The Taxable Value of your property is determined via a formula and is limited by the rate of inflation. This number is reported to you by the assessing staff each February when we send Assessment Change Notices to all property owners. Millage rates are calculated in the spring for the summer collection and in the fall for winter taxes. Millage can and does vary a little from year to year due to a number of factors, however, any major change in millage will be the result of a public vote, or the expiration of a previously voted millage. How Taxable Value is Calculated Taxable value, the number upon which your tax bill is figured, is determined each year by comparing assessed and capped values and choosing the lower of the two.
Assessed value is determined by the assessor, and is based upon market value.
The Homestead Exemption basically excuses the residential owner-occupied property from 18 mills of the total millage levied as property tax. The purpose is to relieve taxpayers of a portion of the burden of funding public schools, on their primary residence. Second homes, cottages, and rental properties are not eligible, and must pay the full millage, as all commercial and industrial properties must do. This form is best suited for situations where there is no current exemption in place for the property, such as a newly built home, a home previously used as rental property, when the previous owner has rescinded the homestead, and the like. Such might be the case if the property was converted to a rental but not sold, or has now become the secondary home of the owner.