Tax Literacy
You vote — every election, directly or through your representation — on how your taxes are assessed and how they're spent. Could you explain how that actually works? Most of us can't. Shouldn't we be able to?
Unqualified Advice doesn't think you need a finance degree, a law license, or a master's in public administration to understand the systems your money runs through. You just need someone to walk through it without condescending to you. This arc — and the tools it builds — is that walk-through.
Tools
Where your tax bill goes
A side-by-side look at how the same home gets taxed differently inside Houston city limits vs. a Katy / Sugar Land / Pearland MUD.
Open the tool →TIRZ increment capture
An interactive that shows how Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones divert the City of Houston's share of your property's appraisal growth.
Open the tool →The disaster penny
HISD's 2015–2026 tax rate, the §26.042(d) loophole, and the HB 30 closure — annotated.
Open the tool →Episodes
Ep 1
You Moved to Katy to Save Money. You Didn't.
How Municipal Utility Districts add a hidden ~25% to your suburban tax bill.
Read the brief →Ep 2
The 28 Shadow Governments of Houston
Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones, and where your “city” tax actually goes.
Read the brief →Ep 3
The Disaster Penny
How HISD raised your school tax in 2025 without a vote — and the loophole that just got closed.
Read the brief →