property tax
An annual tax on what your home is worth.
A recurrent local levy on assessed real property value.
What that means in practice
It is charged by local government, not the state, and it is the main way schools, roads and fire services get paid for. The bill depends on what the assessor says your home is worth and on the rate your area sets. Two identical houses in different districts can owe very different amounts.
Property tax is administered locally, with liability equal to assessed value — often a statutory fraction of market value — multiplied by the aggregate millage of overlapping jurisdictions. ⚠️ Effective rates as commonly published divide tax paid by market value and therefore blend assessment practice with nominal rates; the two are frequently confused in interstate comparisons.
Questions people ask
Who actually charges this?
Local government, almost entirely. Counties, cities and school districts set and collect property tax, not the state. That is why two houses of the same value in one state can carry very different bills.
Is this one of those terms that needs three other terms to explain it?
No — this one holds up by itself. That is unusual enough in tax vocabulary to be worth saying.
Is this the standard name for it?
Yes. property tax is settled usage. Several terms nearby go by two or three names each.
At what level is this levied and administered?
Property taxation is administered locally — by counties, municipalities and school districts — with states typically providing enabling statute, assessment standards and occasionally rate or growth caps. Effective rates therefore vary substantially within a single state.
Does this term resolve independently?
This term resolves largely independently of other defined terms, with limited cross-references. It is therefore usable as an entry point; more heavily cross-referenced provisions generally require it rather than the reverse.
Is this designation the settled one?
This designation is the settled term of art with limited alternative usage, so it maps reliably to statutory and agency references. Terms with multiple colloquial designations require more care when searching source material.