Property Tax Estimator

The property tax estimator calculates your annual and monthly property tax bill using a straightforward formula: your home's assessed value multiplied by the local property tax rate. The assessed value is the value your local tax assessor assigns to your property for taxation purposes. In many jurisdictions, the assessed value is close to market value, but some areas assess at a fraction of market value. For example, a home worth $350,000 in a county that assesses at 80 percent of market value would have an assessed value of $280,000. The calculator lets you input either the assessed value directly or derive it from the market value and assessment ratio. The tax rate, often called the mill rate or millage rate, is set by your local government and expressed as a percentage of assessed value or as mills (tenths of a cent per dollar). A tax rate of 1.1 percent means you pay $1.10 for every $100 of assessed value. On a $350,000 assessed value, that equals $3,850 per year or approximately $321 per month. Property tax rates are not a single number but the sum of rates from multiple taxing authorities. Your total rate may include charges from the county, city or township, school district, community college, fire district, park district, and special assessment districts. The calculator uses a combined effective rate that represents all of these layers. The calculator also shows how your property tax fits into your total monthly housing payment. Most mortgage lenders require property taxes to be escrowed, meaning one-twelfth of your annual tax bill is collected with each monthly mortgage payment and held in an escrow account. The lender then pays your tax bill on your behalf when it comes due. Understanding your property tax obligation is critical because it is often the second-largest component of your monthly housing payment after principal and interest, and unlike your mortgage payment, it is not fixed and can increase over time as assessed values and tax rates change.