Delaware County, Ohio Property Tax Rates by District

Property tax rates in Delaware County, Ohio vary by tax district, but the countywide median effective rate runs roughly 1.8% of market value, which places Delaware among the higher-taxed counties in Ohio. What you actually pay depends on which school district, municipality, and township your parcel sits in, because each of those jurisdictions layers its own voted levies on top of a shared base. The Delaware County Auditor publishes a full rate table each year showing the exact millage for every district.¹

How Your Bill Is Calculated

Every Ohio property tax bill starts with two numbers: the appraised market value set by the county auditor and the assessed (taxable) value, which Ohio law fixes at exactly 35% of market value.² A home appraised at $400,000 has a taxable value of $140,000, and that smaller number is what your millage rates are applied against.

You can look up your parcel’s current appraised and assessed values through the Delaware County Auditor’s real estate search tool at auditor.co.delaware.oh.us. Check the “Tax” or “Valuation” tab for the breakdown. These values don’t change every year. Delaware County completed a full sexennial reappraisal in 2024, with the next triennial update expected around 2027.³ Outside of those scheduled updates, the auditor generally won’t change your value unless the state tax commissioner orders it.²

Why Rates Vary Across the County

Ohio tax rates are expressed in mills. One mill equals $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value. If your assessed value is $140,000 and the total millage for your district is 80 mills, the gross tax before credits would be $11,200. That number is almost always higher than what you actually owe, and the reasons sit in the next section.

The mills on your bill come from two sources:

Inside millage. Ohio’s Constitution caps unvoted taxes at 10 mills total across all overlapping jurisdictions. The county, township, and school district each take a share, and no voter approval is required.⁴
Outside millage. Everything above 10 mills requires voter approval. School operating levies, bond issues, fire and EMS levies, park district levies, and library levies all fall here, and they make up the majority of most Delaware County bills.

Because each combination of school district, municipality, and township carries its own set of voted levies, two homes a mile apart can face meaningfully different rates. A property in the Olentangy Local School District may carry a different total millage than one in Big Walnut or Delaware City schools. Finding your district’s exact rate on the Auditor’s annual rate table is the single most useful step in understanding your bill.¹

Gross Rate vs. Effective Rate

If you look at the gross millage for your district, the number can seem alarming. The effective rate you actually pay is significantly lower, thanks to a state law called House Bill 920. Passed in 1976, HB 920 prevents rising property values from automatically generating more revenue for voted levies.⁵ When the county reappraises properties and values climb across a district, the effective millage on voted levies is reduced so the levy still collects roughly the same total dollars voters originally approved.

This “tax reduction factor” is why the gross rate on your bill looks much higher than the effective rate. The gross rate is the original voted millage. The effective rate is the adjusted millage after HB 920 compresses it. When comparing tax rates across districts, always look at the effective rate, because that’s the one that determines your actual payment. New construction is the main exception, since new homes add to a district’s tax base without triggering HB 920 adjustments.

Credits That Lower What You Pay

Several state-funded credits apply automatically or by application to reduce what Delaware County homeowners actually owe. This area of Ohio tax law is in the middle of a significant transition, so the credits on your bill may shift over the next few years.

Non-Business Credit Is Phasing Out

The non-business credit has historically reduced taxes on residential and agricultural property by 10% on qualifying levies, meaning levies approved by voters before September 29, 2013, plus inside millage.⁶ Levies passed after that date have never carried the credit.

Under legislation with an effective date of March 2026, the non-business credit is being phased out for residential property. It drops from 10% to 7.5% in the first applicable tax year, then falls another 2.5 percentage points in each of the next two years until it reaches zero. Agricultural property keeps the full 10% credit indefinitely.⁷ Homeowners will gradually lose this credit on older levies over roughly three years.

Owner-Occupancy Credit Is Expanding

If you live in the home you own as your primary residence, you currently qualify for a 2.5% owner-occupancy credit on qualifying levies. The same legislation phasing out the non-business credit expands the owner-occupancy credit from 2.5% to 15.38% over a four-year phase-in beginning January 2027.⁸ The intent is for the expanded owner-occupancy credit to more than offset the loss of the non-business credit for people who live in their own homes. Landlords and owners of non-owner-occupied residential property don’t qualify for owner-occupancy and will feel the full loss of the non-business credit without a replacement.

Homestead Exemption

Ohio’s homestead exemption shields a portion of your home’s market value from taxation entirely. Two tiers apply:

Seniors and disabled homeowners. If you are 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled, you can exempt $29,000 of your home’s market value from taxation for tax year 2025. Modified adjusted gross income cannot exceed $40,000.⁹
Disabled veterans. Veterans with a 100% service-connected disability rating, and surviving spouses of public service officers killed in the line of duty, can exempt $58,000 of market value for tax year 2025. No income limit applies.⁹

Both amounts are adjusted annually for inflation.¹⁰ At a 35% assessment ratio and a typical Delaware County effective rate, the senior exemption saves roughly $350 to $550 per year depending on your district, and the disabled veteran exemption roughly double that. To apply, file DTE 105A (seniors and disabled) or DTE 105I (disabled veterans) with the Delaware County Auditor by December 31 of the year before you want the exemption to take effect.

If You Think Your Value Is Too High

Rates are set by levies, but your bill is also driven by the appraised value sitting under those rates. If you believe the Auditor’s value is too high, you can file a complaint with the Delaware County Board of Revision. The filing deadline is March 31 of the tax year following the one you’re contesting, or the closing date for first-half tax collection, whichever is later. You’ll need DTE Form 1, which asks for your opinion of true value and the basis for it. You generally cannot file a second complaint on the same parcel during the same three-year interim period between reappraisals, unless the property sold at arm’s length, suffered casualty damage, had substantial improvements added, or experienced an occupancy change of at least 15%.¹¹ Recent comparable sales carry the most weight; a professional appraisal is the strongest evidence but not required.

When Payments Are Due

Delaware County property taxes are paid in arrears, meaning the bills you receive in a given year cover the prior year’s obligations. For 2026, the first-half payment is due February 10 and the second-half payment is due July 10.¹² Dates shift occasionally, so confirm each cycle on the Treasurer’s website. The Treasurer accepts online payments by electronic check or credit card (card payments carry a convenience fee of roughly 2% to 2.5%), payments by mail with the postmark counting as the payment date, and walk-in or drop-box payments at the office on North Sandusky Street in Delaware.

If you have a mortgage, your lender likely collects taxes through escrow and pays the Treasurer directly. Even then, it’s worth checking the Treasurer’s online lookup to confirm your taxes show as paid, because the county holds you responsible regardless of whether your lender met the deadline.

Missing a deadline triggers a 10% penalty on the unpaid balance. If you pay within 10 days of the deadline, the Treasurer waives half of that penalty, reducing it to 5%. Interest accrues on top of penalties the longer the balance remains unpaid. If you’re struggling to pay, contact the Treasurer’s office; Ohio law allows delinquent tax contracts that spread the overdue balance across installments and can stop the 10% penalty from being charged on certain balances while the agreement is in effect.¹³

1
Delaware County Auditor. Rates of Taxation
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 5713.03 – County Auditor to Determine Taxable Value of Real Property
3
Delaware County Auditor. 2024 Reappraisal
4
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 5705.02 – Ten-Mill Limitation
5
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. LSC Presentation on HB 920 Tax Reduction Factors
6
Ohio Department of Taxation. Distributions – Real Property Tax Rollbacks – Overview
7
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 319.302 – Reduction of Remaining Taxes
8
Ohio House of Representatives. Legislation Delivering Historic Property Tax Relief Signed by the Governor
9
Ohio Department of Taxation. Real Property Tax – Homestead Means Testing
10
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 323.152 – Reductions in Taxable Value
11
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 5715.19 – Complaints Against Assessments or Exemptions
12
Delaware County Treasurer. Delaware County Treasurer
13
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 323.121 – Penalty for Delinquency