Taxes and tax relief remain the hot topic in Ohio and Mahoning County politics. Levies are being discussed ahead of the filing deadline for the November general election. County commissioners have imposed an increase on the owner-occupied tax credit that will pull just over $4 million from school, township and local agency budgets.

And Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham is once more explaining why property values — and likely property taxes — are going up yet again.

After he explained the triennial property revaluation to commissioners June 25, the board decided in special session Tuesday to adopt a resolution to double the owner-occupied tax credit, per the authority provided by the state under House Bill 96.

On Wednesday, Meacham issued a news release explaining the details of the revaluation.

“Residential average percentage increases by district ranged from 13.09% in Austintown to 39.47% in Milton, with an average for the county of 24.34%. The average county increase for agricultural properties is 31.07%. The average county increase for commercial properties is 20.6%, and 18.1% for industrial properties,” the release states.

Meacham’s office notes that the effective tax rate increase will not be known until some time between December and February, but the auditor stated that a 24% property value hike does not mean a 24% tax increase.

“During the last revaluation, an average of 38% increase in property valuation resulted in a 7% increase in property taxes. New and retiring levies, a limitation on how much a levy can collect, new construction and other factors affect the calculation for effective tax rates,” Meacham stated. “Taxpayers will be able to find their new assessed values on the county auditor’s website. Property owners should look up their parcels, and scroll down to see your 2026 Preliminary Value.”

Meacham explained in the news release and to commissioners Thursday how the property rates are calculated for residential, agricultural, industrial and commercial real estate across the 58 taxing districts in Mahoning County.

“For comparative sales analysis, each district is broken into neighborhoods. The state of Ohio gathers information of every property sale and compares those sales to the values assessed by the county auditors. During the most recent cycle, the state mandated that the assessed values be no less than 90% of the average actual sales values.”

Meacham said this will be the last triennial revaluation, because the Ohio Department of Taxation has determined that the three-year cycle is difficult to keep updating.

“The next full revaluation will be pushed back a year to 2030; therefore the values assigned this year will be in place for the next four years,” he said.

FUN WITH TAX MATH

While controversial, given what it will cost school districts, local governments and agencies such as the Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities, the owner-occupied tax credit is intended to save homeowners money. After all other taxes are applied to a homeowner’s bill, credits like the Homestead Exemption and owner-occupied credit are applied and the bill reduced accordingly. Meacham has reported that it will save homeowners an average of $62 per year.

In Wednesday’s newspaper, The Vindicator incorrectly reported that the tax credit increase would be applied in 2027 and collected in 2028. Rather, it is applied to the 2026 tax bill and will be collected in 2027.

For one home with a market value of $127,480 in 2025, the revaluation drove that selling price up to $159,350. That’s about a 25% increase — or $31,870. The total annual tax bill for the house in question in 2025 was $3,278.68, or $1,639.34 per half.

For that home’s 2025 taxes, a nonbusiness tax credit at a rate of 9.2% knocked $97.41 off the half-year bill, while the owner-occupied tax credit, at a rate of 2.3%, reduced it by another $48.71, taking the total half-year tax burden down from $1,055.69 to $933.93 — a tax relief of $121.76, or 11.53%.

In 2026 that same house, valued at $159,350 owed $4,097.98 in taxes, with a half-year bill of $2,048.99. The nonbusiness credit, now reduced to 7.5%, reduced the bill by $98.96 and the owner occupancy tax, including the commissioners’ additional 2.5% increase, brings the credit rate to 8.2% for a $108.20 reduction. So the half-year tax bill for the home this year drops from $1,319.50 to $1,112.34 — a $207.16 reduction, or 15.7%.

The commissioners’ 2.5% reduction only applies to the 2026 tax year. It is unclear if the state will allow any further one-time reductions per HB 96.

Assuming the home’s half-year tax bill remains unchanged at $1,319.50 before credits, the gradual elimination of the nonbusiness credit is largely offset by increases in the owner-occupied credit under House Bill 186.

In 2027, the combined credits would reduce the homeowner’s tax bill by $183.68, or 13.92%, leaving a half-year payment of $1,135.82. In 2028, as the owner-occupied credit increases further, total tax relief would rise to $193.31, or 14.65%, reducing the bill to $1,126.19. By 2029, when the nonbusiness credit is fully eliminated and the owner-occupied credit reaches 15.38%, the homeowner would receive $202.97 in tax relief — equal to a 15.38% reduction — resulting in a half-year tax bill of $1,116.53.

RATES BY TAX DISTRICT

Meacham’s news release provided a breakdown of average property value increases in each community. Homeowners can check the auditor’s website to see exactly the increase for their home or the average increase for their tax district. The numbers below reflect the average residential property value increase. Many communities, like Boardman and Beaver townships for example, have more than one tax district, with varied increase percentages.

TOWNSHIPS

Austintown: 23%

Beaver: 30%

Berlin: 32.98%

Boardman: 21%

Canfield: 21%

Coitsville: 26%

Ellsworth: 31%

Fairfield: 13.52%

Goshen: 20.33%

Greene: 29%

Jackson: 38.49%

Milton: 39.47%

Poland: 18%

Smith: 33%

Springfield: 29%

CITIES

Campbell: 33%

Canfield: 16.68%

Struthers: 33.14%

Youngstown: 38.49%

VILLAGES

Craig Beach: 38.25%

Lowellville: 28.24%

New Middletown: 22.92%

Poland: 28.25%

Sebring: 20%

Washingtonville: 18%