Property Tax Calculator
Estimate your annual property tax from the market value of your home, assessment ratio, exemptions and local tax rate in percent or mills. You can also compare your bill with your state's average effective rate.
Estimate Your Annual Property Tax
Property Tax Formula
Where:
- \(\text{Market value}\) — the current fair market value of the property ($)
- \(\text{Assessment ratio}\) — the share of market value subject to assessment (%); most jurisdictions use 100%, some assess only a fraction
- \(\text{Exemptions}\) — homestead, senior, veteran or other deductions subtracted from the assessed value ($)
- \(\text{Tax rate}\) — the combined annual rate as a percentage of taxable value; if quoted in mills, 1 mill = 0.1% (that is, $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value)
The taxable value is floored at zero, so exemptions larger than the assessed value simply produce no tax. The effective rate — tax divided by market value — is the number that lets you compare bills across states and neighborhoods.
Property Tax – Calculation Example
Example: a home with a market value of $300,000 is assessed at 100% with a $5,000 homestead exemption, and the combined local rate is 1.1% of taxable value.
\[ \text{Taxable value} = 300{,}000 \times \tfrac{100}{100} - 5{,}000 = 295{,}000 \]
\[ \text{Property tax} = 295{,}000 \times \tfrac{1.1}{100} = 3{,}245 \]
Result: the annual property tax is $3,245.00, the monthly escrow amount is $270.42, and the effective rate on market value is 3,245 ÷ 300,000 ≈ 1.082%. You can reproduce all of these figures with the calculator's default values.
How to use the calculator
- Enter the Market value of the home — the current fair market value, not your mortgage balance.
- Enter the Assessment ratio in percent. Use 100% if your jurisdiction taxes full market value; some states assess only a fraction (for example, 10%).
- Enter Exemptions — any homestead, senior, veteran or disability deductions that reduce your assessed value. Enter 0 if none apply.
- Choose how to enter the rate with Enter the tax rate as: a percentage of taxable value, mills, or your state's average effective rate.
- If you picked percentage, fill in Annual tax rate (%); if you picked mills, fill in Annual tax rate (mills). For the state-average mode, select your State — the rate is applied directly to market value, so the ratio and exemption fields are skipped.
- Read the results: Annual property tax, Monthly escrow amount, Effective tax rate on market value and Taxable value, plus a comparison with your state's average.
What property tax is and how it works
Property tax is a recurring levy on real estate, imposed by local governments — counties, cities, school districts and special districts — to fund schools, emergency services, roads and other local spending. It is usually the largest local tax homeowners face, and unlike a mortgage payment it never goes away: it continues for as long as you own the property.
The bill starts with your assessed value. An assessor estimates what your property is worth, then applies an assessment ratio that converts market value into the taxable base. Many jurisdictions assess at 100% of market value, while others deliberately use a lower ratio. From that assessed value, exemptions are subtracted — most commonly a homestead exemption for a primary residence, plus senior, veteran or disability reductions in many states. What remains is the taxable value.
The tax rate is then applied to the taxable value. Rates are quoted either as a percentage or in mills: one mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value, so a rate of 25 mills equals 2.5%. Your total rate is the sum of all overlapping jurisdictions' rates. The calculator converts everything into one useful summary number: the effective tax rate — annual tax as a percentage of market value. This lets you fairly compare a high-rate town with low values against a low-rate town with full assessment, and it is the figure used for state-to-state comparisons.
The monthly escrow amount is simply the annual tax divided by 12. Most mortgage servicers collect this figure each month as part of your payment and pay the tax bill for you, so knowing it early helps you anticipate your true monthly housing cost. When budgeting for a home purchase, property tax belongs next to insurance in your calculations — our rent vs buy calculator includes it in the buy-side costs, and our closing costs calculator helps you plan the one-time expenses at settlement.
Limits of this estimate — read before relying on it
- Rates are set locally and change yearly. The state averages used for comparison are rough, orientation-only figures; actual county, city and school rates vary several-fold within a single state.
- Assessed value ≠ market value. Many jurisdictions reappraise only every few years, cap annual increases, or use a fraction of market value. Your actual taxable value may differ from what a full-market-value calculation suggests.
- Exemptions vary by state and status. Amounts, eligibility rules and stacking of homestead/senior/veteran exemptions differ widely; check your local assessor's site for what applies to you.
- Special assessments are excluded. Bond issues, drainage, trash and other flat-fee special assessments can add noticeably to the real bill.
- The state-average mode ignores exemptions and ratios by design — effective rates already fold them in, so the result is only a ballpark figure for the whole state.
For an exact number, look up your property on your county tax assessor's website, which shows your assessed value, exemptions and current millage breakdown. If you are evaluating property as an investment, the cap rate calculator can show how property tax affects returns, and the real estate commission calculator helps with the other big cost of a sale.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate my property tax by hand?
Take your home's market value, multiply it by the assessment ratio to get the assessed value, subtract any exemptions, then apply the tax rate. For example, a $250,000 home assessed at 80% with a $2,000 exemption and a 1.5% rate: \(250{,}000 \times 0.80 - 2{,}000 = 198{,}000\), then \(198{,}000 \times 0.015 = 2{,}970\) per year, or about $247.50 per month.
What is 1 mill, and how do I convert mills to a percentage?
One mill equals $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value, which is the same as 0.1%. To convert mills to a percentage, divide by 10: a 30-mill rate is 3%, and 11 mills is 1.1%. Going the other way, multiply the percentage by 10 to get mills.
What is a typical or average property tax rate in the US?
The rough national average effective rate is around 1% of market value, but it varies widely by state — from about 0.28% in Hawaii and 0.41% in Alabama up to roughly 2.13% in Illinois and 2.47% in New Jersey. Within a single state, county and school district rates can differ several-fold, so treat state averages as orientation only.
What is the difference between assessed value, market value and taxable value?
Market value is what your home would sell for today. Assessed value is the assessor's valuation multiplied by the assessment ratio; some states assess at 100% of market value, others use only a fraction such as 10%. Taxable value is the assessed value minus exemptions — it is the base your tax rate is actually applied to and the number that appears on your tax bill.
Does property tax change when my home's market value rises?
Not necessarily one-for-one. Many jurisdictions reappraise only every few years, cap annual increases in assessed value (for example, California's Prop 13 limits it to 2% per year), or freeze assessments for seniors. A big market-price jump may translate into a much smaller taxable-value increase, so your effective tax rate can actually fall as prices rise.
Why is my actual tax bill different from this calculator's estimate?
Your bill also includes special assessments — bond issues, drainage, trash collection, lighting districts and similar flat fees — which this calculator excludes. In addition, your assessor's valuation may lag the market, exemptions may not stack the way you assumed, and millage rates change every year with local budgets. Check your county assessor's website for the exact breakdown.
Can I lower my property tax bill?
Yes, in several ways. Claim every exemption you qualify for (homestead, senior, veteran, disability). Check that your assessed value is correct — if comparable homes are assessed lower, you can file an assessment appeal, usually within a short window after the annual notice. Some states also offer circuit-breaker credits or deferrals for low-income or senior homeowners; rules vary, so check with your assessor or state revenue department.