment costs less, and the gap grows as the price rises.
The crossover depends on the size of the installment, and Aubrey's PIDs don't all charge the same amount:
- Jackson Ridge Phase 1, 60-foot lot. $2,039 estimated for 2026, which puts the crossover near $507,000.
- Winn Ridge South. $1,954.77 per unit for the September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027 assessment year, approved by the City Council on July 23, 2026. That puts the crossover near $487,000.
- Palomino, 30-foot lot. $1,554 estimated for 2026, with the City's service and assessment plan adopted July 23, 2026. That puts the crossover near $387,000.
The Winn Ridge South ordinance shows how the per-unit figure is built. The district's $660,713.72 net budget for the year is split across 338 outstanding units. The plan expects 340 homes, and two owners have already paid their assessments in full. Of the $1,954.77 per unit, $1,258.38 is interest.
Palomino is the newest of the three. The City created that PID on November 20, 2024, for about 40 acres and roughly 300 single-family homes. A 2026 council agenda also lists a proposed Sherman Ridge PID covering about 23.039 acres north of FM 428 and west of Linda Street, along with a proposed Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 5. A listing on an agenda doesn't mean the district was adopted, and none of the 2026 materials here include an installment for Sherman Ridge.
Three things that move the crossover
The table shows gross numbers. Three features of these districts can shift the real comparison for a particular buyer.
The TIRZ credit. Jackson Ridge properties inside the City's Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1 get a credit of about 38.75% of the property's incremental City taxes for the current tax year. It's applied to the PID installment due the following year. MuniCap's worked example shows a $501 credit cutting a hypothetical installment from $2,256 to $1,755. The packet says plainly that these are illustrations, not actual or projected bills. Any real credit would lower the PID side of the table and pull the crossover to a lower home value.
Exemptions. Homestead and other exemptions reduce taxable value, and the table doesn't model them. Since the PID installment isn't a tax on value, exemptions only affect the percentage-based parts of each bill. The net effect depends on which exemptions each taxing unit offers, so a parcel-level estimate will be more accurate than any rule of thumb.
Prepayment. The PID assessment can be paid off at any time. For single-family parcels, Jackson Ridge adds a $500 processing fee to the payoff amount. Two Winn Ridge South owners have already done this. A MUD rate can't be paid off. It stays as long as the district levies it.
This is general information about how these districts are structured, not tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm your own parcel's rates, exemptions and installment with the Denton County Tax Office, the district administrator, and your own tax or legal professional.
Questions Aubrey buyers ask about MUDs and PIDs
Where do I find the exact installment for a specific lot? The PID notice says the exact amount comes from the City. Each year's installment is approved by the City Council in the district's annual service plan update. MuniCap, the district administrator, can be reached at (469) 490-2800 or [email protected].
Does the MUD rate keep falling? MUD No. 6 has dropped from $1.000 in 2022 to $0.900 in 2026. Each year's rate is set separately, and the table records past rates, not future ones.
Is the PID installment really fixed? Principal and interest are fixed by the bonds. Administrative expenses are estimated and updated each year, and the notice says installments vary with interest, collection, administrative and delinquency costs.
If you're comparing a Sandbrock Ranch home with one in Jackson Ridge, Winn Ridge South or Palomino, we can run both 2026 tax setups against the actual price you're considering before you sign the PID notice. Reach out to Lake & Country Realty and Talk to a Lake & Ranch Specialist.
