How property taxes work: who assesses, who collects

A property tax bill passes through three hands. One office puts a value on your property. Local governments decide how much money they need. Another office sends the bill and takes the payment.

1. Someone values the property

The assessor decides what your property is worth for tax purposes and what kind of property it is, such as a home, a farm or a business. The name varies: assessor, appraiser, property valuation administrator, appraisal district. Values are set as of a fixed date each year. In Minnesota the county assessor sets them by January 2; in Texas the appraisal district values property as of January 1.

The assessor is also the office to ask about the owner's name on the tax roll, exemptions such as a homestead, and the parcel number.

2. Local governments set the rate

Counties, cities, towns, school districts and other local bodies each decide how much they need to raise from property tax. That total is the levy. Roughly, the tax rate is the levy divided by the taxable value of all the property in the area. Minnesota's revenue department sums it up: the value and classification of your property "are used to determine your share of the levy."

So a higher value does not by itself mean a higher bill. What matters is your share, and how much the local governments decide to raise.

3. Someone bills and collects

The collector sends the bill, takes payments and handles late taxes. Its name varies too: treasurer, tax collector, sheriff, trustee, tax commissioner. Questions about a bill, a due date or a payment go here, not to the assessor.

Where it works differently

In most states, county offices do both jobs. The exceptions:

• Towns and cities. In the six New England states, the town or city values property and collects the tax. Connecticut sends questions about a bill to the tax collector in the town where the property is. In Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Wisconsin, local assessors in cities, towns, townships or villages do most of the valuing.
• Local tax collectors in Pennsylvania. In most Pennsylvania counties an elected tax collector in each township, borough or city collects the county, municipal and school real estate taxes. By law or home rule, the county treasurer or the county itself collects county taxes in Allegheny, Beaver, Chester, Delaware, Greene, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Northampton and Washington counties.
• Split collection. Wisconsin's default sends payments made by January 31 to the town, village or city treasurer and later payments to the county treasurer, but local arrangements differ: Madison, Milwaukee and other cities and villages keep every installment of the current year's tax, and some counties collect all payments for some of their municipalities by agreement, as Waukesha County does for 16. The tax bill names the office for each payment. In Michigan, taxes still unpaid on March 1 are turned over to the county treasurer.
• The state values property. Maryland's Department of Assessments and Taxation appraises every property once every three years through an office in each county and Baltimore City; local governments turn those values into bills. Montana's Department of Revenue values property statewide, and the county treasurer collects.
• A separate appraisal district. In Texas, appraisal districts, each run by its own board of directors, value property. Many taxing units then contract with the county tax assessor-collector to collect their taxes.

If you think your value is wrong

Start with the assessor. Minnesota's revenue department tells owners to contact the county assessor first and to ask for a review if the property has not been inspected recently. If you still disagree, you can appeal formally. In Minnesota that means the local board of appeal and equalization, then the county board, or straight to the state Tax Court. In Texas you protest to the appraisal review board, a board of local citizens. Deadlines are set by law, so read your value notice when it arrives.

Who values and who collects, state by state

Where the job is done by county, the links list every county's office.

Sources

• Minnesota Department of Revenue: understanding property tax
• Minnesota Department of Revenue: appealing property value and classification
• Texas Comptroller: property tax basics
• CT.gov: property tax
• New York State Department of Taxation and Finance: how property is assessed
• New Jersey Transparency Center: property tax
• Michigan Compiled Laws 211.10: annual assessment in townships, villages and cities
• Wisconsin Statutes 70.05: assessors
• Wisconsin Statutes 74.11: property tax payments
• Wisconsin Statutes 74.12: payment in 3 or more installments
• City of Madison: property taxes
• Waukesha County Treasurer: whom and where to pay
• Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development: Tax Collector's Manual
• Michigan Compiled Laws 211.78a: delinquent taxes
• Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation: real property
• Montana Department of Revenue: Property Assessment Division
• Montana Code 15-16-101: county treasurer's tax notice

Checked against the sources above on Sep 24, 2026. GovDir is a guide, not legal advice. The office named for your property has the final say.

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