The property tax is an ad valorem tax, or a tax based on value. It is the primary means by which local government pays for services such as police and fire protection, schools, roads, parks, courts, etc. It involves two separate processes: the assessment process completed by the Equalization office and the budget process completed by the County Auditor.
All real property is subject to taxation, unless expressly exempted by law. The appraisal process begins with identifying, listing and valuing all real property located in Traill County. The assessment process is a systematic and logical method of collecting, analyzing and processing data into an estimate of value. The assessment office monitors sales of property to conduct statistical studies for assessment accuracy and equality. An appraisal is an estimate of value of an adequately described property as of February 1st of each.
All real property is valued at true and full value. For residential and commercial property, true and full value also can be referred to as market value. It is the value most people likely would pay for a given property in its present condition. For agricultural value, true and full value equals its productivity index of the soil type.
Notification of Change and Dispute of Valuation
The assessor must notify property owners when the valuation increases by 10% and $3,000. In April of each year, the assessments are reviewed by the city or township boards of equalization. Within the first 10 days of June, the county equalization board reviews the assessments of cities and townships. During August of each year, the State Board of Equalization reviews the assessments as finalized by the various counties.
After this assessment process is completed, the county auditor calculates the appropriate mill rate for each taxing district (township, school district, fire district, etc.). Those rates are applied to each taxable property by multiplying the taxable value times the mill rate to determine the property tax.
Property Tax Calculation
True and Full Value ×.50 = Assessed Value
Assessed Value ×.09 (Residential Factor) OR.10 (Commercial Factor) = Taxable Value
Taxable Value × Mill Rate = Gross Tax
See the Annual Mill Levy page for your current and historical mill rates. You can also use the Estimated Tax Calculator page.
