Won’t my property taxes go down if my assessment goes down?
Not necessarily. To demonstrate the relationship between assessments and taxes, consider the make-believe hamlet of Any Village, which is a community of two homes. Each resident owns a house valued at $100,000. Any Village’s property tax levy is $2,000 which is the amount needed to cover its expenses. Since each resident owns 50% of the total property value, they each pay 50% of the levy giving them each a tax bill of $1,000.

If property values in Any Village go down 10%, then each property is assessed at $90,000. The amount they pay in taxes, however, remains the same because the tax levy amount has not changed, even though the assessment has declined. Each resident still owns 50% of the total property in Any Village and must pay 50% of the $2,000 tax levy, which is $1,000. Even if the properties’ assessments increase to $110,000 each, the taxes stay exactly the same. They each still own 50% of the total property and Any Village still needs to collect $2,000, therefore they will continue to see a $1,000 property tax bill.

An increase or decrease in the assessment of an individual property is not an indicator of whether the tax bill for a property will go up, down, or remain the same.

Show All Answers

1. Is my property assessment a tax?
2. What role does the annual assessment of my property play in determining my property taxes?
3. Won’t my property taxes go down if my assessment goes down?
4. How do I check to see if my property’s inventory records are correct?