2023 was a reappraisal year for Hamilton County, as mandated by Ohio Law. The Auditor's office cannot utilize its own reappraisal process; rather we are required to follow the State's process.
Every County Auditor is required by Ohio Law to value all properties in their respective County, at fair market value, twice during a six year cycle. The cycle begins with a reappraisal and revaluation of all properties. Three years later a triennial valuation of properties (based on sales with no physical viewing of properties) is performed; then the cycle begins again with a reappraisal 3 years later. In Hamilton County, the last reappraisal was in 2023; and will be followed by the 2026 triennial update; and then the 2029 reappraisal.
The 2023 reappraisal, which established a current fair market value, included a physical viewing of the property to verify characteristics (type of construction, number of stories, decks, porches, etc.). A new street level image of the property was also taken as part of this process and posted on the Auditor's website. Changes in value occur over time for many different reasons, including economic conditions, improvements to the property, or demolition of a building.
Each of Hamilton County's more than 350,000 parcels was viewed. Data was collected, reviewed, and corrected where necessary.
Our values were reported to the Ohio Tax Commissioner for review and approval. The new values were posted to our website in December 2023 and were on your January 2024 tax bill.
For the 2023 Reappraisal, we were obligated to establish values based on the recent real estate market.
A sale of a property is the best indicator of market value. Additionally, market trends, new construction, sales of similar properties in the same appraisal area/neighborhood, Board of Revision decisions and data correction changes are used to set value. It is very important to note we cannot consider personal situations like "taxes are too high", unemployment, COVID, and other personal negatives.
PROPERTY VALUATION AND YOUR TAXES
Real estate property taxes are based on the value of the property. However, it is important to keep in mind that while property value is part of the formula for calculating property taxes, it is not the only variable. An increase in fair market value does not automatically lead to an increase in property taxes owed - nor does it mean there will be a "dollar for dollar'' increase. For example if your property value increases by 10%, it doesn't mean your taxes will increase by 10%. Similarly, if your value decreases by 10%, it doesn't mean your taxes will decrease by 10%.
Voted levies in most cases impact your taxes. However, Ohio law provides reduction factors for those voted levies. This means that a factor is applied to adjust taxes on new market value of each existing property to produce the same revenue that was received in the previous year.
Communities do see increases in collected tax revenue by having more taxable property (new construction) or by voters approving a property tax increase or new levy .