Five pieces of legislation centered around reforming property taxes and providing relief to homeowners were recently passed by State Congress and signed by Governor DeWine. These newly passed House Bills aim to provide immediate relief to homeowners as well as limiting the future growth of taxes when property values change.

House Bill 124 - County Auditor to determine which real estate sales are valid for use in property revaluations and updates.

House Bill 129 – Modifies the calculation of the 20-mill floor for school funding to include previously excluded millage.

House Bill 186 – Applies an Inflation Cap Credit to taxes imposed by school districts. Also increases the owner-occupancy tax credit, while phasing out the non-business credit.

House Bill 309 – Expands the County Budget Commission’s authority to review and modify millage rates of levies.

House Bill 335 – Places an Inflation Cap on “Inside Millage” during years of a county revaluation or update.

• During years of a County Revaluation or Triennial Update, property sales over the preceding three years are used to establish new property values.

• Previously, the State Department of Taxation determined how much property values were required to change based on sales the State chose to represent our County’s real estate market.

• If the levels of adjustments determined by the State were not met, the County’s established values could be rejected by the Department of Taxation.

• The Auditor and their staff have a better understanding of our communities and the unique socioeconomic factors that make up the different portions of our county.

• This bill gives the Auditor more control over change in property values by utilizing sales that best suit each area of the County, rather than allowing the State to set the standard.

• The 20-mill floor is a guaranteed minimum tax rate designed to provide stable funding for schools. Previously, only rates from applicable levies were used to calculate this floor.

• If the levy rates used to determine a school district’s millage do not meet the 20-mill floor, those levies are increased to ensure the 20-mills are collected.

• This bill modifies the 20-mill floor calculation to include other rates, such as those from emergency levies, thereby curbing unvoted spikes in taxes when property values increase.

• It also replaces future emergency, substitute, and replacement levies with “fixed-sum levies” and requires schools to place these levies on the ballot to ensure any increases are voter approved.

• Although this bill does not immediately lower property taxes, it is designed to slow the rate at which school taxes grow and gives our taxpayers more control over their school district’s tax revenue.

• Caps the growth of property tax revenue for school districts on the 20-mill floor. Any increase in revenue for these districts is now limited to the rate of inflation over the previous three years.

• An Inflation Cap Credit will be applied tax bills when a school district’s tax revenue growth exceeds inflation, limiting unvoted tax increases when property values sharply rise.

• This School Credit is retroactive for Tax Year 2025 and will be applied to the second half tax bills paid in 2026.

• This bill also provides for an increase to the owner-occupancy credit, while phasing out the non-business credit, over the next four years beginning in Tax Year 2026.

• The owner-occupancy credit will be increased from 2.5% to 5.7% in 2026, to 8.92% in 2027, to 12.15% in 2028, and finally 15.38% in 2029.

• The 10% non-business credit will be reduced 2.5% over four years, but property intended for farming activity will retain the 10% nonbusiness credit.

• This bill ultimately aims to protect taxpayers from unvoted revenue increases from school districts on the 20-mill floor and provides more relief to residents that own and live in their homes.

• This bill strengthens the oversight of the County Budget Commission to hold local taxing authorities accountable for their levies and to ensure fiscal discipline.

• Budgets, projected expenditures, current fund balances, and other funding sources will be analyzed by the Commission to determine the financial needs of a taxing authority.

• Millage of a levy may be reduced or “rolled back” if the tax collections to be made are deemed excessive to what is needed to provide services.

• The Commission will be able to ensure stable funding for local entities while eliminating unnecessary tax collections, preventing spikes in tax bills when property values increase.

• Inside Millage, or the 10-mill limitation, is property tax assessed by local entities that do not require voter approval. This bill limits the growth of these taxes by capping them to the rate of inflation.

• During years when property values increase from a revaluation or update, the County Budget Commission will adjust the rate of any levy within the 10-mill limitation so that the increase in taxes charged does not exceed the rate of inflation.

• By capping the increase in the taxable amount of these levies, property owners are protected from an uncontrolled tax increase when property values rise.

• Local entities will still receive essential funding, but property owners will not be hit with a drastic spike in their tax bills when properties are revaluated or updated.