How Much Can Property Taxes Increase in Ohio?

Updated July 2026

Ohio's property tax system confuses even long-time homeowners. Your property value might jump 20% or 30% during reappraisal, yet your tax bill usually rises far less. That's because of HB 920, a 1976 law that fundamentally changed how property taxes work in Ohio. How much less depends heavily on whether your school district has hit the 20-mill floor, explained below.

Here's everything you need to know about Ohio's unique approach to property tax increases.

Understanding Ohio's HB 920 System

House Bill 920 creates what's called "tax reduction factors." When property values increase, the tax rates on voted levies automatically decrease to ensure the levy collects only the amount originally approved by voters.

For example: If voters approved a 5-mill levy to raise $10 million in 2010, that levy still only collects roughly $10 million in 2026, even if property values doubled. The effective millage rate drops as values rise.

This applies to voted fixed-rate levies, including:

• School district operating levies
• County levies
• Municipal levies
• Township levies
• Special district levies

One big exception: school district operating levies stop receiving reduction factors once the district's effective rate has been pushed down to the 20-mill floor. More on that below, because it is the single most important detail in this whole system.

What Is a "920 Reduction" on Your Ohio Property Tax Bill?

If you look closely at your county tax bill (Cuyahoga County labels it prominently), you'll see a line called the "920 reduction" or "reduction factor." That line is HB 920 at work: it is the dollar amount taken off your bill because effective rates on voted levies were rolled back to hold each levy at its voter-approved revenue.

A large 920 reduction is normal. It simply means you live somewhere with a lot of voted millage. What matters after a reappraisal is which parts of your bill the reduction does not reach: inside millage, bond levies, and school operating levies in districts at the 20-mill floor.

What Can Increase: Inside Millage

Not all property taxes are frozen by HB 920. "Inside millage" (also called unvoted millage) does increase with property values. This includes:

• 10 mills maximum that can be levied without voter approval
• Typically split between counties, townships, schools, and municipalities
• Often around 4-6 mills for most properties

Additionally, these items increase with property values:

• Bond levies, Debt service for construction projects
• New levies, Any levy passed after your last valuation
• School levies at the 20-mill floor, Explained in the next section

One common point of confusion: emergency levies, despite the name, do not grow with your value. They are fixed-dollar levies. The rate adjusts downward as values rise so the levy collects the same total amount each year.

The 20-Mill Floor: Why Ohio Tax Bills Still Jump After Reappraisal

HB 920 has a built-in stopping point for school districts. State law will not reduce a district's current-expense millage below 20 effective mills. Once years of reduction factors have pushed a district down to that floor, the reductions are suspended, and those 20 mills apply to your new, higher value in full.

In a floor district, the school operating portion of your bill, often the largest slice, rises almost in direct proportion to your reappraisal increase. If your value jumps 30%, that part of the bill jumps close to 30% too. Hundreds of Ohio districts sit at the floor, and that is the main reason so many homeowners saw large increases after the 2023-2025 reappraisal wave, including Cuyahoga County's 2024 reappraisal. If your bill jumped far more than the "HB 920 protects you" story suggests, this is almost certainly why.

Ohio's New Property Tax Inflation Cap: HB 186

In late 2025, Ohio finally addressed the 20-mill-floor problem. HB 186, signed December 19, 2025 and effective March 20, 2026, caps how much revenue a school district at the 20-mill floor can gain from rising values: growth is limited to inflation, measured by a three-year average of the GDP deflator.

The cap applies going forward starting with tax year 2025, and lawmakers made it partly retroactive: homeowners in floor districts receive state-funded credits for the excess collected in tax years 2023 and 2024, with credits appearing on bills as early as June 2026. Districts are reimbursed by the state, so the relief comes off your bill rather than out of school budgets. If your district is at the floor, check your next bill for the credit.

A second measure, HB 335, passed the Ohio House in October 2025 and would cap growth of inside (unvoted) millage at inflation and let county commissioners adopt local homestead exemptions on top of the state exemption. As of this writing it is still pending in the Senate, so treat it as a proposal, not law.

Real-World Example: Columbus Homeowner

Let's look at a typical Columbus home to understand how this works:

Despite the 30% property value increase, the tax bill in this example only rises about 8% because the reduction factors lowered the effective rate on most levies.

The important caveat: this math assumes the school district is not at the 20-mill floor. In a floor district, the school operating portion of the bill rises nearly in step with the value increase, and the total increase can be several times higher than the example shows. From 2026 on, HB 186's inflation cap limits how much of that flows through.

How Much Can Your Property Taxes Go Up in One Year?

There is no fixed percentage limit. In a year with no reappraisal and no new levies, most Ohio bills barely move: your value holds still, and HB 920 keeps voted levies collecting the same dollars as last year. So no, Ohio property taxes do not automatically go up every year. Year-to-year changes are usually driven by what voters approve at the ballot.

The big single-year jumps come when factors stack: a reappraisal or triennial update raises your value, your school district is at the 20-mill floor, and new levies pass. In that scenario, a 30% value jump can translate into a double-digit bill increase in a single year. Starting in 2026, HB 186's inflation cap limits the floor-district portion of that jump.

How Often Are Property Taxes Reassessed in Ohio?

Ohio law requires:

• Reappraisal every 6 years, Complete review of all properties (the sexennial reappraisal)
• Update every 3 years, Market adjustment between reappraisals (the triennial update)

During a reappraisal year, it's common to see value increases of 20-40% in hot markets. HB 920 cushions the impact on your tax bill, unless your school district is at the 20-mill floor, in which case the school portion rises with the new value.

Why Did My Property Taxes Go Up in 2025?

Most 2025 increases trace to one of four causes: a recent reappraisal or update in your county (Cuyahoga's 2024 reappraisal raised residential values sharply), a school district at the 20-mill floor passing that value jump straight through to the bill, new levies approved at the November 2024 election, or the loss of a credit or exemption you previously received.

Pull this year's bill and last year's and compare the effective rates and the 920 reduction line. The line that moved tells you which cause applies. If you are in a 20-mill-floor district, watch for the HB 186 credit that begins appearing on bills in 2026, including retroactive credits for 2023 and 2024. And if the value itself looks too high, that part you can challenge.

Ohio Property Tax Exemptions

Ohio offers several exemptions that can limit your tax increases:

Other exemptions include:

• Disabled veteran exemption, Roughly $58,000 of appraised value for tax year 2026 for veterans with a 100% service-connected disability, with no income limit; the amount is indexed annually
• Owner-occupancy credit, 2.5% credit for owner-occupied homes, but only on qualifying levies passed before November 2013
• Agricultural use valuation, For qualifying farmland

How Ohio Compares to Other States

Ohio's HB 920 system is unique. Here's how it compares:

While other states cap assessment increases, Ohio limits revenue growth through automatic rate reductions. The protection is real, but it is not complete: it thins out in school districts at the 20-mill floor, which is where HB 186's new inflation cap now steps in.

Key Takeaways for Ohio Homeowners

• No assessment caps, Your property value can increase unlimited amounts (taxable value is always 35% of appraised value)
• HB 920 protection, Most voted tax rates automatically decrease as values rise
• The 20-mill floor, In floor school districts, school operating taxes rise with values; this drove the big 2023-2025 increases
• HB 186, Effective March 2026, caps floor-district revenue growth at inflation, with retroactive credits for 2023-2024
• Reassessment cycle, Full reappraisal every 6 years with an update every 3 years
• Appeal rights, File with your Board of Revision January 1 to March 31, any year
• Exemptions available, Homestead, disabled veteran, and owner-occupancy savings, with amounts now indexed annually

Ohio's system protects taxpayers differently than other states, and the protection is real but uneven. Michigan caps how fast taxable value can grow, Pennsylvania has no cap at all, and Ohio holds most voted levies to the dollars voters approved. Just remember the fine print: if your school district is at the 20-mill floor, reappraisals hit much harder, and HB 186's inflation cap is what limits the damage from 2026 forward.

Figures and law current as of July 2026. Homestead and veteran exemption amounts are indexed annually, and HB 335 was still pending in the Ohio Senate at publication. Confirm current figures with the Ohio Department of Taxation or your county auditor.