Taxable Value and the Reappraisal Cycle

Ohio’s tax base has two defining features: a fixed 35% assessment ratio — true (market) value reduced to taxable value — and a state-supervised six-year reappraisal cycle for each of the 88 counties, with a triennial update at the three-year mark. Both are stated on the Department of Taxation’s own reappraisal page, and together they explain almost every surprising number on an Ohio value notice.

The 35% ratio, worked

The auditor determines true value — the market estimate — and multiplies by 35% to produce taxable value. The voted levies of school districts, cities, townships and counties are applied to the taxable figure, in mills ($1 per $1,000 of taxable value).

1. Inputs: true value $300,000; a combined voted levy of 100 mills (illustrative).
2. Step — the ratio: taxable value = $300,000 × 35% = $105,000.
3. Step — the tax: 100 mills × $105 = $10,500 of gross tax before the reductions Ohio law layers on (the 10%/2.5% rollback and homestead reductions the state reimburses to local governments).

What this tells you: the number to sanity-check is true value, and the complaint (DTE Form 1) argues true value. The 35% is not an error when your taxable value looks “too low” against your market estimate — it is the statute working. And a 10% true-value cut moves the tax base by the same 10% — the ratio is fixed, so the percentage change passes straight through.

What it does not tell you: what your actual bill will be — Ohio’s levy reductions and rollbacks sit between the gross calculation and the bill, and they vary with the levy mix.

The six-year cycle and the triennial update

Each county is fully reappraised once every six years — the “sexennial” reappraisal — and gets a triennial update three years in. The Department of Taxation oversees and approves each county’s revaluation; the county auditor carries it out. Which phase your county is in changes what a year-over-year move means:

• Reappraisal year: the value has just been reset from full market data — a big move is the cycle working, not necessarily an error.
• Triennial update year: the county adjusts values toward current market, class by class — moderate moves are normal.
• Other years: values mostly carry over; a change usually reflects new construction, a split, or a physical change.

What this tells you: before arguing a value, learn your county’s phase. The honest comparison in a reappraisal year is your value against the sales data the reappraisal used — not against last year’s value, which the cycle has just deliberately replaced.

Who values what

The county auditor — not a separate assessor — carries the valuation duty and the roll, which is also where the complaint is filed. The Department of Taxation’s oversight means the county does not choose its own calendar or methods: the state approves the revaluation plan before the values go out.

What this page does not cover

Current agricultural use valuation (CAUV), the homestead exemption, and the levy-reduction mechanics (the 10% and 2.5% rollbacks) are outside this page. The Department’s reappraisal page cited below is the authority for the ratio and the cycle.