Property Tax Rates

Local taxing jurisdictions charge property owners a tax on their property to pay for the services that they provide. The amount of tax charged is calculated by multiplying the tax rate times the property’s assessed value. The tax rate is most frequently expressed as the number of dollars owed per $1,000 of assessed value, or per $100. In some states the tax rate is expressed in mill units: each mill unit is 1/10th of 1 cent to be applied per $1 of assessed value. The tax rate is then called the millage rate. For example, a 2% tax rate may be expressed as such or as $2 per $100, $20 per $1,000, or 20 mills.

The substantial variation in property tax structures makes it extremely problematic to compare property tax rates across states. To view the local tax rate documents in a particular state, select the state and the year of interest. If the state provides a document in multiple formats (.PDF, .XLS, etc.), then the document may appear more than once to accommodate display of its multiple formats.