BETA
Decoding the millage rate
If a school district in Ohio sets a millage rate of 50 mills, a homeowner pays $50 for every $1,000 of assessed value. In 2023, the average US property tax rate was about 1.1%, but this varies wildly by state.
Chapter 1
How property taxes actually work
Chapter 2
Why school districts are funded this way
Chapter 3
The history of school funding battles
Chapter 4
How the rest of the world does it
Ch 1 · How property taxes actually work
sloane Drag homes into school districts to discover how property taxes fund local classrooms.
sloane Property Taxes and Schools
Your property taxes, oh yeah! (Tell me, what for?) / They fund the schools in your district! (And so much more!)
sloane Property taxes are split among multiple local public services, with public schools typically receiving the largest share.
Fun Fact
Ancient property taxes: Pharaohs in Egypt taxed land based on Nile River flood levels over 5,000 years ago.
sloane A millage rate is the tax rate applied to your property's assessed value, where one mill equals one dollar per thousand dollars of value.
Glossary
property tax (noun)
A tax levied on real property, such as land and buildings, by a governing authority. In 1973, the Supreme Court upheld school funding systems reliant on this local real estate levy.
A tax levied on real property, such as land and buildings, by a governing authority. In 1973, the Supreme Court upheld school funding systems reliant on this local real estate levy.
Quiz
If a home has an assessed value of $200,000 and the tax rate is 1.5%, how much is the annual property tax?
Quiz
On average, which local service receives the largest share of property tax revenues in the United States?