property tax

noun

|Updated on: 10 Jul 2018

Definition of property tax

: a tax levied on real or personal property

Recent Examples of property tax from the Web

The parent company, Grand Canyon Education Inc., will still pay property taxes, which GCU estimates at $1.7 million in 2019.

— rachel leingang, azcentral, "It's official: Grand Canyon University has its non-profit status back," 2 July 2018
California property taxes, which fund local governments, are capped by the state constitution’s Proposition 13 at 1% of a home’s value and can’t rise by more than 2% annually.

— allysia finley, WSJ, "Why California Is Losing Teachers and Laying Off Secretaries," 29 June 2018
The financial plan represents more than an 8 percent increase from the previous year’s spending made possible by an extra $500 million in revenue from property taxes, grants, fees, pass-throughs and other traditional income sources.

— city news service, Ramona Sentinel, "Supervisors approve $6 billion budget that bolsters mental health services," 27 June 2018
With City Tours still owing more than $176,000 in delinquent property taxes, Albert Uresti, the county’s tax assessor-collector, moved to seized the additional vehicles on June 8.

— patrick danner, San Antonio Express-News, "Seized double-decker buses headed to auction," 21 June 2018
There were 419 properties with unpaid taxes, totaling $1,075,885.93, up for sale last year — 404 were sold, netting $934,727.38. The county is not selling the properties themselves, but just the liens on unpaid property taxes.

— david anderson, The Aegis, "Harford County recoups more than $828,000 in annual tax lien sale," 19 June 2018
Sears paid Seritage $109 million in rent in 2017, $43 million in expenses such as property taxes, insurance and utilities, and $35 million in lease termination fees, according to a public filing.

— charisse jones, USA TODAY, "Sears, Kmart stores ailing as CEO Eddie Lampert's hedge fund gets hundreds of millions," 18 June 2018
During that time, an investor is paying property taxes, insurance and interest on a mortgage or construction loan.

— New York Times, "For House Flippers, Reality Meets Reality TV," 15 June 2018
Sources of the city’s income include sales tax revenues (38 percent), property tax revenues (26 percent), all other taxes (14 percent), charges for services (11 percent) and 11 percent from other sources.

— j. harry jones, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Escondido approves budget; Diaz silently votes no," 14 June 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.

First Known Use of property tax

1808

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Financial Definition of PROPERTY TAX

property tax

noun

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