What's Behind a Property Tax Bill?

​Behind a tax bill is a nearly two-year cycle that determines the amount of property taxes you owe. This cycle begins with the assessment of your property. A tax year is the year of the assessment and reflects the assessed value of real property as of Jan. 1. The actual taxes owed are then paid the following year. For example, the taxes paid in 2022 are based, in part, on the 2021 property assessments. By law, property is valued at 33 1/3% of its total value, known as the property’s assessed value. That value, once equalized, reflects your portion of the total tax burden spread among all property owners.
Concurrently, each local unit of government goes through an annual budget process to determine how much money will be needed to operate in the next year. Once the budget is set, the local unit of government determines how much of that budget will come from property taxes. This amount is known as the levy.
A large percentage of funding for units of local government comes from your property tax dollars. The amount needed by each district is divided by the total assessed value within the district's service area. That total assessed value is determined by adding up the value of all the real property within the taxing district’s boundary. This calculation determines the total tax rate for that district. The tax rate is stated in terms of percentage of the district's total assessed value.
Once each district has completed a budget and set its levy, the county clerk combines those totals to create an aggregate tax rate. That rate is paid by you, the taxpayer, in relation to the value of real property you own.
Converting that tax rate percentage to dollars means the taxpayer would pay $7.99 for every $100 of assessed value of their property.
Based on this example, a taxpayer, with the tax bill shown above, whose property has an assessed value of $30,000 would have an amount due of $2,395 ($30,000 X .07986 = $2,395).
As a local revenue source, these property tax dollars help provide the essential services within your community. Your schools, EMS providers, road districts and community centers are just a few examples of taxing bodies that rely on property tax dollars to best serve communities.