How to read your Ohio property tax bill, and why Bellevue bills differ by county
Market value, taxable value, effective rates and rollbacks: a line-by-line guide to the bill, plus what changes from one county to the next.
Ohio property tax bills arrive twice a year and are not easy to read. Here is what the main lines mean.
Market value and taxable value
The county auditor sets the market value of your property, meaning what it would likely sell for. Ohio taxes 35 percent of that figure, called the assessed or taxable value. A home with a market value of $150,000 has a taxable value of $52,500.
Auditors do a full reappraisal every six years and an update every three years in between. Because Bellevue spans four counties, neighbors can be on different reappraisal schedules, as our four-county explainer describes.
Gross and effective rates
Tax rates are expressed in mills, with one mill equal to $1 per $1,000 of taxable value. The gross rate is the total of all levies voters have approved. But Ohio law reduces the effective rate on most voted levies when property values rise, so a levy brings in roughly the same dollars it did when it passed. That is why the effective rate on your bill is lower than the gross rate.
Credits and rollbacks
Owner-occupied homes approved before 2013 get state-funded rollbacks that reduce the bill, typically shown as a separate line. Levies passed after September 2013 do not get the rollback. Seniors and disabled homeowners who qualify can get the homestead exemption, which we explain in our homestead guide. Farmland may qualify for lower CAUV values.
Where the money goes
Most bills break down the tax by taxing district: schools, the city or township, the county, libraries, parks and others. In most Ohio districts, schools get the largest share.
Questions and appeals
If you think your value is wrong, you can file a complaint with the county board of revision, usually between January and March 31. The Ohio Department of Taxation has guides on the process. Contact information for your county auditor is printed on your bill. More in Finance.