Whether you are buying, selling, investing or currently own a property in Onondaga County, you may be interested in know what the property taxes are on the subject property.
As we all know, Onondaga County property taxes can be quite high.
These tax rates also vary from town to town and understanding what your current tax rate is on the property you are interested in is very important.
This is due to the fact that your monthly tax payment in Onondaga County will be very similiar to your monthly mortgage payment.
For example, if your monthly mortgage payment is $500.00 a month, in most towns in Onondaga County, your monthly tax bill will be around that $500.00 threshold.
This means that you have to have a good understanding of the current tax rate so that you can account for this in your monthly expenses and understand if you will be able to afford your new monthly payment.
So if are you not already familiar with how to find your current tax rate on the property you own or are interested in, lets dive in and find out how to find this number.
How Property Tax Is Determined in Onondaga County
In most areas, when you are purchasing a property, the listing will contain the current summarized value of the property taxes applicable to the home. We advise you to use this information as just that an informational tool. In the county's eyes, property taxes are referred to as ad valorem or "according to taxes". These taxes are calculated on what the current assessed value of the property is. Typically, when a home is sold, there will be a new assessment. This assessment will reflect the current value of this parcel of property.
However, when a home is owned for several years, the assessed value of the property can get out of alignment with the full market value of the home. This is due to the fact that the property typically appreciates at a faster rate then the county can legally grow the assessed value.
In other instances, a home can depreciate in value compared to the assessed value of the property.
For example, if one family has lived in a home for several years and they live in appreciating location. This home can have an assessed value that is far below the full market value of the property. So if you were interested in purchasing this property and the assessed value of the property is $200,000 but the homeowner is selling the property for its full market value at $300,000, you need to forecast an increase in property taxes when you purchase the property.
Just to make things a bit more complicated, the current homeowner may be eligible and taking advantage of several tax exemptions and exclusions that may not apply to you as the new homeowner.
So make sure you do your home work on the price you are going to pay for the purchase of the property and the current assessed value of the home including any exemptions or exclusions on the current tax bill.
Property Tax Assessment Revisions
Once you purchase the property that you are interested in, the first tax bill that is issued to you may reflect the previous owners tax bill. In the months that follow the transfer of ownership, you will receive a notice in the mail, showing your revised tax bill based on the sales price of the property, excluding any exemptions or exclusions that the previous homeowner had. This supplemental tax assessment will either increase or decrease your new tax bill depending on if you purchased the property above or below the current assessed price.
Where To Find The Current Property Tax Assessment In Onondaga County
Let's discuss where we can find the current tax assessment on a property in Onondaga County.
1) Head on over to http://www.ongov.net/rpts/propertyTaxInfo
2) Click on the "Click Here" text to bring you to the Onondaga County Search
3) Find the properties municipality, type in the street # and street name & click Search
4) On the left side of the page above click on 2016 County/ Town Tax Bills
*At the bottom of the above page, you will see the total of your town tax bill*
5) Click the back bottom & proceed to left side of the page & click 2016/2017 school tax bill
*At the bottom of the page above, you will see a total of school tax bill*
If you total these two figures together, the result will be the total amount that you will have to pay in property & school taxes for the year.
Estimating The Taxes on A Property That You Are Buying
As we have discussed throughout this post, sometimes the current tax bill on a property will not be accurate when you purchase the property. We need to understand how to predict the future tax bill of the property that we may be interested in.
To predict the property tax bill on any property that you are considering.
1) Find the current county/town rates in Onondaga County. Head over to http://www.ongov.net/rpts/countyTownTaxRates
2) Multiply the total tax rate by the assessed value of the parcel, then divide by 1000. For example, to find out the current county/town tax rates (not including school taxes), multiply your planned purchase price by the total tax rate and divide by 1000. So if your purchase price is $200,000 in Camillus and the Total Tax rate is 11.96830. You take the $200,000 x 11.96830 = 2,393,660 and then divide by 1,000. This will give you $2,393.66.
Keep in mind that this will only give you an updated assessment of the property taxes. This is not an exact science and will not account for any exemptions you may get in the future, changes in area assessements or tax rates.
Wrapping Up| How To Find Your Onondaga County Property Tax Information
This post should give you a good understanding of how to find out the current Onondaga County tax rates along with forecasting the future tax rates on a property you may intend to purchase. We want you to understand that have the most accurate number to work off of when evaluating a purchase of primary residence or investment is very important. Do not underestimate the true value of your taxes because you will be in for a root awakening when your supplemental assessment comes in.
If you are in a position where you have fell behind on your property taxes and the county is threatening to seize your property, give us a call. We will purchase your home before the county takes it away from you.
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