Property Taxes - Millage Rates

[Youseif Ali]

Hey everyone,

I'm in the learning phase of how to conquer my first house hack. After coming up with numerous ways to analyze a property, I realized that the one thing I'm truly unsure about is how to calculate property taxes to make sure the property cash flows positive. 

Could anyone point me in the right direction as to what goes into property taxes? I know that school and county millage rates will almost always factor into property taxes but are there any other ones that I should be aware of?

Is there a single site that lists all the millage rates in certain areas?

Thank you!

[Kyle J.]

It'll vary by state, county, and even neighborhoods within a city.  Property taxes can include things like school bonds, special assessments, even mandatory water utility collection.   So no one single site will have all that info for the whole country or even the state.  You will find some sites that estimate it, but it won't be exact.

The best thing to do is inquire with your county office responsible for setting/applying the tax rate.  In my county, there are three offices involved in property taxes.  The Tax Assessor's Office is responsible for assessing taxes on properties, the Tax Collector's Office is responsible for collecting property tax payments, and the Auditor-Controller's Office is responsible for setting/applying the appropriate tax rates (they also publish this information).  So if I wanted to know this information where I was buying properties, I'd look it up on the Auditor-Controller's website.  

It may be slightly different wherever you're at, but I'd start with whatever county office is responsible for setting/applying the tax rate in your local jurisdiction.