Property Taxes in Ohio
Ohio's property taxes are governed by a real sexennial-reappraisal/triennial-update cycle under Ohio Revised Code 5715.33 -- Ohio carries NO statewide assessment cap comparable to California's Proposition 13 or Michigan's Proposal A, and this record states that plainly rather than assuming a cap exists.
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Learn moreThe sexennial reappraisal / triennial update mechanic, precisely
Every Ohio county auditor must conduct a full SEXENNIAL REAPPRAISAL -- a complete revaluation of every property in the county, using recent (typically prior three years') sales data and, historically, on-parcel review -- once every six years, with a TRIENNIAL UPDATE at the three-year midpoint of that same cycle: a desk-review adjustment applying current market/sales-trend data WITHOUT a physical property inspection. In practice, most Ohio properties' assessed values are touched roughly every three years, alternating full reappraisal and desk-review update.
No statewide assessment cap -- and what HB96 actually added instead
Unlike California's Proposition 13 or Michigan's Proposal A, Ohio places no statewide cap on how much an individual property's assessed value can rise at either a sexennial reappraisal or a triennial update. House Bill 96 (2025) introduced real, NEW, but genuinely different relief tools: county boards of commissioners MAY now adopt an owner-occupancy tax credit of up to 2.5% and an enhanced homestead exemption for qualifying owners -- a county-by-county LOCAL OPTION a commission can choose to adopt or not, not a statewide constitutional limit on assessed-value growth. This record does not conflate the two.
Ohio's statewide average rate runs above the national average, with real, substantial county variation
Ohio's statewide average effective property tax rate runs roughly 1.18%-1.58% depending on source (Tax Foundation's 1.36% is this record's anchor) -- above the roughly 0.91% national average. This average masks real, substantial variation: Tax Foundation's own analysis notes the effective rate runs under 1% in some rural counties and over 2.3% in parts of Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) and Montgomery County (Dayton).
What this means for a buyer
Confirm your target property's specific county, its current position in the sexennial/triennial cycle, its current millage rate, and whether that county's commissioners have adopted HB96's new owner-occupancy credit or enhanced homestead exemption -- directly with the county auditor before finalizing a budget. There is no single statewide Ohio property-tax figure that substitutes for this county-specific research.
Key takeaways
- Ohio Revised Code 5715.33 requires a full sexennial reappraisal every six years, with a desk-review triennial update at the three-year midpoint -- no physical inspection at the update.
- Ohio carries NO statewide property-tax assessment cap comparable to California's Proposition 13 or Michigan's Proposal A.
- House Bill 96 (2025) added a real, but genuinely different, COUNTY-OPTIONAL owner-occupancy tax credit (up to 2.5%) and enhanced homestead exemption -- not a statewide cap.
- Ohio's statewide average effective rate (roughly 1.18%-1.58%) runs above the national average, with real, substantial county-level variation (under 1% in some rural counties, over 2.3% in parts of Cuyahoga and Montgomery counties).
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