Property owners in Sterling Heights pay a combined millage of roughly 38.93 mills on a homestead and about 56.93 mills on non-homestead property, based on 2025 rates published by the Michigan Department of Treasury. On a home with a taxable value of $100,000, the homestead rate works out to about $3,893 a year. The city collects that amount in two installments: a summer bill payable July 1 through the first business day in September, and a winter bill payable December 1 through the end of February. What you actually owe depends on your parcel’s taxable value, your school district, and whether you qualify for any of Michigan’s exemption or credit programs.
How Your Bill Is Calculated
Every parcel in the city is valued under the Michigan General Property Tax Act. The City Assessor sets your property’s true cash value and then establishes the Assessed Value at 50 percent of that figure.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws – Act 206 of 1893 – The General Property Tax Act After county and state review, that number becomes the State Equalized Value (SEV). In most years, the SEV and the Assessed Value match.
Your tax bill, though, is calculated from a different figure called Taxable Value. Proposal A, approved by Michigan voters in 1994, caps annual growth in Taxable Value at the lesser of 5 percent or the rate of inflation. That cap can hold your tax base well below market value during a rising market. It also resets: the year after a property changes hands, the new owner’s Taxable Value jumps to the current SEV.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 211.27a – Taxable Value, Adjusted Taxable Value, Transfer of Ownership Prospective buyers should check the SEV on any listing rather than assume the seller’s tax bill reflects what they’ll pay.
A mill equals one dollar of tax per $1,000 of taxable value. Your total millage adds levies from the city, Macomb County, your school district, the library, the community college, and various regional authorities. Sterling Heights straddles two school districts, so the total depends on whether the parcel sits in Utica Community Schools or Warren Consolidated Schools. For Utica Community Schools parcels in 2025, the total homestead rate was 38.9277 mills and the non-homestead rate was 56.9277 mills.3State of Michigan. Total Property Tax Rates in Michigan 2025 The 18-mill gap between those numbers is the school operating tax, which homestead properties avoid through the Principal Residence Exemption.
To estimate your annual bill, multiply your Taxable Value by the total millage and divide by 1,000. You can look up your parcel’s exact taxable value, SEV, and applied millages through the city’s online assessing portal.4Sterling Heights, MI – Official Website. Assessing
Summer and Winter Due Dates
Sterling Heights mails two separate tax bills each year. The summer bill goes out in late June and is payable from July 1 through the first business day in September without penalty. The winter bill is mailed in late November and is payable from December 1 through the end of February without penalty.5Sterling Heights, MI – Official Website. Property Tax Information
When your bill arrives, check the property classification printed on it. A homestead parcel being taxed at the non-homestead rate is a costly error, and it happens more often than you’d expect when a Principal Residence Exemption affidavit wasn’t filed. Not receiving a bill does not excuse a late payment. If a mortgage company handles your taxes through escrow, confirm the billing address was updated correctly; you remain responsible if the lender drops the ball.
How to Pay
The City Treasurer accepts payment several ways:6Sterling Heights, MI – Official Website. Pay Property Taxes
- Online by credit card or electronic check through the city’s Point and Pay portal, with a convenience fee charged by the third-party processor (credit card fees for property tax typically run 2 to 3 percent).
- By phone at (877) 495-2729, with the same convenience fee.
- By check or money order placed in the 24-hour drop box at City Hall. Don’t put cash in the box.
- By mail to the City Treasurer. Payments count as received on the arrival date, not the postmark date.
- In person at the cashier’s counter at City Hall during business hours.
If you pay by drop box or by mail, allow a few business days for the payment to post to your account.
What Happens If You Pay Late
Any balance left on the summer bill after September 1 picks up a late-payment penalty of one-half percent per month through the end of February. On March 1, unpaid summer or winter balances get an additional 3 percent interest charge and are transferred to the Macomb County Treasurer.5Sterling Heights, MI – Official Website. Property Tax Information Once the county takes over, a 4 percent administration fee applies, plus interest at 1 percent per month (non-compounded), calculated back to the original delinquency date.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 211.78a – Return of Delinquent Taxes
Delinquent taxes in Michigan run on a three-year forfeiture and foreclosure clock. The first year, the balance sits with the county treasurer and accrues interest. In the second year, the parcel is formally forfeited, adding fees and backdating interest. If taxes still aren’t paid by March 31 of the third year, the county forecloses and takes title.8Macomb County, Michigan. Forfeiture/Foreclosure Timeline The property is then sold at auction. Macomb County forecloses on delinquent properties every year.
Exemptions and Credits That Lower Your Bill
Principal Residence Exemption
The largest break for most owners is the Principal Residence Exemption (PRE), which removes the local school operating millage from the bill. That’s roughly 18 mills, or about $1,800 a year on $100,000 of taxable value.9Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 211.7cc – Principal Residence Exemption File Form 2368 with the Assessor’s Office to certify that the property is your primary home. Deadlines are June 1 for the summer bill and November 1 for the winter bill. Miss the deadline after a recent purchase and you’ll pay the full non-homestead rate for that cycle.
Poverty Exemption
Homeowners facing serious financial hardship can apply for a partial or full exemption. Michigan law lets the supervisor and Board of Review grant the exemption to any principal-residence owner who, by reason of poverty, is unable to contribute to public charges.10Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 211.7u – Principal Residence of Persons in Poverty, Exemption Applications are annual, require a detailed review of household income and assets, and must be approved by the Board of Review. Contact the Assessor’s Office for current local income thresholds.
Disabled Veteran Exemption
Veterans discharged under honorable conditions and rated permanently and totally disabled by the VA are exempt from all property taxes on their homestead. The exemption also covers veterans certified as entitled to specially adapted housing benefits or rated individually unemployable. If a qualifying veteran dies, the unremarried surviving spouse keeps the exemption, and it applies to any homestead the surviving spouse owns, including one bought after the veteran’s death.11Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 211.7b – Disabled Veteran Homestead Exemption
Summer Tax Deferment for Seniors and Disabled Residents
Qualifying residents can push the summer bill to February 15 of the following year without interest. To qualify, you must own and occupy the home as your principal residence, have prior-year household income of $40,000 or less, and fit one of these categories:12Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 211.51 – Summer Property Tax Deferment
- Age 62 or older (including the unremarried surviving spouse of someone who was 62 or older at death)
- Totally and permanently disabled
- Blind, paraplegic, or quadriplegic
- Eligible veteran, servicemember, or surviving spouse
Apply using Michigan Department of Treasury Form 471 along with your prior-year Michigan Homestead Property Tax Credit Claim (Form MI-1040CR). File with the City Treasurer by September 15.13State of Michigan. Deferment of Property Taxes The deferment doesn’t reduce what you owe; it just buys time.
Michigan Homestead Property Tax Credit
Separate from the local exemptions, Michigan offers a property tax credit on your state income tax return. You claim it by filing Form MI-1040CR with your annual return. For most homeowners, the credit equals 60 percent of the amount your property taxes exceed 3.5 percent of household income, up to a maximum of $1,200.14Michigan Legislature. Services for Seniors Homeowners aged 65 and older use a more generous formula and can claim up to 100 percent of the excess, with the income percentage scaled from zero for households earning under $3,001 up to 3.5 percent above $6,000.
You don’t need to owe Michigan income tax to receive the credit. It’s refundable, so the state issues a check if the credit exceeds your liability. If property taxes feel like a stretch relative to your income, file the MI-1040CR.
Appealing Your Assessment
If you believe the Assessor overvalued your property, the first stop is the March Board of Review. The local panel meets in mid-to-late March each year and can adjust your Assessed Value, Taxable Value, or property classification.15Sterling Heights, MI – Official Website. Board of Review You get a hearing by filing a petition on Form L-4035, available from the Michigan Department of Treasury or the Assessor’s Office.16Michigan Department of Treasury. Petition to Board of Review
Bring evidence. Recent sales of comparable homes in your neighborhood, photos of property damage or deferred maintenance, and an independent appraisal all carry weight. Saying only that the taxes feel too high gives the board nothing to work with. The board evaluates whether the Assessor’s estimate of market value is accurate.
For residential property, appearing before the Board of Review is mandatory. You cannot skip straight to the Michigan Tax Tribunal; the local hearing comes first. If the board denies the appeal, residential owners have until July 31 to file with the Michigan Tax Tribunal for state-level review.
Buying or Selling: Proration and the Uncapping Jump
At closing, buyer and seller divide the year’s property taxes based on how long each owned the home. Michigan’s default rule under the General Property Tax Act treats taxes as paid in advance, with the seller covering levies that hit before closing and the buyer picking up everything after. Purchase agreements almost always include a proration clause, and the parties are free to agree to any split.
Pay close attention to the proration line items on your closing disclosure. A mistake can leave you paying for months of taxes that should have been the seller’s. Remember too that Taxable Value resets to the SEV the year after the sale, so your first full year of ownership may bring a noticeably higher bill than the seller was paying.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 211.27a – Taxable Value, Adjusted Taxable Value, Transfer of Ownership