How levies can affect your taxes: Taxes affect all our lives. And levies are the way many taxing districts choose to raise the money to support the services their taxpayers demand. Let's take a brief look at how levies operate. First, let's define the basic terms:

Mill: A unit of measure, 1/1,000 milligram, milliliter, millimeter, etc. When talking about taxes, a mill is $1.00 in taxes for every $1,000 of assessed value.

Assessed Value: In Ohio, the assessed value of real estate is 35% of the property's estimated market value.

Market Value: The sale price of real estate as agreed upon between a willing buyer and a willing seller, with neither being under any duress to either buy or sell.

Who sets the real estate market value? The County Auditor has the responsibility for determining the market value of all real estate in the county. The County Auditor then calculates the assessed value for each property.

How is market value determined?

The County Auditor uses real estate sales in the county, specific property characteristics, and statistical analysis to arrive at the market value for every property in the county. The market value is determined as of January 1st of the year of the assessment.

What happens when a tax levy is passed by the voters?

Every levy ballot must contain language showing the year the levy commences (begins). For example, "...commencing tax year 2001"; taxpayers within the district where the levy's been approved will begin paying what they owe on the tax levy in the year of collection. The amount of millage they will pay ($1.00/$1,000 of assessed value of their real estate's value) is based on the amount of money the levy must collect.

How often does the County Auditor update market values?

Every six (6) years the County Auditor does a field inspection of all the real estate in the county, called a revaluation.

If ordered to by the Department of Tax Equalization, the Auditor also performs an update of property values three (3) years after the six-year revaluation.

Brown County's valuation cycle is:

• 2000 Previous Revaluation
• 2003 Previous Update
• 2006 Revaluation
• 2009 Update

Also, if a new house is built, or improvements, such as a deck, garage, porch or building addition is made to a property, the property's market value could increase annually until the improvement is completed. back to top | back to faq's

How much can I expect to pay in taxes for a 1.00 mill levy?

First, let's assume the market value of your home is $100,000, and that it is your primary residence. Your tax bill for a 1.00 mill levy is calculated as shown below. back to top | back to faq's

What is inside millage?
What is outside millage?

Inside millage is limited by law to 10 mills for any taxing district. Because they are inside mills, these 10 mills can be collected as a levy without being voted on by the people in the taxing district.

Outside millage is all other millage requested that is over the 10-mill limit. Outside mills must be voted upon and approved by the majority of the voters in the taxing district where the tax will be levied. Because of H.B. 920 (passed in 1976), there is a cap on the amount of money a levy can collect. That means a levy can collect no more in the future than it collets during the first year it's enacted (see example 1 at the bottom of this page). back to top | back to faq's

What is a replacement levy?

A replacement levy allows the taxing district to begin a new tax levy that will collect the entire amount of outside millage the levy requests using calculations based on the current market values of properties. back to top | back to faq's

What is a renewal levy?

A renewal levy allows the taxing district to keep a current levy on the books and collect the same amount of money as when the original levy was voted in (see example 2 at the bottom of this page). back to top | back to faq's

What is a "rollback"? What is the 2.5% exemption?

The State of Ohio pays each subdivision (school, township, village, count board or district) for the portion of the taxes that are either "rolled back" or exempted.

The rollback reduces the property taxes due by 10%.

The 2.5% exemption reduces the property's taxes by that amount only if it is the person's primary residence.

However, if a person is either totally disabled or elderly (and meets the income and eligibility requirements), there could also be an additional tax exemption on the property. back to top | back to faq's

How does new construction add tax revenue to taxing districts?

The additional taxes generated from new construction (buildings, porches, decks, etc.) is equal to the amount the increase would have generated using the previous year's effective tax rate or reduced millage. For example, if you contract a $100,000 new home, the home's value adds $100,000 to the total market value of that district. Because of this new home's value, the township will collect an additional $17.42 per year. Because the township (in this example) currently collects approximately 37,250 annually from the fire levy, this equates to an approximate growth of far less than 1% annually (since 1980) in tax revenues to that township's fire department. back to top | back to faq's

EXAMPLE 1:
Sample outside millage renewal levy calculation:
(This is a simplified example for demonstration purposes)

For example, let's use a $100,000 home in today's real estate market.

2000 market value of the property.............................................$100,000
5-year levy renewal rate (effective rate).................................0.4978 mills
Gross taxes from this property.................................$17.42 annual taxes
Net taxes as a primary resident (2.5% reduction)......$15.24 annual taxes

The same house in 1980 was:

2000 market value of the property.............................................$49,780
5-year levy renewal rate (effective rate).....................................1.00 mills
Gross taxes from this property.................................$17.42 annual taxes
Net taxes as a primary resident (2.5% reduction)......$15.24 annual taxes

The correlation between the millage and the market value will continue through the term of the levy (5 years). Because the levy is being renewed, even though the market value in the district increases during the five-year term, the millage will be lowered so the district will not receive more tax revenue than in the first year the levy was enacted. back to top | back to faq's

EXAMPLE 2:
Renewal versus Replacement Levy
(This is a simplified example for demonstration purposes)

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CLICK HERE TO READ THE TAXPAYERS' BILL OF RIGHTS ON TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX