A mill rate determines the amount of property tax each homeowner is responsible for paying. This tax amount is expressed as one dollar for every $1,000 of assessed property value; mill or per mill means per thousand. Property taxes are often expressed this way by municipalities, so it can be useful to understand how the mill rate is calculated. This rate can vary with tax changes in your town or city.
Step 1
Find the current mill rate for your area. Contact your municipality's property tax department for the rate. You can refer to your property tax deed if you need to find specific taxes levied on your property. Most mill rates are arrived at through a base rate that is determined by local government and adjusted to reflect levies made for increased taxes to support local services. School boards, fire departments and other municipal entities often ask for tax increases to support their growing needs.
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Step 2
Multiply your current mill rate by .001 to convert it to a number that will be used to calculate the tax owed in relation to your property's assessed value. For instance, if your mill rate is 20, multiplying it by .001 converts it to .02.
Step 3
Take the newly converted rate (.02) and multiply it by your property's assessed value to determine the amount of tax owed for the year. For example, an owner of property assessed at $650,000 would find the property tax amount by first multiplying the mill rate of 20 by .001 (equaling .02) and then multiplying .02 by $650,000 to get $13,000 in property tax owed.
Step 4
Find out your municipality's policies for collecting property taxes to determine whether you need to pay your property tax annually, semiannually or quarterly. Then divide your annual tax amount by two or four to determine your semiannual or quarterly payment amount.
Tip
Mill rates will sometimes vary, so follow your local news to see if the town or city government has voted on tax increases. Sometimes there will be a freeze on a mill rate to avoid raising taxes, despite inflation.
Things You'll Need
Tax data
Property deed
Property value
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