property tax

noun

Definition of property tax

: a tax levied on real or personal property

Examples of property tax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1978, the state’s taxpayers mounted a historic revolt by passing Proposition 13, which slashed and constrained the growth of property taxes. — Alejandro Lazo, WSJ, "The Mixed Ledger of Jerry Brown," 14 Dec. 2018 In New Hampshire, homeowners pay some of the highest effective property taxes in the nation, according to an analysis by ATTOM Data Solutions. — Adrian D. Garcia, The Seattle Times, "Is a state with no income tax — like Washington — better or worse?," 10 Sep. 2018 Those who say Michigan corporations are not paying their fair share of taxes are not seeing the entire picture, said Anderson, who noted corporations pay significant property taxes and sales taxes on top of corporate income taxes. — Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, "Snyder budgets shifted tax burden from corporations to individuals," 22 June 2018 The agreement would abate 50 percent of the property taxes on the hotel for a period of up to 10 years with a cap of $4 million. — Mike Nolan, Daily Southtown, "Tinley Park works on tax breaks for prospective new owner of hotel," 21 June 2018 The benefit will be offset in part by payments from Cordish in lieu of taxes to Kansas City Public Schools, libraries and mental health programs — all of which depend on property tax revenue. — Bill Turque, kansascity, "With misgivings, KC Council approves tax breaks for Three Light," 21 June 2018 In a letter to Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, union President Julie Sellers said the city’s history of tax abatements, which is the temporary reduction or elimination of property taxes, is hurting Cincinnati schools. — Kate Murphy, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati teachers to city: Tax breaks costing schools $8.4M. Stop giving so many of them.," 5 June 2018 The Parish Council has appointed a committee to consider all of Jefferson's property taxes and recommend consolidating and adjusting some, to align with council members' priorities. — Drew Broach, NOLA.com, "January freeze, pressure drop expose precarious nature of East Jefferson water system," 23 May 2018 Understanding the impact of property taxes and homeowner’s insurance on monthly payments is crucial. — Kenneth R. Gosselin, courant.com, "Tips for Home Buyers From The Experts," 17 May 2018

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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6 Feb 2019

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The first known use of property tax was in 1808

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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