Center for State Tax Policy

Property Taxes

The property tax is a tax on the market value of privately owned property, including land, cars, business inventory, etc. Although the property tax is the principal source of revenue for localities, broad consensus has not been reached on the basic issue of whether property taxes are regressive, proportional or progressive.

Property tax liability is calculated by multiplying the nominal property tax rate by the assessment ratio (the percentage of the value of the property that is taxed) by the value of the property.

Related Articles

Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing, by County, Ranked by Taxes As a Percentage of Home Value, 2005 – 2009 (five-year average)

May 12, 2011

Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing, by County, Ranked by Taxes As a Percentage of Income, 2005 – 2009 (five-year average)

May 12, 2011

Census Bureau Releases 2010 State Tax Collection Data

April 5, 2011

Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing, by County, Ranked by Property Taxes Paid, 2007 – 2009 (3-year average)

March 2, 2011

Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing, by County, Ranked by Taxes As a Percentage of Household Income, 2007 – 2009 (3-year average)

March 2, 2011

Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing, by County, Ranked by Taxes As a Percentage of Home Value, 2007 – 2009 (three-year average)

March 2, 2011

New Online Tools from the Tax Foundation

February 7, 2011

Recent State Tax Reforms in the United States and Opportunities for California at a Time of Fiscal Challenge (Testimony before California’s Select Committee on Recovery, Reform, and Realignment)

February 2, 2011

Illinois Considers Sharp Income Tax Increase, Highest Corporate Tax Rate

January 7, 2011

Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing by County, 2005 – 2009, Ranked by Taxes as Percentage of Home Value (One year averages)

September 28, 2010

Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing by State, 2004 – 2009

September 28, 2010

Property Taxes on Owner-Occupied Housing, by County, 2005 – 2009, Ranked by Property Taxes Paid

September 28, 2010

Property Tax Revenue Increased As Property Values Fell

August 31, 2010

Where Do State and Local Governments Get Their Tax Revenue?

August 27, 2010

State-Local Tax Revenue Grew in Q1 of 2010, But 12-Month Property Tax Collections Dropped for First Time Since 2003

June 30, 2010

Monday Map: Property Taxes on Housing by State

June 21, 2010

State Provisions for Property Reassessment

April 29, 2010

Lowest and Highest Property Taxes

March 17, 2010

Illinois Should Respond to Recession by Broadening Tax Bases and Spending Frugally, Not by Raising the Personal Income Tax Rate

March 11, 2010

New Census Data: From 2006 to 2008, NY and NJ Counties Rank Highest in Property Taxes on Homeowners

October 28, 2009