Travis Bunn

Founder, AppealDesk · Published March 1, 2026

How Much Can Property Taxes Increase in Nebraska? 2026 Complete Guide

Updated July 2026

How Much Can Property Taxes Increase in 2026?

There is no single percentage answer in Nebraska, because the state does not limit either your assessment or your total bill. What it limits, starting with fiscal years that began July 1, 2025, is the growth of the pot: a city or county's total property tax request generally cannot grow faster than inflation, or 0% if inflation is negative, under LB 34's Property Tax Growth Limitation Act. That is a real constraint on local budgets, but it is a constraint on the aggregate, not on your line item.

Here is the distinction that matters for your 2026 bill. If your home's assessed value rises faster than your neighbors', your share of that capped pot grows even while the pot itself stays flat. A county can honestly say it raised no new revenue while your bill still climbs, because the increase came from your valuation, not the levy. The cap checks the government's math. Nobody checks yours unless you protest it.

No Assessment Cap: How Nebraska Values Your Home

Nebraska assesses all real property every year at 100% of actual value, which in practice means market value. Assessors are required to keep residential assessments within 92% to 100% of actual value, so there is no lag built into the system: when sale prices in your area rise, your assessment is supposed to follow within a year. Agricultural and horticultural land gets one structural break, an assessment at 75% of actual value, but there is no equivalent discount for homes.

This is a genuinely different regime from states where a cap limits how much a homeowner's taxable value can grow each year regardless of the market. Nebraska has no acquisition-value system and no ownership-based protection: buying recently, owning for decades, or living in the home as your primary residence makes no difference to how the value is set. A sale does not trigger a special reassessment either, because everything is already revalued annually. The number on your valuation notice is one appraiser's mass-model estimate of what your home would sell for, refreshed every year, with no ceiling.

LB 34 and LB 303: What Changed in 2024 and 2025

Two recent laws reshaped the levy side of the equation. LB 34, passed in the August 2024 special session and signed August 20, 2024, did two big things. First, it created the Property Tax Growth Limitation Act, which caps city and county property tax request growth at the greater of 0% or inflation for fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2025. The cap has carve-outs: spending on law enforcement, fire, EMS, corrections, and county attorneys and public defenders is exempt, and voters can approve overrides. Second, LB 34 converted the older income-tax-credit form of school tax relief into a frontloaded School District Property Tax Relief Credit that appears directly on your property tax statement, worth roughly 30% of school taxes paid, funded at $750 million statewide for tax year 2024 and required to grow at least 3% per year.

Then LB 303, signed June 4, 2025, reduced the school district maximum levy from $1.05 to $1.02 per $100 of taxable valuation beginning with fiscal year 2025-26, increased TEEOSA state aid to schools, and created an 18-member School Financing Review Commission to study longer-term school funding changes. If you see older guides citing the $1.05 school levy ceiling, that figure is out of date.

Notice what none of this touches: the assessed value itself. Every one of these mechanisms operates downstream of the valuation. The levy caps, the school credit, and the lower levy ceiling all take your assessment as given and work from there.

Why Are Nebraska Property Taxes So High?

Nebraska leans on property taxes harder than most states because local governments, and especially school districts, are funded primarily from property valuations rather than from state revenue. Schools are the largest single line on most Nebraska tax statements, which is exactly why the legislature aimed both of its recent relief efforts there: the roughly 30% frontloaded credit against school taxes and the levy ceiling cut to $1.02 per $100.

The annual 100%-of-market-value assessment standard compounds the reliance problem. In states with assessment caps, a run-up in home prices takes years to fully reach tax bills. In Nebraska it arrives the following year, because assessors are required to keep valuations at 92% to 100% of actual value. High local reliance on the property tax, multiplied by full-market annual valuations, is the honest answer to why bills here feel heavy. The 2024 and 2025 reforms slow the growth of what local governments can ask for, but they did not change either underlying ingredient.

What Is the Average Property Tax Rate in Nebraska in 2026?

There is no single statewide rate, because your total rate is the sum of the levies of every district your parcel sits in: county, city or village, school district, community college, natural resources district, and any others. The one number set in statute is the ceiling on the largest component: school districts cannot levy more than $1.02 per $100 of taxable valuation beginning with FY2025-26. Everything else varies by where you live, so the only reliable way to know your rate is to read the levy breakdown on your own tax statement or ask your county assessor or treasurer.

The arithmetic is straightforward once you have the pieces. A $300,000 home assessed at full market value in a district levying the school maximum of $1.02 per $100 would owe $3,060 in school taxes alone before relief. LB 34's frontloaded credit, at roughly 30% of school taxes paid, would knock that down by around $900 on the statement, before the county, city, and other levies are added on top. Two takeaways from that math: the school levy plus its credit dominates most bills, and every dollar of the calculation scales directly with the assessed value, which is why an inflated assessment costs you across every levy at once.

How Assessed Valuations Are Set for 2026 and 2027

Nebraska values property as of January 1 each year. Your 2026 valuation reflects what the assessor's models say your home was worth on January 1, 2026, based largely on recent sales of comparable homes in your area, and the 2027 valuation will repeat the exercise next January. County assessors mail valuation change notices in the spring, ahead of the June 1 protest window. If you have not seen yours, check with your county assessor, because the protest clock runs whether or not you noticed the letter.

Levy rates are set separately, later in the year, when each taxing body adopts its budget. A city like Norfolk or Omaha takes its total property tax request, now constrained by LB 34's growth cap outside the public-safety carve-outs, and divides it across the taxable valuation inside its boundaries to produce that year's levy rate. That is why rising valuations do not automatically mean proportionally rising city revenue: when the valuation base grows, the capped request pushes the rate down. It is also why your individual bill can outrun your city's budget growth whenever your valuation rises faster than the citywide average.

Do Property Taxes Go Up Every Year in Nebraska?

Not automatically, but the system makes annual increases the default in a rising market. Because every parcel is revalued every year at full market value, any appreciation in your neighborhood shows up in your next assessment. Whether that becomes a bigger bill depends on what the levies do: if your valuation rises 8% and your districts' rates fall enough to offset it, your bill can hold flat, and LB 34's request cap makes that offset more likely than it used to be. In practice, homeowners whose valuations rise faster than their area's average will usually see their bills rise, and homeowners whose valuations were set too high to begin with pay the excess every single year until someone corrects the number.

That last group is the one worth dwelling on. An overassessment is not a one-time overcharge. It repeats annually, and because each year's valuation builds on the record already on file, an inflated value tends to carry forward until it is challenged.

Nebraska Homestead Exemption and Senior Relief in 2026

Nebraska's homestead exemption is the main targeted relief program, and unlike the automatic school credit, you have to apply for it. It covers homeowners 65 and older, qualifying veterans, and people with disabilities, and it is income-based: you file Form 458 with your county assessor between February 1 and June 30 each year. The benefit also phases out by home value, shrinking 10% for every $2,500 that your home's assessed value exceeds that year's maximum value threshold. That phase-out creates a quiet trap for seniors: an inflated assessment does not just raise the tax before relief, it can also shrink or eliminate the homestead exemption itself. If you are near the income or value limits, verifying the assessment is worth doing before the June 30 filing deadline, and your county assessor's office can tell you the current year's thresholds.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can my Nebraska property taxes increase this year?

There is no limit on how much your assessed value, and therefore your bill, can rise. LB 34 caps the growth of city and county tax requests at the greater of 0% or inflation, but that caps the total each government collects, not your individual bill. If your valuation rises faster than average, your bill can climb well past inflation even under the cap.

How often is my property reassessed in Nebraska?

Every year, as of January 1, at 100% of actual market value. Assessors must keep residential values within 92% to 100% of actual value, so market changes reach your assessment quickly.

Why doesn't Nebraska cap assessment increases like other states?

Nebraska prioritizes market-based assessments and local control. Annual full-value assessment means new and long-time owners of similar homes are valued the same way, but it provides no protection against rapid market-driven increases. The legislature's recent relief efforts, LB 34 and LB 303, work through levy caps and credits instead of assessment caps.

When is the deadline to protest my Nebraska property valuation?

File Form 422 with your County Board of Equalization between June 1 and June 30. If the board rules against you, a standard appeal to the Tax Equalization and Review Commission is due on or before August 24, with later deadlines only in specific cases such as late notices or extended county hearing periods.

Does the 30% school tax credit happen automatically?

Yes. Since LB 34, the School District Property Tax Relief Credit is frontloaded directly onto your property tax statement, so you no longer need to claim it on your income tax return. The homestead exemption is different: that one requires a Form 458 application with your county assessor between February 1 and June 30 each year.

Related Resources

If your valuation looks high, start with our step-by-step guide on how to appeal property taxes in Nebraska. If you are weighing whether a protest is worth the effort, see is it worth appealing property taxes, and when you are ready to build your case, what evidence do I need for an appeal covers the comparable sales and documentation that boards of equalization actually credit.

This article provides general information about Nebraska property tax laws as of July 2026. Tax laws change frequently, and local rules vary. Consult your county assessor or a tax professional for advice specific to your situation.