Real estate & rental
Real Estate Property Tax Calculator
Works property tax from assessed value and the rate, where the assessment is the lever.
Result
An arithmetic tool, not financial or legal advice. Lending criteria, tax treatment and tenancy law all vary by state and change regularly. Confirm anything that affects a decision with a lender, an accountant or an attorney. Assessment practice differs sharply by state: some assess at full market value, others at a fixed fraction, and reassessment cycles range from annual to a decade. Mill rates also combine several taxing authorities, so the total is often the sum of county, city, school and special district levies.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Assessed value, which may be a fraction of market value depending on the jurisdiction's assessment ratio, multiplied by the tax rate, less any exemptions. Rates are frequently expressed in mills, where one mill is one dollar per thousand of assessed value, and the total usually combines several overlapping taxing authorities.
What moves the number
- Assessed value and the assessment ratio applied.
- The combined rate across all taxing authorities.
- Exemptions, which can be substantial where they apply.
- Reassessment timing, including after a sale.
Where this one goes wrong
Assessed value is not market value in most jurisdictions, and confusing the two produces a figure that can be badly wrong in either direction. Check the local assessment ratio. Exemptions are the other item worth pursuing, since homestead, age, veteran and disability exemptions exist in many places and are not always applied automatically. Assessments can also be appealed, and a purchase frequently triggers a reassessment, so the seller's tax bill may not be the buyer's.
Before you quote
- Use assessed value with the local assessment ratio, not market value.
- Check which exemptions you qualify for and whether they are applied.
- Expect a reassessment after purchase in many jurisdictions.
Questions
About this calculator
Is assessed value the same as market value?
In most jurisdictions no: assessed value is often a defined fraction of market value, set by an assessment ratio. Confusing the two produces a tax figure that can be badly wrong in either direction, so the local ratio is worth looking up.
Will my tax match the seller's?
Frequently not, because a sale triggers reassessment in many jurisdictions and the seller may hold exemptions that do not transfer. Budgeting from the seller's bill is a common error and the correction arrives with the first full-year statement.
Can an assessment be challenged?
Yes, through an appeal process that varies by jurisdiction and usually has a filing window. Where comparable properties are assessed lower, an appeal is often worth the effort, and the saving recurs annually rather than once.
The formula
tax = (assessed value - exemptions) / 1000 x mill rate
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How to use this calculator
- Market value ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $420,000.
- Assessment ratio (%). Some states assess at a fraction of market value.
- Mill rate. Dollars of tax per $1,000 of assessed value.
- Exemptions ($). Homestead, senior, veteran and similar.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to annual property tax, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Market value | $420,000 |
| Assessment ratio | 100% |
| Mill rate | 21.5 |
| Exemptions | $25,000 |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual property tax main result | $8,493 |
| Per month | $707.71 |
| Assessed value | $420,000 |
| Taxable value after exemptions | $395,000 |
| Effective rate on market value | 2.02% |
Property tax is $8,493 a year, $707.71 a month, an effective rate of 2.02% on market value.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only market value, this is what happens to annual property tax. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Market value ($) | Annual property tax |
|---|---|
| $210,000 | $3,978 |
| $315,000 | $6,235 |
| $420,000 example above | $8,493 |
| $630,000 | $13,008 |
| $840,000 | $17,523 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Market value ($)
- A money amount, starting at $420,000.
- Assessment ratio (%)
- Some states assess at a fraction of market value.
- Mill rate
- Dollars of tax per $1,000 of assessed value.
- Exemptions ($)
- Homestead, senior, veteran and similar.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Annual property tax | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Per month | A money figure. |
| Assessed value | A money figure. |
| Taxable value after exemptions | A money figure. |
| Effective rate on market value | A percentage. |
What is not in this number
Property figures here exclude the costs that decide whether a deal works: vacancy, maintenance, management, capital expenditure and the transaction costs at both ends. A return that looks strong before those frequently does not survive them.
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