Property taxes depend on 2 items: the value of your house and the property tax rate for your county and municipality. Generally, the tax rate increases infrequently unless there is a bond issue and an increase is voted in. So the main reason your taxes go up will depend on the property value.
How is this amount determined? In some places like California, the amount changes whenever the property is sold and then by 2% every year thereafter. So if you stay in the same place for a while, your increases will be limited. In other places, the county tax assessors will evaluate the value of your property at specified intervals based on what other comparable properties have sold for.
The major component of this will be based on square footage and what price other houses have sold for per square foot. Therefore, always make sure that your square footage is not registered too high.
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