property tax

Definition of property tax

: a tax levied on real or personal property

Examples of property tax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web How metro districts establish their own debt and issue that debt was critically important to learning how property tax increases occur. — David Migoya, The Denver Post, "Bruce Rau is one of the most elected men in Colorado but doesn’t live in any of the metro districts he represents," 12 Dec. 2019 Lawmakers mandated a minimum $40,000-a-year salary for teachers, which certainly will result in property tax increases in many downstate communities where the median per-capita income is less than $40,000. — Dan Mccaleb, Daily Southtown, "McCaleb: Lawmakers 'hard work' pays off for them, not taxpayers," 7 June 2019 Kocher said that new growth made up the brunt of property tax revenue increases for the city, or 60 percent of the $134 million in new revenues last year. — BostonGlobe.com, "State Representative Kevin Honan, a Democrat from Allston and Brighton who is the House chairman of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Housing, said in a statement that he will sponsor Boston’s bill at the State House.," 17 Dec. 2019 How metro districts establish their own debt and issue that debt was critically important to learning how property tax increases occur. — David Migoya, The Denver Post, "Bruce Rau is one of the most elected men in Colorado but doesn’t live in any of the metro districts he represents," 12 Dec. 2019 Extending a historic property tax break, so that more of these property owners can delay tax increases that would result from improvements. — Hillary Borrud | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive.com, "Oregon lawmakers want to renew tax breaks for low-wage workers, political donors," 19 June 2019 How metro districts establish their own debt and issue that debt was critically important to learning how property tax increases occur. — David Migoya, The Denver Post, "Even Highlands Ranch metro districts, which are considered successful, remain nearly $30 million in debt," 5 Dec. 2019 Against that backdrop, some aldermen wondered privately why the mayor didn’t ram through the big property tax increase this year. — John Byrne, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s budget challenge: Do it again next year.," 26 Nov. 2019 Some districts have raised pay for their teachers in the last year or so – either through state funding streams or, like in the case of Indianapolis Public Schools, with a local property tax increase. — Arika Herron, Indianapolis Star, "Thousands expected for Red for Ed Action Day at the Statehouse. Here’s why they're marching.," 17 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'property tax.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

9 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Property tax.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/property%20tax. Accessed 19 January 2020.

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More Definitions for property tax

property tax

noun

Financial Definition of property tax

What It Is

Property tax is a tax on property -- usually real estate -- as determined by an assessor.

How It Works

Let's assume you own a house. The property tax assessor in your municipality will likely assign a value to the house and calculate your property taxes based on that assessed value. It is important to note that assessed value is usually not the same as a property's fair market value.

For example, if the property tax rate is 4% and your house's assessed value is $200,000, then your property tax liability equals (.04 x $200,000) or $8,000. The assessed value is often computed by incorporating the purchases and sales of similar properties in nearby areas.

Why It Matters

Property taxes are usually collected by cities or counties, and the funds usually pay for the local school, fire and police districts.

Tax rolls disclose the taxable value of all the property in a taxing authority’s jurisdiction. They are the basis for most property tax calculations, and the size of the tax roll therefore can have a huge influence on the operating budgets of the taxing authority. Tax rolls also usually disclose the owner of each piece of property, a description of the property and other details.

Source: Investing Answers

property tax

noun