Marion County Property Tax: Deductions, Caps, and Due Dates

Marion County property tax is billed twice a year on the assessed value of your home or land as of January 1, reduced by any deductions you qualify for and capped at a percentage of your gross assessed value set by the Indiana constitution. For a primary residence in Indianapolis, that cap is 1%. The two installments are due in May and November, and missing them triggers penalties that climb quickly.

How Your Bill Is Calculated

Every property in the county gets an assessed value as of January 1 each year.¹ The county assessor estimates what the property would sell for on the open market in its current use, a standard Indiana calls market value-in-use, and applies it to both the land and the structures on it.²

The county auditor applies your deductions, calculates the final bill using local tax rates, and the Marion County Treasurer mails it and collects payment.²

Deductions That Lower What You Owe

Filing for every deduction you qualify for is the most effective way to shrink your bill. Applications go to the Marion County Auditor. File by January 15 to apply the deduction to the current year’s spring bill, or by December 31 to apply it to the following year’s bill.³⁴

Homestead and Supplemental Deductions

If you own and occupy your home as your primary residence, the standard homestead deduction reduces your assessed value by 60% or $48,000, whichever is less. Once that applies, the supplemental homestead deduction kicks in automatically and takes an additional 40% off whatever assessed value is left.³ Together, these two can cut a homeowner’s taxable assessed value roughly in half.

Over 65 Credit

If you are 65 or older, you may qualify for a $150 annual credit on your tax bill. Single filers need an adjusted gross income of $60,000 or less, and joint filers (or all co-owners combined) need $70,000 or less.⁵ It stacks on top of the homestead deductions.

Veteran Deductions

Indiana provides deductions for veterans with qualifying disabilities or service records, applied to the primary Indiana residence:

$24,960 for veterans with a total (100%) service-connected disability under IC 6-1.1-12-13.
$14,000 for partially disabled veterans or those age 62 and older with qualifying military service under IC 6-1.1-12-14.
$38,960 combined for veterans who meet both categories, provided the property’s assessed value is under $240,000.

Applications go to the county auditor with the required VA documentation.⁶

The Cap on Your Bill

Indiana’s constitution puts a hard ceiling on your total property tax liability through the circuit breaker credit. Your bill cannot exceed a fixed percentage of your property’s gross assessed value:

1% for homestead property (your primary residence)
2% for other residential property, agricultural land, and long-term care property
3% for commercial, industrial, and personal property

If the combined levies from the city, county, school district, library, and any other overlapping units push your bill above the cap, the excess is credited back automatically.⁷ You don’t apply for it. It shows up on your bill as a line labeled “circuit breaker credit.”

When Payments Are Due and What Late Costs

Marion County property taxes are due in two installments. For 2026, the deadlines are May 11, 2026 (the statutory date of May 10 falls on a Sunday) and November 10, 2026.⁸⁹

Miss a deadline and you owe a 5% penalty on the unpaid amount, provided you pay within 30 days and have no back taxes on the same property. After 30 days, the penalty jumps to 10%.⁹ On a $3,000 installment, that’s the difference between $150 and $300.

How to Pay

The Treasurer’s office accepts payments through several channels. You can look up your bill and pay online at the Treasurer’s property tax portal by searching your parcel number, name, or street address.¹⁰ Online options include e-check and credit card, though both carry processing fees. Credit card processing fees on government tax payments typically run around 2% to 2.5%, so on a large bill, e-check or paper check saves real money.

Other accepted methods:

Mail a check to the Treasurer’s lockbox. Only checks are accepted at the lockbox, no cash. A USPS postmark on or before the due date counts as timely.
Pay in person at the Treasurer’s office in the City-County Building during business hours, with extended hours around each deadline.
Pay at a participating community bank with your original tax bill.
Phone, text, and drop box options are listed on the Treasurer’s website.

Keep your receipt or digital confirmation number. If a payment is misapplied or shows up wrong in a later billing cycle, that receipt is your proof.¹⁰

If Your Lender Pays Through Escrow

If you have a mortgage, your lender likely collects a portion of your annual property taxes with each monthly payment and holds it in an escrow account, then pays the county when the bill is due. Check your tax bill directly each cycle to confirm the lender paid the right amount on time. Errors happen, and the county holds you responsible regardless of whether your lender dropped the ball.

If You Fall Behind

Unpaid property taxes eventually lead to a tax sale, where the county sells a lien on your property to a third-party buyer. The buyer pays your delinquent taxes and receives a tax certificate. You then have a redemption period to pay the buyer back with interest and fees and keep your property. If you don’t redeem during that window, the lien buyer can petition for title.¹¹ If you’re struggling, contact the Treasurer’s office before the tax sale process begins; you’ll have more options than if you wait.

If You Think the Assessment Is Too High

You can challenge the assessor’s value if you believe it exceeds what your property would actually sell for. You don’t need a lawyer to start.

File a Form 130 (Taxpayer’s Notice to Initiate an Appeal) with the local assessing official. You can only dispute the current year’s assessed value, though objective errors like incorrect square footage can be raised for up to three prior years. After filing, you’ll have an informal conference with the assessor, who will either approve or deny the change.¹²

If the assessor denies the appeal, it moves to the county’s Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals (PTABOA) for a formal review. A denial there can be escalated to the Indiana Board of Tax Review and, if necessary, the Indiana Tax Court.¹² Most successful residential appeals end at the informal conference. The strongest evidence is recent comparable sales in your neighborhood, documentation of condition issues the assessor may have missed, and, if the numbers justify the cost, an independent appraisal (typically $300 to $600 for a residential property).

The Local Income Tax Marion County Also Collects

Property tax isn’t the only local tax you pay. Marion County imposes a Local Income Tax (LIT) on residents, published at 2.02% for 2024.¹³ County rates are updated annually, so check the Indiana Department of Revenue’s current rate chart for your tax year.¹⁴

Your county of residence for LIT purposes is set on January 1 based on where your primary home is. If you lived in Marion County on January 1 and moved to Hamilton County on January 2, you owe the Marion County rate for the entire year.¹⁵ Your county of principal employment is also locked in on January 1 and is determined by where you earn the greatest share of your wage income.

Employers withhold LIT from each paycheck and remit it to the Indiana Department of Revenue alongside state income tax.¹⁶ If you’re self-employed or your employer fails to withhold the correct county rate, you’ll owe the difference when you file your Indiana individual return. Entering the wrong county code on a state return is a common reason for an unexpected balance at filing time.

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-2-1.5 – Annual Assessment Date Prescribed
2
Department of Local Government Finance. Citizen’s Guide to Property Tax
3
indy.gov. Apply for a Homestead Deduction
4
Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. Deductions and Credits
5
indy.gov. Apply for Over 65 Property Tax Credit
6
Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs. Disabled Veteran Property Tax Deduction
7
Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. Fact Sheet – Circuit Breaker Caps
8
City of Indianapolis and Marion County. Marion County Treasurer’s Office
9
Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. Property Tax Due Dates
10
City of Indianapolis and Marion County. Pay Your Property Taxes or View Current Tax Bill
11
City of Indianapolis and Marion County. Prepare for a Tax Sale
12
Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. Appeals Property Tax
13
Indiana Department of Revenue. 2024 Indiana County Income Tax Rates and County Codes
14
Indiana Department of Revenue. Individual Income County Tax Rates by Year
15
Indiana Department of Revenue. Income Tax Information Bulletin 32
16
Indiana Department of Revenue. Withholding Income