Property Tax Bills 2026: What Your Home Owes and How to Appeal

The fall property tax bills are landing. Texas counties mail theirs around October 1, California's first installment is due November 1, and Florida's bills arrive in early November with a 4% discount for anyone who pays that month. For most homeowners it is the largest single bill of the year that is not the mortgage itself, and for those who pay through escrow it is the line that quietly raises the mortgage payment every year.

This guide works out what a $350,000 and a $500,000 home owe in nine states, what the deadlines are this fall, what a successful assessment appeal is worth in dollars, and what the two homestead changes on Texas and Florida bills actually do. The rates are the Tax Foundation's state averages; every dollar figure comes from a short script whose assumptions are listed at the end.

The billWhat a $350,000 and a $500,000 home owe

A property tax bill is the taxable value of the home multiplied by the combined rate of every local government that levies on it — county, city, school district, and special districts. Because assessment rules, exemptions and rates all differ, the cleanest way to compare states is the effective rate: taxes actually paid divided by what the home is worth.

The same $500,000 house costs $7,950 a year more to own in New Jersey than in Hawaii, before anyone has fixed a gutter. The middle state in the Tax Foundation table sits at 0.79%, which is roughly where Florida and Georgia are.

To run your own home, the Property Tax Calculator takes the market value, a percentage or millage rate, the assessment ratio and your exemptions, and returns the annual, monthly and weekly bill plus a projection of what you pay over the years you expect to stay.

The calendarFall deadlines in the three biggest states

Each state sets its own schedule, and the penalties for missing them are not small.

Florida's discount deserves a second look. Paying a $5,000 bill in November instead of at the end of March saves $200 — and because that is 4% for paying about four months early, it works out to roughly 13% a year on the money. No savings account comes close, so if the cash is there and the bill is not in escrow, November is the month to pay it.

The appealWhat a lower assessment is worth

Your bill is the assessed value times the rate. You cannot argue with the rate — it is set by elected bodies — but you can argue with the value, and a reduction carries forward every year until the next reassessment.

Where you are in the calendar decides whether you can still act this year:

• California — a decline-in-value appeal is filed between July 2 and September 15 or November 30, depending on the county. If your county runs to November 30, there is still time this fall; check your county assessor's site today.
• Texas — the protest deadline is May 15, or 30 days after the appraisal district mails your notice, whichever is later. This year's window has closed for most homes; next year's notice arrives in April or May.
• Florida — a petition to the Value Adjustment Board is due 25 days after the TRIM notice is mailed, usually in mid-August, so most 2026 deadlines have passed.

The exemptionsTwo homestead changes on this year's bills

Exemptions subtract a fixed amount from the taxable value before the rate applies, which is why a few thousand dollars of exemption can matter more than a fraction of a point of rate. Two states changed theirs.

Texas. Voters approved Proposition 13 on November 4, 2025, raising the school-district homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000; homeowners who are 65 or older or disabled get a further $60,000, for $200,000 against school taxes. At an illustrative school rate of $1.00 per $100 of value, the extra $40,000 of exemption is worth $400 a year whatever the home is worth, and a $350,000 home owned by someone over 65 pays school tax on only $150,000. The exemption applies to your primary residence and must be claimed with the appraisal district; it does not happen automatically when you buy.

Florida. On November 3, 2026, Florida voters decide a constitutional amendment that would raise the homestead exemption on non-school property taxes from about $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then index it to inflation. It needs 60% of the vote. School taxes are excluded; people who move to Florida in 2027 or later would get only $50,000 on non-school levies for their first five years; and assessment increases on non-homestead property would be capped at 5% a year instead of 10%. The Tax Foundation estimates the cut at $4.6 billion in the first year and $8.4 billion in the second.

The saving is a flat $1,200 in 2027 and $2,400 in 2028 at 12 mills, because an exemption removes the same slice of value from every home that has at least that much. What it cannot say is what local governments do next: the amendment limits what they may spend on but does not replace the revenue, so rates, fees or services may move.

The escrowWhy your mortgage payment goes up

Most homeowners with a mortgage never see the bill: the lender collects one-twelfth of it each month and pays the county. Once a year the lender reruns the numbers, and when taxes have risen, two things happen at once.

That jump of $117 a month arrives with no change to the loan, which is why it is worth knowing your bill before the escrow statement does. When you compare homes, the Mortgage Calculator puts the property tax rate inside the monthly payment, so the house with the lower price is not mistaken for the cheaper one. And if you are weighing a new loan, remember that the escrow money moving to a new lender is not a cost — our refinance break-even guide explains why.

Tracking itWhere the bill belongs in your books

A tax that comes once or twice a year is easy to forget until it is due, so it belongs in a sinking fund topped up monthly — the same logic as the predictable expenses in our emergency fund guide. Divide the annual bill by twelve and set it aside, or log it as a recurring expense so the month it lands holds no surprise.

For a rental, property tax is a deductible operating expense. The Rental Income Tracker has a Property Tax category, so each payment sits against the right property, flows into cash flow and cap rate, and appears in the Schedule E-style tax report at year end. Our guide to tracking rental income and expenses for taxes covers what else goes on that list — including how the assessment's land-and-building split sets your depreciation.

Where these numbers come from

• State rates: Tax Foundation, Property Taxes by State and County, 2026 (March 16, 2026), which publishes the effective tax rate on owner-occupied housing — median taxes paid divided by home value — from the Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates. These are averages: within a state, county rates vary severalfold, and the figures lag today's market by a year or more. Applying a state average to one house overstates the bill for long-time owners in assessment-capped states such as California and Florida, and understates it for a recent buyer there.
• Bills: value × effective rate, the same formula as the Property Tax Calculator with a 100% assessment ratio and no separate exemptions (the averages already include them).
• Appeal: the same rate on a value 10% lower; the five-year total assumes the lower value carries forward and the rate is unchanged.
• Texas exemption: $100,000 → $140,000 school homestead exemption (Proposition 13, approved November 4, 2025; Texas Comptroller), plus $60,000 for 65+ and disabled homeowners. The $1.00 per $100 school rate is illustrative; districts differ.
• Florida amendment: provisions and revenue estimate from the Tax Foundation's analysis (June 3, 2026). The 12-mill non-school rate is illustrative. "About $50,000" reflects that today's exemption is indexed and applies in two tiers.
• Deadlines and discounts: California State Board of Equalization and Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector (installments, 10% penalty, $7,000 homeowners' exemption, appeal filing periods); Texas Comptroller (bills, January 31, penalties, May 15 protests); Florida Statutes s. 197.162 (discounts) and the Florida Department of Revenue (Value Adjustment Board petitions). Weekend and holiday dates can move a deadline to the next business day.
• Escrow: one-twelfth of the annual bill per month, a shortage spread over twelve months, and a cushion of up to one-sixth of the annual bill under federal escrow rules (RESPA, Regulation X). Your servicer's analysis may differ.

All calculations are in a short script, property-tax-2026-numbers.mjs. This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

How is my property tax bill calculated?

Taxable value times the combined local rate. Taxable value is the assessed value (sometimes a fixed share of market value) minus exemptions such as a homestead exemption. Rates may be printed as a percentage or in mills — one mill is $1 per $1,000 of taxable value.

Which state has the highest property taxes?

New Jersey and Illinois, at an effective 1.88% of home value in the Tax Foundation's 2026 table, followed by Connecticut at 1.54%. Hawaii is lowest at 0.29%, then Alabama at 0.37%.

Can I still appeal my 2026 assessment?

In some California counties, yes — the decline-in-value window runs to November 30. In Texas (May 15) and Florida (25 days after the August TRIM notice), the 2026 windows have closed for most homes; prepare for next spring's notice.

Is it worth paying Florida property tax in November?

If the bill is not paid from escrow and you have the cash, usually yes: the 4% discount for paying about four months early is roughly a 13% annual return.

Why did my mortgage payment go up when my rate is fixed?

Because the escrow part rose. When property taxes or insurance go up, the lender raises the monthly escrow and also collects any shortage from the past year, often over twelve months.

Is property tax deductible?

On a rental, yes, as an operating expense. On your own home, it counts toward the federal SALT deduction if you itemize, subject to that deduction's cap — check the current limit for your income before counting on it.