How Property Taxes Work

First, let’s take a look at how property taxes work. Property taxes are based on the assessed value of your home. That value is determined by a county or local tax assessor, who uses recent and comparable sales of homes in the same neighborhood to estimate the value of your property. The higher the value of your home, the higher your property taxes will be. The money for your local government comes from two sources: state and local taxes. State taxes are mostly based on the value of the property. Local property taxes, on the other hand, are often based on a percentage of the value of the property. In some areas, these two amounts are combined to determine the amount of tax you’ll owe.