If you haven’t received your property tax bill yet, you probably will this week. Bills were mailed this past Friday, said Brown County Treasurer Mary Smith.
Property tax bills are different for every property and are affected by several factors. How much homes like yours have sold for recently, whether or not you’ve made changes like adding a barn or a garage, and the size of your local government’s budgets are some of those variables.
A property’s assessed value is one of the figures used to calculate a tax bill.
Overall, the net assessed value of property across all of Brown County — the taxable value after exemptions are subtracted — has grown by $35.5 million since tax year 2017.
Tax bills that are to be paid this year are based on 2018 values. The county’s net AV for tax year 2018 is $1,269,771,645. Net AV across the county for 2017 was 1,237,233,663, said Brown County Deputy Auditor Vickie Atkins.
Generally, as assessed value rises, the tax rate goes down, said Brown County Assessor Mari Miller.
However, “it depends on how much everybody’s budget is going up,” Miller added. A couple years ago when the county took out a $2 million road loan, that affected taxes, and so did the school district’s referendum, she said. Local government units’ budgets help to determine the tax rate.
The total tax rate charged varies based on where property is located. This tax year, rates range from a low of $1.22 per $100 of assessed property value in Washington Township (non-town) to a high of $1.66 per $100 of assessed property value in Cordry-Sweetwater Conservancy District.
Tax rates across most government units in the county have gone down slightly since last year’s tax bills were mailed — except for in the Cordry-Sweetwater and Lake Lemon conservancy districts, where they went up.
Cordry-Sweetwater is asking for $379,908 more from its taxpayers than last year, and Lake Lemon is asking for $76,373 more, according to its advertised budget notices.
The base county tax rate is staying fairly consistent at 37.7 cents per $100 of assessed property value, compared with 38.5 cents for the last tax year. In the past year, county government has not taken out any loans or bonds that were significantly different than the ones they already were charging to taxpayers — though the council did take out a new $2 million bond to replace one that would have expired.
The Brown County Music Center (formerly known as the Maple Leaf) is not affecting property tax bills because it is being paid for with innkeepers tax, which is charged to tourists who stay overnight in the county.
How to pay
For those who pay their taxes in installments, the spring payment is due by May 10 and the fall payment by Nov. 12.
If you’re still paying a mortgage to a bank and have an escrow account, you will get a tax statement, but you probably will not get a tax bill, Smith said. Your escrow account is connected to your house payment and that account pays the mortgage and taxes, she said.
The tax statement is black and white and says “information only” on it; the tax bill is teal-blue and white.
If you have a mortgage with escrow and you do receive a tax bill, Smith recommends calling your mortgage company to make sure it’s aware that taxes are due by May 10.
She also encourages taxpayers to read their entire bill, especially the back, which lists instructions for paying.
Payments can be accepted by cash, check or credit/debit card in the Brown County treasurer’s office, on the lower level of the County Office Building on East Gould Street in Nashville. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. If using any type of card to pay, a 2.5 percent fee is charged.
Payments either must be postmarked by their due date or received in the treasurer’s office by that date to avoid incurring a late fee, Smith said.
What if I don’t pay?
When owners don’t pay three installments of their property taxes, those properties become eligible for tax sale, Smith explained in a forum last summer about taxes.
Anyone who wants to buy those properties can bid on them in an auction each October.
Even if a parcel is sold in a tax sale, the owner still has a year to “redeem” it by paying what was owed, plus interest, Smith said.
Why is AV going up?
The assessed value (AV) of your property — the value upon which your tax bill is calculated — can change from year to year based on something you do to it, such as building an addition, or when you’ve done no work on it at all.
Every four years, an assessor visits each property in the county — except gated ones — to compare the condition of the property and any changes to it with what’s on record from the last visit, Miller explained at a forum about taxes last summer. Reassessment was done in Van Buren Township last year, so property owners in that area may see a change on this year’s bill for that reason.
Properties in Nashville town limits will be reassessed this year, she said.
In the years when physical inspections aren’t being done, the county assessor’s office does annual adjustments based on “trending,” Miller explained. Those are based on property sales. Using that data, assessors estimate the values of other like properties to determine the AV. If a house like yours sold for more than it was last assessed, your home’s AV is likely to go up, she said.
“From the sales we get to see an overall trend in different neighborhoods — and not necessarily geographic neighborhoods, but moreso among like properties: for instance, manufactured homes,” Miller said last week.
Property sales influenced the $38.5 million jump in net AV across the county since last year, she said — especially in Cordry-Sweetwater. That area had the biggest increase in AV year over year, gaining $13,890,116.
“The real estate market in Brown County is just unbelievable right now,” Miller said. As of February, the average list price was around $283,000, according to data from real estate group MIBOR.
In Jackson Township, new construction is playing into the rise in AV, Miller said. That area had the second-biggest increase in AV year over year, gaining $7,216,120. Van Buren Township came in third in AV gains, at $4,485,068.
Home improvements that require the owner to get a building permit, like building an addition or a barn, probably will affect the property’s AV, Miller said. However, not all improvements require a permit, so those changes in a home’s value aren’t often recognized for tax purposes until the home sells, she said.
A property’s AV could go down if sales prices for homes like it drop, or if the home hasn’t been maintained with age, Miller said last summer.
Commercial properties are assessed differently than residential properties; they’re based more on the business’ income than on property sales data.
Property owners can claim one property as their “homestead” and receive a substantial tax deduction.
How are my taxes used?
Property tax is distributed to units of government that operate where you own property. Most taxpayers’ property tax will go toward funding county government, the school district, public libraries, the solid waste management district, and the township in which their property is located.
If the property is in town limits, extra property taxes will also go to the Town of Nashville; if the property is in the Cordry-Sweetwater or Lake Lemon conservancy districts, taxes will go to those units of government as well. Property owners in Hamblen Township outside of the lakes community also support the Hamblen Township Fire Protection District.
Brown County Schools receives the largest portion of property taxes. For 2017, that amounted to $8,722,416, according to the Indiana Gateway database.
County government receives the second-largest portion, which was $5,159,475 for 2017.
This year, county government has budgeted its share of property taxes to pay for bridge repairs; capital development projects; paying back the bond that built the Brown County Law Enforcement Center; paying a new bond that was to be spent on an emergency communications tower, light poles at Deer Run Park, bleachers at the fairgrounds, the parking lot at Veterans Hall, repairs at the courthouse, security measures at the EMS building, building improvements at Sycamore Valley Community Center and the highway garage, and road work; paying back various other debts; and funding the health department and other county offices.
Individual township trustees use property tax money to fund their local fire departments, to help poor residents in their townships pay essential bills, and to maintain cemeteries in their area.
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I became a homeowner in Brown County for the first time in 2014. We haven’t made any improvements to the property since then. Here’s how my property bill has changed since we bought the place:
Home with 2.25 acres and detached garage in Washington Township (not in Nashville) purchased in October 2014 for $146,500.
2014 (payable in 2015): Gross assessed value $180,700 (before $48,000 in deductions subtracted for having a “homestead” and a mortgage); net tax bill $523.94 (deductions factored in)
2015 (payable in 2016): Gross AV $157,100; net tax bill $414.20*
2016 (payable in 2017): Gross AV $158,000; net tax bill $547.60**
2017 (payable in 2018): Gross AV $173,300; net tax bill $683.12***
2018 (payable in 2019): Gross AV $177,600; net tax bill $687.56
Property tax bills change due to many factors such as cyclical reassessment (drive-by analyses of properties), “trending” (the analysis of sales data from like properties) and local governments’ budgets.
*My property’s AV dropped considerably this year because the purchase price was so much less than what the AV had been, said Assessor Mari Miller.
**My property tax bill went up this year because this was when Brown County Schools’ seven-year referendum started being charged, and when county government took out a $2 million road loan.
***My property’s AV rose again this year because the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance had requested a review of my township, Miller said. My tax bill also rose, in part, because Washington Township’s budget went up to pay for a new fire truck.
— Sara Clifford, editor
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Track your own property tax bills over time: in.gov/dlgf/4929.htm
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