Oakland County, home to Pontiac and 1.27 million Michiganders, uses Michigan's two-track tax system established by Proposal A in 1994: market value translates to Assessed Value (AV) at exactly 50% of true cash value, but your annual tax is calculated on Taxable Value (TV) — which can be lower than AV thanks to the constitutional growth cap. New buyers and long-term owners standing in identical houses next door to each other can pay dramatically different tax bills, a feature that makes Michigan property tax both unusually stable for incumbents and a surprise expense for new arrivals.
How the bill is built
Michigan's tax math runs in three steps that are conceptually distinct and worth working through carefully. Step 1: Assessed Value (AV). The local assessor sets AV at exactly 50% of true cash value (market value), as required by the Michigan Constitution. AV is updated annually based on a 24-month sales study window. Step 2: State Equalized Value (SEV). The county equalizes AV across the county, then the state equalizes across the state. For most parcels, SEV ≈ AV. Step 3: Taxable Value (TV). This is where Proposal A's cap matters: TV equals the lesser of SEV or "Capped Value." Capped Value = prior year's TV × (1 + Inflation Rate Multiplier). The IRM is capped at 5%; for tax year 2026 the IRM is 2.7%.
Your annual tax bill is TV × combined millage ÷ 1,000. The combined millage is the sum of every taxing jurisdiction covering your parcel — county operating, county allocated, school operating (which is partly exempted by PRE), school debt, intermediate school district, community college, city or township general operating, special districts (transit, library, parks, public safety) — typically 30 to 70+ mills depending on location.
2026 Oakland County rate breakdown (PRE total millage per $1,000 of Taxable Value, Pontiac district)
| Taxing entity | Rate |
|---|---|
| City of Pontiac (PRE total millage) | 49.5000 |
| Combined total | 49.5000 |
As of April 25, 2026 · From Oakland County Equalization Division.
Exemptions and credits for 2026
Michigan's exemption story is fundamentally different from value-based homestead states like Florida or Texas. Instead of subtracting a dollar amount from your assessed value, Michigan exempts your principal residence from a specific number of school operating mills, and offers a separate income-tax-side credit for low-income owners. Veterans get the most generous benefit of any state we cover.
Principal Residence Exemption (PRE) — file once, save 18 mills
If you own and occupy Pontiac as your principal residence, you can claim the Principal Residence Exemption — which removes your property from the first 18 mills of school operating tax. On the 49.50-mill total millage shown above (which already reflects PRE), this saves you approximately $3,303 per year on a median-value home in Oakland County.
To claim PRE, file Form 2368 (Principal Residence Exemption Affidavit) with your local city, township, or village assessor — not the county. Deadlines are June 1 (to apply for the summer tax levy) or November 1 (to apply for the winter tax levy). One-time filing — you don't need to renew unless you move or the use of the property changes. If you fail to file, you'll pay the additional 18 mills indefinitely until you do, with no retroactive correction.
If you sell or rescind PRE on a property (e.g., it becomes a rental or second home), you must file Form 2602 (Request to Rescind Homeowner's Principal Residence Exemption) within 90 days. Failure to rescind is a common source of state Treasury enforcement action.
Disabled Veterans Exemption — full property tax exemption
Under MCL 211.7b (PA 161 of 2013), Michigan veterans with a 100% service-connected permanent and total disability — or veterans rated individually unemployable, or unmarried surviving spouses of qualifying veterans — receive a full property tax exemption on their primary Michigan residence. This is the most generous veteran property-tax benefit of any state in this almanac (more generous than NC's $45K exclusion or WI's full refund process, since MI's is a true exemption rather than a credit).
File Form 5107 (State Tax Commission Affidavit for Disabled Veterans Exemption) with your local assessor. Unlike PRE, this affidavit must be filed annually with documentation from the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
Homestead Property Tax Credit — claimed on state income tax return
Income-qualified owners (homeowners or renters) can claim the Michigan Homestead Property Tax Credit by filing Form MI-1040CR with their state income tax return. For tax year 2025: maximum credit is $1,800; eligibility cuts off at $67,300 in total household resources for most claimants ($73,650 for some seniors and disabled filers); maximum taxable value of homestead is $165,400.
The credit is calculated as 60% of the property tax paid above 3.5% of total household resources, with phase-down formulas at higher income levels. This is filed on the state income tax return, NOT applied to your property tax bill — meaning you have to pay the full tax to your treasurer first, then receive the credit as a refund or against your state income tax owed.
One trap: senior filers (age 67+) who claim Michigan's senior pension/retirement income subtraction may face reduced Homestead Credit eligibility. The two interact in complex ways; the MI Department of Treasury's "Lowering MI Costs Plan" guidance explains tradeoffs.
Appealing your assessment
Michigan's appeal process has tight deadlines and follows a specific path. Your Notice of Assessment arrives in February or early March, showing the prior year's TV/SEV/AV and the current year's proposed values. The Local Board of Review meets in early-to-mid March (specific dates set annually by each township/city); you must either appear in person or submit a written notice of objection during the Board's session.
If unresolved at the Local Board, residential appeals go to the Michigan Tax Tribunal — Small Claims Division (no attorney required, $50 filing fee). The deadline is July 31 of the year of the assessment. Higher-value commercial and industrial appeals go to the Tax Tribunal's Entire Tribunal Division.
Effective appeal strategy in Michigan focuses on the SEV (the assessor's true cash value estimate). If your SEV exceeds 50% of true market value, you have a strong case. The most useful evidence is comparable sales data within the prior 24-month sales study window — preferably 3-5 sales of genuinely similar properties in the same neighborhood.