Property owners across Ohio are again receiving notices in the mail this summer from their county auditors and fiscal offices, letting them know that their estimated property values have been adjusted.
For many, this means their property values are again increasing after a significant jump during reappraisals three years ago. Property taxes will likely increase with them, starting with their tax bills next year, although officials caution they won't increase at a one-to-one rate.
Four counties in Northeast Ohio - Ashland, Ashtabula, Summit and Wayne - are going through the state-mandated sexennial reappraisal, while another five are going through the state-mandated triennial update: Geauga, Harrison, Mahoning, Richland and Trumbull. Forty-one counties across the state are required to undergo these reappraisals or updates this year.
Dominic Basile, director of real estate and appraisal for the Summit County Fiscal Office, said the average property value increase across Summit County after the 2026 reappraisal is 18%. But owners in some areas like Peninsula and Boston Heights saw higher increases, about 33% in the case of Peninsula, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Basile reminded residents that the estimated value increase does not mean their tax bills will increase by the same amount.
"Property taxes do not — almost never — increase to the same level as the value does. So it's not a commensurate relationship, where if your property value goes up 20%, most likely you will not see a 20% increase in real estate tax," Basile said.
The average residential property tax increase was about 24% in Mahoning County, according to a release from the Mahoning County Auditor's Office. But the value increase was much higher three years ago in both Mahoning and Summit Counties, officials said, around 31% in Summit County and 38% in Mahoning County.
"During the last revaluation, an average of 38% increase in property valuation resulted in a 7% increase in property taxes," said Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham in a news release. "New and retiring levies, a limitation on how much a levy can collect, new construction and other factors affect the calculation for effective tax rates."
Ashtabula County's average property value increase this year is higher than Summit and Mahoning counties, about 30%. Tara Frable, real estate manager with the Ashtabula County Auditor's Office, said values increased by about 32% during the triennial update three years ago.
Ohio House Bill 920, approved during a time of similarly high inflation in 1976, limits many property taxes from increasing when property values increase.
Still, property owners in recent years have seen some of the largest property tax increases in decades after home values spiked. That's inspired several new property tax-relief measures implemented by the Ohio Legislature that limit the kinds of levies schools can seek, provide tax-relief for seniors, and will provide general property tax reductions starting with owners' 2027 tax bills. That tax relief will impact schools' bottom lines, however. Schools advocates also argue the state for years has reduced funding for schools while providing tax breaks for businesses and wealthy Ohioans.
Officials like Basile in Summit County are reminding residents that they can still dispute their property values informally this month, or formally through their county boards of revision in January 2027. The Summit County Fiscal Office is also hosting in-person meetings, and accepting virtual meetings and phone calls, throughout the month of August for homeowners to informally dispute or otherwise discuss their property valuations after the reappraisal.
