Darren Gondry has owned his four-bedroom home near a golf course in Louisville, Ky., since 2004. He and his wife, Lori Gondry, paid off their primary mortgage in 2021. 

That hasn’t stopped other bills associated with homeownership from piling up. Their home insurance costs have risen 63% in two years. Their property taxes, utility costs and homeowners’ association fees have risen in recent years, too. 

“I was so sticker-shocked,” Gondry said of the mounting home-cost increases. “I fear they’re here to stay.”

A landmark $18 billion tax cut for property owners in the state is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk late Thursday, ending a monthslong stalemate among the state’s top Republicans with a deal that drew near-unanimous support from legislators.

Both chambers adjourned sine die Thursday evening, ending the second special session Abbott had called this summer to hammer out an agreement on property tax relief.

A $12 billion proposal aimed at giving property tax relief to Texas homeowners and businesses cleared a major hurdle Thursday in the Texas House, setting up a showdown with the Senate over their warring tax-cut packages.

House Bill 2 — backed by House Speaker Dade Phelan and carried by state Rep. Morgan Meyer, both Republicans — passed the full House by a 140-9 vote. It still must come back before the chamber for a final vote.

Americans expect to pay property taxes at the same rates as their neighbors. But across most of the United States, flat-rate property taxation is a sham.

Local governments are failing at the basic task of accurately assessing property values, and there is a clear and striking pattern: More expensive properties are undervalued, while less expensive properties are overvalued. The result is that wealthy homeowners get a big tax break, while less affluent homeowners are paying a higher price for the same public services.

At a meeting with Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen last month, Jeff Williams, the mayor of Arlington, Texas, laid out his grim economic predicament: Heavy spending on coronavirus testing and vaccine distribution had dwarfed dwindling tax revenue, forcing the city to consider painful cuts to services and jobs. While sluggish sales and tourism were partly to blame, the big worry, Mr. Williams said, is the empty buildings.

Homeowners across the nation are rushing this week to prepay their property taxes for 2018 before the Republican tax law kicks in Jan. 1 and effectively raises the levy on higher-end homes.