Why Two Celina Homes at the Same Price Can Carry Very Different Yearly Costs

This month, Collin County tax bills for homeowners in Celina's public improvement districts include a line that isn't based on a rate. For a 50-foot lot in Phase 1 of Glen Crossing, the 2026 installment is projected at $2,461. It is billed around October 1, 2026, and due by January 31, 2027. That figure stays the same whether the home on the lot sold for $500,000 or $800,000. Over in Light Farms, the extra layer works the other way. Collin County MUD No. 1 charges $0.86 per $100 of taxable value for 2026, so it grows and shrinks with the house. Most of the gap in yearly cost between Celina's master-planned communities comes from these two different ways of paying for roads, water lines and amenities.

The PID Line Works Like a Small Second Loan

A PID assessment is a lien on the lot, set when the district's bonds are sold and spread over a fixed schedule. In the Glen Crossing Phase 1 schedule, the outstanding assessment on a 50-foot lot is $25,646. Yearly installments stay between roughly $2,460 and $2,530 through 2045, and then they end. The schedule says the bond principal and interest "will not increase during the life of the bonds." Only the administrative expenses, about $292 in 2026, are updated each year in the annual service plan.

Three things follow from that structure, and none of them show up in a list price:

1. The charge is set by lot type, not by price. Every schedule the PID administrator publishes is tied to a phase and a lot size, such as 40-foot, 50-foot or 55-foot.
2. It has a payoff number. Celina's PID policy allows the principal on a capital PID assessment to be prepaid without penalty, and it lets the City put the yearly installment on the property tax bill.
3. It has an end date. A flat dollar amount that stops in a known year costs less in real terms each year it is paid.

Here is how the published 2026 schedules compare across Celina communities:

Ten Mile Creek's 55-foot lot carries close to three times the 2026 installment of a 50-foot lot in Sutton Fields II. The administrator's packets call these figures estimates. The exact amount each year is set in the PID's annual service plan update. The Glen Crossing schedule also says that, starting in 2027, a tax increment reinvestment zone credit may reduce the installment. That credit is not included in the figures shown.

Light Farms Carries Its Extra Layer as a Rate

Collin County MUD No. 1 says its boundaries include Light Farms and its neighborhoods. A municipal utility district taxes the same way a city or school district does, as a rate on taxable value. The district's published rate schedule lists adopted rates of $0.92840 per $100 for 2024, $0.89 for 2025 and $0.86 for 2026. In its October 7, 2026 update, the board called the 2026 rate a 3.4% decrease and its fifth straight annual reduction since 2021.

Because it is a rate, the MUD charge scales with the home. A higher appraisal means a higher MUD bill, and a lower rate takes some of that back. The board sets the rate each year, and the history above shows that it changes.

Run Both Through the Same House

The difference is easiest to see with the same set of homes run through each structure. The numbers below are illustrations built from the 2026 figures, applied before exemptions:

1. A $500,000 taxable value. In Light Farms, the MUD layer comes to about $4,300 a year. On a Glen Crossing Phase 1 50-foot lot, the PID installment is $2,461, which works out to roughly 0.49% of value.
2. A $600,000 taxable value. The MUD layer rises to about $5,160. The Glen Crossing installment stays at $2,461. A Ten Mile Creek 55-foot lot would be $4,317, roughly 0.72% of value.
3. An $800,000 taxable value. The MUD layer reaches about $6,880. The Glen Crossing installment is still $2,461, now about 0.31% of value.

A fixed-dollar PID weighs most, relative to price, on the less expensive homes in a given lot type. It fades as a share of cost when a premium build sits on that same lot size. The MUD layer stays a constant share of value at every price point and moves with each reappraisal. Two homes listed at the same price, one in Light Farms and one in a PID community, can end up with different yearly bills. The order between them can flip depending on price level and on how many years of the PID schedule are left.

The School-Zone Difference Is Small by Comparison

Every Celina parcel also pays the common layers. In Collin County, the 2026 rates are Celina City $0.571677, Collin County $0.151414, Celina ISD $1.208800 and Prosper ISD $1.201100 per $100. That adds up to about 1.931891% for a Collin County parcel in Celina ISD and 1.924191% in Prosper ISD. On the Denton County side, the county rate is $0.183394, which puts the same totals at about 1.963871% and 1.956171%. Collin College adds $0.081220 per $100 where it applies.

Mustang Lakes and Lilyana both include sections zoned to Celina ISD and sections zoned to Prosper ISD. On a $600,000 taxable value, the 2026 gap between those two school rates is about $46 a year. Choosing between Collin and Denton counties moves the bill by about $192 at the same value. The special-district layer moves it by thousands. The 2026 Collin County rate summary also lists other districts in the area, including North Parkway MMD No. 1 at $0.408 and Celina MMD No. 2 at $0.770 per $100. Whether a parcel falls inside either one depends on its boundaries, not on the community's name.

Where These Numbers Appear in a Transaction

Texas requires both layers to be disclosed before a contract is signed, using different forms. Under Water Code Section 49.452, a seller in a qualifying district gives the buyer a special-district notice before the contract. The buyer signs it, and a current signed notice is recorded at closing. The prescribed form covers district taxes and assessments. Under Property Code Section 5.014, a PID assessment notice must also come before a binding contract, with a buyer signature and a separate current notice recorded at closing. If the notice arrives late, the buyer may have a right to terminate, subject to a condition in the statute about the district's filed service plan. Lawmakers amended these PID notice sections in 2025 through SB 2550, effective September 1, 2025, and HB 2468, effective June 20, 2025.

The PID administrator's packet for each lot includes the outstanding assessment and the full schedule of projected installments, so the payoff balance and the end year are known before closing. A $53,248 balance at Ten Mile Creek and a $25,646 balance at Glen Crossing are very different starting points, even when the homes on top of them are priced alike.

FAQ

Does a PID installment go up when my appraisal goes up? No. The installment is set by phase and lot type. In the Glen Crossing schedule, the bond principal and interest are fixed for the life of the bonds, and only administrative expenses are updated each year.

Can the PID balance be paid off early? Celina's PID policy says capital PID principal can be prepaid without penalty. How that fits a household's finances is a question for a tax or financial professional.

Does every Celina community have a published installment? Not in what we reviewed. Lilyana's official FAQ confirms a PID with assessments that vary by lot size, but it doesn't give a current amount. We did not confirm current figures for Mustang Lakes PID No. 1 or Bluewood.

If you're comparing Celina homes, the yearly special-district cost of a specific lot can only be worked out from its own PID schedule, MUD rate and county line, and that's work we do side by side with you before any offer, in English, Portuguese or Spanish. Minouche Martins can walk you through each disclosure packet. Request a Personalized Consultation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.