Important Property Tax Information for Ross County Property Owners

Several changes happening at the state and local level may affect your property tax bills this year. We want to make sure all Ross County residents understand these updates and know where to find information about their property values and tax amounts.

Ohio Property Reassessments and Triennial Updates

Ohio law requires that county auditors reassess property values at least once every six years. This process ensures that your property value reflects current market conditions. At the halfway point between full reassessments, the auditor also conducts a triennial update to adjust values based on more recent sales and market trends. You can search your property’s current assessment and value information on the Ross County Auditor’s website here: https://auditor.rosscountyohio.gov/Search.

Local Efforts to Reduce Property Tax Rates

Ross County officials have worked together with local jurisdictions to help reduce the impact of rising property valuations on your tax bills:

• All sixteen townships in Ross County have reduced the millage rates they collect.
• The Ross County Commissioners have lowered the millage rate for the County General Fund.
• The City of Chillicothe has also reduced its millage rate.

These actions help limit how much tax is collected from rising property values.

State Property Tax Reform Laws – What You Need to Know

In late 2025 and early 2026, Governor Mike DeWine signed five property tax reform bills into law that provide new protections and changes for Ohio property owners. These laws aim to slow the pace of increases and offer more predictability in property taxes while maintaining funding for public services.

Below is a summary of these key bills and what they do:

House Bill 124

This bill changes how property tax sales ratio studies are conducted, giving local county auditors a greater role in determining which sales are used when assessing property values.

House Bill 129

This law modifies how the 20-mill floor (minimum school funding level) is calculated by including certain levies that were previously excluded. This helps extend protections that prevent rapid tax increases for more homeowners.

House Bill 186

This law establishes an Inflation Cap Credit that limits the growth of school district property tax revenue to the rate of inflation. These “inflation cap credits” only apply in communities where school districts’ tax rates are at what’s called the 20-mill floor – a term that refers to the minimum tax rate schools are guaranteed under state law. All of Ross County's school districts are currently at the 20-mill floor.

This helps prevent sudden jumps in taxes as property values rise. Because of how this law works with billing cycles and when the state legislature passed it, the reductions will not be reflected until the second half of the year (the second-half collection period for 2026).

For more information on how this bill works, bill sponsor Representative David Thomas created a short Youtube video explaination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AChSOz5sOaI

House Bill 309

This law gives county budget commissions (which include the county auditor, treasurer, and prosecutor) the authority to adjust or reduce millage rates on levies that are deemed unnecessarily high, helping keep tax rates in line with actual local needs.

House Bill 335

This bill caps increases in inside millage (unvoted taxes) so that they do not grow faster than inflation during reappraisals or triennial updates. This provides more stable and predictable property tax amounts for homeowners.

For more details and to view the full text of each bill, you can visit the Ohio Legislature’s website: https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/.

Dear Ross County Taxpayers,

Exciting news! Ross County now offers a faster and more convenient way to receive your tax statements - introducing paperless billing! Experience the ease of accessing your information instantly and eliminate the wait for traditional mail.

To enjoy the benefits of speedy and hassle-free billing, click the link below and follow the simple steps to sign up for paperless billing. Save time and get your statements at your fingertips.

https://rosscountyohio.smartpayworks.com/

Thank you for choosing the faster route with Ross County's new paperless billing option.

Best regards,
David Jeffers
Ross County Treasurer's Office