Property Tax Calculator: Bill, Escrow, and SALT Cap (2026)

The rate on the bill is not a rate you can compare

County websites publish millage rates — dollars per $1,000 of assessed value. A rate of 25 mills sounds like 2.5%, and it would be, if assessed value equaled market value. In many jurisdictions it does not. Assessment ratios of 40%, 50%, or 100% are all in use, and a handful of states apply fractional assessment with equalisation factors layered on top.

The number that travels is the effective rate: total tax divided by market value. That is the only figure you can put next to another county, another state, or another house. Every rate in this tool is an effective rate.

What sits on top of the county rate

A property tax bill is not one levy. It is a stack. Typically it includes the county, the municipality, the school district, a library district, a community college district, a transit authority, and sometimes a special assessment for sewers or road lights. The school district is frequently the largest single line, and it is frequently missing from the rate a buyer finds first.

That is why two homes a mile apart can carry visibly different bills at the same market value. The boundary that matters is not the state line or even the county line — it is the school district and the special district overlay.

Where the burden actually falls

Effective rates range from roughly 0.28% in Hawaii to 2.23% in New Jersey, a spread of almost eight times on the same home value. The national median sits near 1.02%. On a $400,000 house that is about $4,080 a year in a median state, $1,120 in Hawaii, and $8,920 in New Jersey.

Rate alone does not decide the bill, because home values differ enormously. Texas has no state income tax and a comparatively high effective rate, so local governments lean on the property tax to fund schools; a median Texas home can generate a bill above $5,000. California's headline rate is low, but Proposition 13 caps assessment growth at 2% a year until the property sells, which means two identical houses on the same street can carry bills that differ by a factor of four depending on when each last changed hands.

The point of the projection table. A property tax is not a one-time closing cost. It is a perpetual annuity paid to a district, and it grows. At 3% annual growth, a $4,080 bill becomes $5,483 in ten years and $7,368 in twenty — roughly $115,000 of cumulative payments on a house you already own outright.

The federal deduction is smaller than owners expect

Property tax is deductible only as part of the state and local tax itemised deduction, and only if you itemise at all. Most homeowners do not: the 2026 standard deduction is $16,100 single, $24,150 head of household, and $32,200 married filing jointly, and a household needs a Schedule A total above that line before any of this produces a dollar of benefit.

The cap itself moved. For 2026 the SALT limit is $40,400 for single and joint filers, up from the $10,000 that applied from 2018 through 2024. It phases down by 30 cents per dollar of modified adjusted gross income above $505,000, reaching the $10,000 floor at roughly $606,000. The increased cap is scheduled to revert to $10,000 after 2029.

Three things follow that most calculators miss. The cap is shared — property tax plus state income tax or sales tax, not property tax alone. It is a deduction, not a credit, so at a 24% marginal rate $4,080 of tax reduces federal tax by about $979, not $4,080. And in a high-tax state where income tax alone already fills the cap, the property tax portion adds nothing at the margin.

Budget it monthly, because escrow does

Lenders with an escrow account divide the annual bill by twelve and collect it with each mortgage payment. That is why a buyer who budgets only principal and interest is short by hundreds of dollars a month. The same arithmetic applies to a homeowner without escrow who pays the bill directly twice a year — the money has to be accruing somewhere between payments.

A useful sanity check at any listing: take the annual tax, divide by twelve, and add it to principal and interest before comparing to rent. In a 2% state it can exceed the principal portion of the payment in the early years of a loan.

Appealing is cheaper than it sounds

An assessment appeal is not a complaint about the level of taxation. It is a claim that the assessor's opinion of your property's value is wrong, and it is decided on evidence: recent arm's-length sales of comparable homes, an independent appraisal, documentation of a defect the assessor's mass model did not capture.

Two practical points decide most outcomes. Deadlines are short — typically 30 to 90 days from the notice, sometimes tied to the first instalment date — and missing one forfeits the year. And the comparison set matters more than the argument: three genuinely similar sales that closed recently will carry an appeal further than any amount of reasoning about the rate being unfair.

Because the cost of filing is usually zero, the expected value is positive even at a modest success rate. The mistake is appealing with no comparable sales attached.

Why the bill rises when the rate falls

District budgets determine revenue, and the rate is the residual that produces that revenue from the current tax base. If assessments across a district rise 8% and the budget rises 3%, the rate is rolled back and most bills rise by less than 8%. Your bill rises faster than the average when your own assessment outpaces the district — a new addition, a correction to an outdated value, or a neighbourhood where sale prices moved faster than the mass appraisal model.

That asymmetry is worth remembering when a reassessment notice arrives. The notice is not a tax increase. The rate-setting process that follows it is where the increase, if any, actually happens.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my bill higher than the rate times my home value?

Because the published rate applies to assessed value, not market value, and it is usually only the county component. School district, city, and special district levies are stacked on top and often omitted from the first rate a buyer finds.

Can I deduct property tax in 2026?

Only if you itemise, and only within the SALT cap of $40,400 for 2026, which phases down above $505,000 of MAGI toward a $10,000 floor. The cap is shared with state income tax or sales tax, so property tax alone rarely fills it in a high-tax state.

Does a higher assessment always mean a higher bill?

No. If every property rises by the same percentage and the district budget is flat, the rate is rolled back to collect the same revenue. Your bill rises when your assessment grows faster than the district average.

Is appealing worth the effort?

Often yes, since filing usually costs nothing. The appeal succeeds on recent comparable sales, not on the argument that taxes are too high. Watch the deadline — it is typically 30 to 90 days from the notice.

How much should I set aside monthly?

Annual bill divided by twelve. On a $400,000 home at the 1.02% national median, that is roughly $340 a month on top of principal and interest.

Do property taxes stop when the mortgage is paid off?

No. The tax is a lien on the property, not on the loan. Paying off the mortgage removes the escrow account, not the obligation, and you begin paying the district directly.

Are HOA dues part of property tax?

No. HOA assessments are private and are not deductible as property tax. Only taxes imposed by a state or local government qualify, and only the legal owner may deduct them.

Disclaimer: This calculator produces an estimate for general information and is not tax, legal, or financial advice. Statewide medians are not predictions for a specific parcel, and local exemptions, assessment caps, and special districts are not modelled. Confirm with your county assessor's notice of value and your own tax bill.

Last reviewed: October 30, 2026 · Sources: Tax Foundation analysis of U.S. Census Bureau ACS owner-occupied housing data (2025), IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, IRC §164(b)(6) as amended by P.L. 119-21