Percentage State Property Tax: Lookup, Pay & Rates Guide

There is no single real estate property tax percentage legally applied to all homes in a particular state. Most real property taxes are levied locally by counties, cities, towns, school districts or special districts.

For meaningful state comparisons, researchers use an effective property tax rate: the real estate taxes paid on owner-occupied housing divided by the value of that housing.

All dollar amounts above are arithmetic illustrations: $300,000 multiplied by the historical effective rate. They are not median annual tax bills, actual 2026 liabilities or estimates of a specific property’s adopted tax rate.

Effective rate versus official tax rate

The table contains the complete 2024 effective-rate ranking published in the Tax Foundation’s 2026 report. Rank 1 is the highest rate; rank 50 is the lowest.

The 2023 rate is included for context. The $300,000 example is calculated using each state’s 2024 effective percentage, not an observed individual homeowner bill.

Showing all 50 states.

*Hypothetical $300,000 home tax = $300,000 × (2024 effective percentage ÷ 100). State rank follows the Tax Foundation’s published ordering, including sequential ranks where rounded percentages are identical. These examples do not account for a particular parcel’s current assessed value, exemptions, special charges or 2026 local adopted rates.

Washington, D.C., Property Tax Percentage

Enter a home value and select two states to compare the annual tax suggested by their historical effective property tax percentages.

This comparison is helpful for early relocation research and budgeting. It is not a calculation of the actual tax assessed on a specific home.

How the state percentage calculation works

Compare a $500,000 property across selected states

These are standardized comparison examples. The actual tax on a newly purchased $500,000 home may be very different, especially where reassessment, acquisition-value rules, homestead benefits or special districts apply.

Why the highest rate does not always mean the biggest bill

Tax percentage and home price are different factors. A home valued at $800,000 with a 0.50% effective-rate illustration produces $4,000 annually. A $200,000 home at 1.88% produces $3,760.

The second home has the higher percentage but the smaller illustrative dollar bill. For this reason, compare local home prices and tax history—not only statewide rates— before deciding where property ownership is more affordable.

Why property taxes differ so much

The term property tax rate has multiple meanings. Statewide effective rates should not be confused with the tax formula on a local government bill.

1. Effective property tax percentage

The Tax Foundation’s 2026 state table calculates an effective rate by comparing the aggregate real estate taxes paid on owner-occupied housing with the aggregate value of that housing.

The comparison excludes taxes paid by businesses and other non-owner-occupied property categories. The statewide effective rate is also not the same as dividing a state’s median tax bill by its median home value.

2. Nominal tax rate or millage

Local taxing units may express property tax rates as a percentage, a dollar amount per $100 or $1,000 of taxable value, or as mills.

In a system that uses mills, one mill means $1 of tax for every $1,000 of taxable assessed value.

3. Fair market value versus assessed value

States do not all tax the full market value of a home. Some apply an assessment ratio, use acquisition-based valuations, cap value increases or apply owner-occupancy classifications.

4. Why state rankings change over time

Effective percentages can move when taxes, property values or exemptions change. A reduction in the statewide effective percentage does not necessarily mean each homeowner received a lower bill.

For example, the Tax Foundation’s published Texas effective rate declined from 1.47% for 2023 to 1.40% for 2024. This does not establish that an individual Texas home’s tax bill fell by the same proportion.

There is no single federal website that displays the exact property tax bill for every U.S. home.

In most cases, property tax records are maintained by a county, municipality, township or other local tax authority.

Property tax lookup: step-by-step instructions

1. Identify the property’s exact location. Note its street address, county, municipality and state.
2. Find the official local government website. Use a verified government directory such as USAGov’s Local Governments page.
3. Find the appropriate assessing office. Look for a County Assessor, Property Appraiser, Auditor, Assessment Department or equivalent office.
4. Open its property search. Local systems may allow a search by address, owner name, parcel number or account number.
5. Check the correct property. Verify the address, parcel identifier, tax year and property classification.
6. Review the assessed and taxable value. Check exemptions, property description and applicable taxing units.
7. Find the collecting office. This may be a county treasurer, tax collector, tax commissioner or municipal finance office.
8. Open its current bill search. Confirm the tax year, amount billed, payments and outstanding balance.

Verified government property tax directories

Some states provide particularly useful directories of local assessing and collecting offices.

Local tax collectors commonly offer online payment by bank account, electronic check, credit card or debit card, but not every jurisdiction offers the same methods.

The IRS and USAGov both recognize that real estate property taxes are ordinarily administered through state and local government systems rather than one federal property tax account.

Online payment process

1. Find the official collecting office. Search for the tax collector, treasurer or other office responsible for your parcel.
2. Open its property tax payment page. Use the link from the official government website instead of an unverified advertisement.
3. Locate the property account. Enter the parcel number, address or accepted account identifier.
4. Confirm the tax year. Ensure you are not accidentally selecting a prior-year delinquent account.
5. Review the correct bill. Confirm the principal amount, payment history, exemptions and outstanding balance.
6. Check installment options. Some local systems allow multiple scheduled installments or partial payments.
7. Select a payment method. Review electronic check, bank transfer, card or other available options.
8. Review service charges. Convenience fees and processor minimums vary by jurisdiction.
9. Submit the transaction. Verify the parcel and amount before authorizing payment.
10. Save the confirmation. Keep a digital receipt and confirm that the payment posts.

When are property taxes due in each state?

There is no uniform nationwide property tax payment deadline. Even within the same state, different counties or municipalities may use different billing systems.

The most reliable source of your deadline is the actual local bill or the responsible tax collector’s official payment page. Do not use a statewide effective-rate table to determine payment deadlines.

How to avoid paying the wrong property tax account

State law can make the tax on a newly purchased home substantially different from the historical effective rate reported for existing homeowners.

California — Proposition 13

California’s Proposition 13 generally limits the basic ad valorem property tax rate to 1% of assessed value, plus authorized voter-approved bond rates.

Its acquisition-value system also generally limits increases in the factored base-year value to 2% annually, with important exceptions such as ownership changes, new construction and decline-in-value rules.

California’s historical statewide effective rate of 0.70% is therefore not a promise that a newly purchased property will be taxed at 0.70% of its purchase price.

Texas — Local Rates and School Homestead Exemptions

Texas does not impose a statewide property tax. County, school, municipal and special taxing units adopt local rates.

Texas’s historical effective rate is 1.40%. Its current general school residence homestead exemption is $140,000 in taxable value, with an additional $60,000 school exemption for qualifying owners aged 65 or older or disabled.

These exemptions have their own eligibility rules and do not apply identically to every other taxing unit.

Florida — Homestead and Save Our Homes

Florida’s historical effective rate is 0.78%. Eligible homestead property may benefit from exemptions and the Save Our Homes assessment limitation.

Under Save Our Homes, qualifying annual reassessment increases are generally limited to the lower of 3% or the applicable CPI change, subject to the statutory rules.

A new purchaser should not assume the previous owner’s capped assessed value will automatically continue unchanged.

South Carolina — Legal Residence Assessment Ratio

South Carolina’s historical effective rate is 0.49%. A qualifying primary residence generally uses a 4% assessment ratio, while other real estate may use a 6% assessment ratio under state law.

The assessment ratio is not itself the homeowner’s effective annual tax percentage. Local millage and exemptions must also be applied.

New York — School Taxes and STAR

New York’s statewide historical effective rate is 1.30%, but property taxes can vary sharply across municipalities and school districts.

The School Tax Relief program, known as STAR, provides qualifying school property tax relief through a state credit or certain existing exemptions.

A STAR credit received separately from New York State is not the same as a reduction automatically displayed on an unpaid local bill.

New Jersey — High Effective Rates and Tax Relief Programs

New Jersey and Illinois are tied at the highest rounded 2024 effective percentage, 1.88%.

New Jersey has separate property-tax relief programs, including ANCHOR, with eligibility based on factors such as income, residency and age.

Relief payments may not be identical to reductions on an individual municipality’s property tax bill.

The statewide effective percentage includes the impact of exemptions and other features in the historical data. Your own eligibility, however, depends on the rules of the jurisdiction where you own property.

How to check whether your property is receiving an exemption

1. Open the official property assessment record.
2. Confirm that the property is classified correctly as a principal residence, where applicable.
3. Review any exemption codes, taxable value or tax-credit information.
4. Compare your information with current state and local eligibility requirements.
5. Find the exemption application on the government assessing office’s website.
6. Check the deadline for the current tax year.
7. Submit the necessary documentation through the authorized process.
8. Confirm that the exemption appears on the updated tax assessment or bill.

If an assessed value or property classification is incorrect, a homeowner may be able to request an informal correction or file an administrative appeal.

The process and deadline vary by state and local assessment office. A tax-payment deadline is not necessarily the same as an assessment appeal deadline.

Assessment appeal steps

1. Find your current assessment notice. Review the assessment date, taxable value and appeal instructions.
2. Identify the assessment issue. Check for incorrect property characteristics, market value, classifications or exemption details.
3. Gather relevant evidence. Consider suitable comparable sales, photographs, measurements or a professional appraisal.
4. Contact the assessor. Ask whether an informal correction or review is available.
5. Find the official appeal form. Use the local government process, not an unrelated state’s form.
6. File before the deadline. Keep copies and proof of submission.
7. Participate in the hearing if required. Follow the review board’s instructions.
8. Check the decision and further appeal rights. Court review or another appeal route may be available depending on the jurisdiction and issue.

Can appealing lower the property tax percentage?

A successful appeal generally changes the value or classification used to calculate a particular property’s tax. It does not automatically reduce the millage set by the taxing authority.

When buying a home, the best comparison is the expected tax on the actual property after purchase, not only the statewide average paid by existing homeowners.

Check these seven things before buying

Property taxes and mortgage escrow

Many lenders collect property tax money monthly through the mortgage payment and later pay the tax collector. This does not make the tax itself a monthly government bill.

If taxes rise, the escrow portion of the mortgage payment can rise. A new buyer may also experience an escrow shortage if a lender initially estimated taxes using the seller’s historic bill.

Property taxes at closing

Property tax expenses are often prorated between buyer and seller according to their closing agreement and applicable rules.

A seller’s tax credit on a settlement statement does not automatically mean the government tax bill has been paid. Verify the account with the tax collector.

Are real estate property taxes federally deductible?

Certain qualifying state and local real estate taxes may be deductible on federal income tax returns when the taxpayer itemizes, subject to the applicable state and local tax deduction rules.

The IRS distinguishes qualifying real property taxes from nondeductible service-specific charges and certain assessments.