Ohio property tax reform arrived in force at the end of 2025, when the General Assembly passed five companion bills that all take effect in March 2026. Together they cap how fast inside millage revenue can grow, rework the school district 20-mill floor that has driven much of the recent tax pain, tighten the reappraisal review process, and shift homeowner credits away from investment property and toward people who live in the home they own. Here is what each change does and how it lands on your tax bill.
Why Reappraisals Have Been Hitting So Hard
To see what the reforms fix, it helps to know why bills have jumped. Under a longstanding Ohio law, the tax reduction factor automatically adjusts most voted levies so that a countywide rise in property values does not hand taxing districts a windfall. The factor is recalculated every year and appears as a credit on your bill, keeping revenue on existing property roughly stable.1Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Property Tax Reduction Factor – Members Brief
Two categories of tax are not adjusted that way: inside millage (the portion that does not require voter approval) and levies tied to a school district’s 20-mill floor. When a reappraisal pushes your home’s value up 30 or 40 percent, those unprotected pieces can rise in proportion. That gap between what homeowners expect and what actually happens is the tension the 2025 reforms target.
The Five Bills Taking Effect in March 2026
House Bill 335: A Cap on Inside Millage Growth
House Bill 335 limits how much revenue from inside millage can grow after a reappraisal or triennial update. County budget commissions must cap those increases at the GDP deflator growth over the preceding three years.2Ohio Legislature. House Bill 335 – 136th General Assembly Before this change, inside millage was one of the levies that could climb dollar-for-dollar with rising values. Subdivisions that need to maintain prior-year collection levels can ask the budget commission to adjust their rate, but the default is now an inflation-tied cap rather than unlimited growth.
House Bill 129: Reworking the 20-Mill Floor
The 20-mill floor keeps a school district’s effective tax rate for current operating expenses from dropping below 20 mills. The side effect is that once a district is sitting at the floor, rising values push taxes up rather than triggering the usual reduction factor offset. House Bill 129 changes how the floor is calculated. Starting in tax year 2026, existing emergency, substitute, and certain other fixed-sum levies must be included in the floor calculation. The bill also lets school districts renew some existing levies as fixed-sum levies, limited to five-year terms for current operating expenses.
House Bill 186: A Credit That Caps 20-Mill Floor Revenue
House Bill 186 pairs with HB 129 by creating a property tax credit that limits how much revenue a school district can gain from the 20-mill floor, or from a joint vocational district’s 2-mill floor. If collections would exceed a specified inflation rate, credits are applied to both residential and commercial property tax bills to bring the increase back down.3Ohio Legislature. House Bill 186 – 136th General Assembly In practical terms, a reappraisal in a school district at the floor can no longer generate unlimited tax increases for homeowners.
House Bill 124: Tighter Reappraisal Review
House Bill 124 changes how the Ohio Department of Taxation reviews county auditors’ valuations during reappraisals and triennial updates. The department must use the sample of property sales provided by the county auditor rather than substituting its own, and every sale in that sample must be an open-market, arm’s-length transaction from the previous three years. The bill moved up the department’s review deadline and created a new appeal route for auditors who disagree with corrections, letting those disputes go to the Board of Tax Appeals and ultimately the Ohio Supreme Court. The three-year sales window is meant to replace single-year snapshots that could reflect a temporary market spike.
House Bill 309: Budget Commission Power to Reduce Levies
House Bill 309 gives county budget commissions stronger tools to reduce voter-approved levies that have become unnecessary or excessive. After a public hearing, a budget commission can reduce a levy below its authorized rate if the evidence supports it. That gives local governments a way to respond when changing conditions make a levy’s full collection disproportionate to its original purpose.
How Homeowner Credits Are Changing
Two longstanding credits on Ohio property tax bills are moving in opposite directions starting in tax year 2026. The non-business credit, which has reduced taxes on residential property for decades, is being phased out. The owner-occupancy credit is being increased at the same time to partially offset that loss for people who live in the home they own.3Ohio Legislature. House Bill 186 – 136th General Assembly
The non-business credit currently applies to all residential property, including rentals and investment homes. Phasing it out and enlarging the owner-occupancy credit shifts the tax break away from investors and landlords and toward homeowners who live in the property.
To receive the owner-occupancy credit, you must own and occupy the home as your principal residence as of January 1 of the year you apply. Rentals do not qualify. You file the application with your county auditor, and the reduction stays in effect until the property transfers or you tell the auditor it is no longer your primary residence.4Ohio Department of Taxation. Application for Owner-Occupancy Tax Reduction Applications are due by December 31 of the year you qualify.
Homestead Exemption Amounts for 2026
The homestead exemption reduces the taxable value of a qualifying home, directly lowering the annual tax bill. It is available to homeowners who are 65 or older and to those who are permanently and totally disabled, subject to an income limit. Disabled veterans and surviving spouses of first responders killed in the line of duty qualify for an enhanced exemption with no income restriction.5The Ohio Senate. State of Ohio Homestead Exemptions – FAQs
Both amounts are now adjusted annually for inflation under changes enacted in the 2023 state budget. For collection year 2026, the standard exemption shields $28,000 of your home’s market value from taxation, and the enhanced exemption shields $56,000.5The Ohio Senate. State of Ohio Homestead Exemptions – FAQs For the income-limited standard exemption, total household income (including a spouse’s) cannot exceed $41,000 for tax year 2026, a threshold that also adjusts annually.6Summit County Fiscal Office. Homestead Exemption The enhanced disabled veteran and surviving spouse exemption has no income cap.
You apply by filing the DTE 105A form with your county auditor. For real property, the deadline is December 31 of the year for which you are seeking the exemption. For manufactured or mobile homes, the application must be filed by December 31 of the year before the exemption year.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 323.153 – Application for Reduction in Real Property Taxes Applications from disabled individuals must include a physician’s certificate; disabled veteran applications require written confirmation from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Counties may also offer a local option that piggybacks on the homestead exemption for additional relief.
What Did Not Pass: The Circuit Breaker
One reform that has drawn a lot of public attention is not part of the March 2026 package. A property tax circuit breaker would tie relief to the relationship between your tax bill and your income, stepping in with a credit when taxes consume too large a share of what you earn. House Bill 365, introduced by Representative Brennan, would set the trigger at 5 percent of a homeowner’s or renter’s household income, allow a rebate of up to $1,000, and cap eligibility at $100,000 in income.8Ohio House of Representatives. Rep. Brennan Applauds Consideration of Circuit Breaker, Homestead Expansion in Property Tax Reform Discussions The bill remains pending in the Ohio House. None of the five enacted reform bills contains a circuit breaker, so any relief tied directly to your income level would require separate legislation.
If Your Reappraisal Value Looks Wrong
The reforms change how values are reviewed at the state level, but they do not remove your right to challenge your own valuation. If your assessed value seems too high after a reappraisal, you file a complaint with your county’s Board of Revision using the DTE 1 form. The deadline is March 31 of the year after the tax year in question, or the closing date for first-half tax collection, whichever is later.9Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 5715.19 – Complaints Against Valuations or Assessments That deadline is statutory and cannot be extended.
The hearing turns on evidence. Recent comparable sales of similar properties, a professional appraisal prepared to litigation standards (not a quick refinancing appraisal), and documentation of property-specific problems like deferred maintenance or persistent vacancy all carry weight. Income and expense statements matter for commercial property. If the Board of Revision rules against you, you can appeal to the Board of Tax Appeals, and from there to the Ohio Supreme Court. House Bill 124 also gives county auditors a new appeal path when the Department of Taxation overrides their valuation decisions, which may lead to more consistent valuations across the state over time.