Q: What does the Property Tax Calculator do?
A: The Property Tax Calculator estimates your property tax based on the most recent sales of comparable homes in your neighborhood. We've got most of the country covered (check the states we cover), and we're adding more all the time.
Q: Why is a home's assessed value sometimes different from the sale price?
A: There are two main reasons:
- In some taxing districts, a home is assessed at a certain percentage (called the assessment ratio) of the home's fair market value. These percentages may vary from 70% in Connecticut to 10% in Colorado. So, the assessment will be a fraction of a home's market value in certain areas. In other taxing districts, homes may be assessed at 100% of their fair market value (e.g., a $100,000 home will be assessed at $100,000).
- Market changes in the years since the last assessment of a property may result in an assessment that is much lower for one property than for a more-recently sold comparable property in the same area.
Q: How does the Property Tax Calculator work?
A: We ask you to choose a recently purchased home that is similar to yours. We then take the sale price of this home and multiply it by the assessment ratio for your area. The assessed value is an approximation of the taxable value of your home. Next we multiply the taxable value of your home by your area's tax rate to arrive at your total tax bill.
Q: How accurate are Property Tax Calculator results?
A: We're confident that you will get an accurate estimate for your property tax bill by using our calculator, as long as the comparable home you selected is the closest to yours. Also, please note that this information is not a substitute for consulting a licensed appraiser, tax assessor, or tax attorney.
Q: The property tax rate you have for my area is wrong; why?
A: Please note that we provide estimated tax rates. Some rates are an average of rates across a given metropolitan statistical area, so the rates for your specific town or city may differ from this average.
Q: Why do I need to choose a recent sales price to calculate my property tax?
A: A recently purchased home, similar to yours, is the most useful approximation of the fair market value of your home.
Q: The taxes you say I owe are different from what the assessor says I owe; it looks as though I am paying too much. How can I be sure? What should I do?
A: Our tool aims to estimate your property taxes or those in neighborhoods you're considering moving to. First, make sure the information you submitted and the comp you selected are accurate. Then, if you don't believe that your tax bill is correct, we suggest you contact your assessor.
Q: Where does your tax rate data come from?
A: We've collected this information from government sources, including your local taxing authority, and compiled it into an easy-to-use tool.
Q: Why do you have no tax rate information for some areas for which you have home sales records?
A: Two possible reasons:
- In order to provide the most accurate results for the Property Tax Calculator, we retrieve records for nearby home sales from the last 2 years only. We do not consider records older than 2 years to be an adequate comparison for purposes of calculating your estimated property tax.
- There may also be gaps between our huge database of home sale prices and our tax rate data, and we are working to improve our coverage of tax rates across the country.
Q: Does the tax rate for my area change yearly?
A: Because a huge part of a city's budget depends on property tax revenues, the tax rate may change modestly each year. Tax rate changes depend on the financial needs of your local government.
Still need help?
Please ask us. We pride ourselves on maintaining the most timely, reliable and consumer-friendly site of its kind, but are always learning from our users. Check out all the FAQs in Expert Advice and Using Domania, and if you're still stuck, contact customer service.
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