Welcome to owning a property and having to pay property tax. It’s time to learn how your property taxes will be calculated. Your property taxes are gauged by the evaluated value of your property with an exclusion that you qualify for and the property tax proportion. Usually, the property tax is determined on the same date every year, but some jurisdictions do it every other year. Depending on the area your property is located in, the property tax is assessed by the market value. Other areas will multiply the market value price by a valuation rate, which will conclude the price for the calculated value.

By paying your property taxes you are helping to create new roads, public schools and colleges, better police enforcement and fire protection, sanitation and sewer updates and other local needs in your community. You may not notice these updates personally but just note that every contribution from people’s taxes is going to benefit your community in many different ways.

If you are doing renovations to your property, this can also affect the amount you will pay in property taxes. New renovations increase the property and how much it is worth, therefore your property tax might be higher the next year you go to pay it. If your property decreases in value or the next couple years, they could also decrease the amount you pay in property tax- it works both ways. This is a general overview of how property taxes work, however you will have to consult a professional locally since the laws are different in certain places.

It’s always important to get an estimate of how much your property taxes will be each year and how much they can increase. You do not want to be surprised by your taxes after you purchase the property.