What this site is for
Every US homeowner pays property tax — it's usually the second-largest line on a monthly mortgage payment, behind only principal-and-interest. And yet the rules that determine that number are buried across state statutes, county appraisal district websites, and local taxing-unit budget resolutions, most of which were not written to be read by normal people.
The almanac's job is to pull that scattered information into one place per county. Each county page has the current adopted rates, a working calculator that applies the actual statutory math to a home value you enter, and plain-language explanations of the exemptions and caps that can meaningfully reduce your bill.
What this site is not
We're not a tax preparation service, a law firm, or an appraisal district. We don't file exemption applications on your behalf, represent you in appeals, or have access to your county's records beyond what they publish publicly. The calculators on this site are for directional estimates. For an authoritative number, you still need to consult your appraisal district or assessor — whose contact information we list at the top of every county page precisely because those folks are the ones who can answer questions about your parcel.
We're also not affiliated with any political organization, tax-reform advocacy group, or relocation service. Where we cite migration statistics or tax-burden comparisons, we source them from the US Census Bureau, the Tax Foundation, state revenue departments, and university policy institutes — not from partisan commentary.
Data sources
Rate data is compiled from publicly available sources, refreshed after each state's annual rate-adoption cycle:
- Texas: Adopted rates published by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and individual appraisal districts. Rates typically finalize in late October.
- Indiana: Certified gross tax rates from the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. Published in February for the tax year beginning that May.
- Illinois: County equalization factors from the Illinois Department of Revenue, combined with composite rates published by county clerks. Finalized in spring.
- Florida: Millage rates certified by the Florida Department of Revenue in September ahead of November tax bills.
- Tennessee: County and city rates adopted by county commissions and city councils in July, published by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.
- Arizona: Primary and secondary rates set in August by the Arizona Department of Revenue; tax bills mailed the following month.
Population figures are from the US Census Bureau's 2020 Decennial Census and the American Community Survey (5-year estimates through 2024). Home value and median tax bill estimates are drawn from the same sources plus the individual county appraisal/assessor offices.
Our coverage
As of this edition, the almanac covers 667 counties across 50 states: Texas, Indiana, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, and Arizona. We add new states at a pace of roughly one per month, prioritizing states with high inbound or outbound migration (states that appear in relocation searches) and states with distinctive property tax mechanisms that deserve explanation.
Within each state we cover the ten most populous counties, which typically account for 55–80% of the state's population and the overwhelming majority of search volume. Smaller counties are added as time and demand warrant.
Accuracy, caveats, and errors
We take factual accuracy seriously. Every county page lists its "last revised" date and the primary sources used. Tax rates shown reflect the primary taxing district of each county's seat — rates in other cities, school districts, Municipal Utility Districts (Texas), Community Development Districts (Florida), and other special taxing units within the same county may be meaningfully higher or lower than what's shown.
Property tax law changes constantly — through state legislation, voter-approved ballot measures, and annual local budget adoptions. Something that was accurate when published may not be six months later. If you rely on a number from this site and something goes wrong, we're not liable — this is informational content, not tax advice.
If you spot an error — an outdated rate, a wrong deadline, a misstated exemption rule — please let us know. The fastest way to reach us is through the feedback link in any county page footer. Corrections help every reader who arrives after you.
A personal note
The almanac is built and maintained independently. It's ad-supported, which means you'll see some display advertising on county pages — we disclose this openly because the alternative business models for a reference site like this one either aren't viable (pure donation funding) or create bad incentives (paywalls that lock away information people need, affiliate relationships with tax preparers). Ads are served by third-party networks and do not influence our editorial content, the rates we publish, or which exemptions we cover. An appraisal district can't pay to be ranked higher on its state's landing page — the pages are sorted by county population, period.