Big changes are on the horizon for Delaware County taxpayers in the wake of property tax reforms passed by the Ohio Legislature, and the details of what that means for local residents were laid out in a recent social media post from the Delaware County Auditor's Office, George Kaitsa. For the tax year 2025, payable in 2026, certain school districts like Big Walnut, Buckeye Valley, and Delaware City will offer an "inflation tax credit," the value of which will be calculated by the Ohio Department of Taxation and communicated before the second half tax bills are mailed out.
Property owners in the school districts not at the 20-mill floor, such as Olentangy, Dublin, and Westerville, will not be eligible for the credit, their tax increases are attributed to voter-passed levies in 2025, Kaitsa's announcement further clarified the upcoming reforms which include a cap on future tax increases at the rate of inflation for school districts currently at a 20-mill floor threshold and other changes impacting how and when property values are reassessed, according to their statement. The adjustments are in response to the significant increases seen during the 2023 major (sexennial) reappraisal and widely recognized uncontrolled factors severely impacting the real estate market.
Further modifications will take effect in the subsequent year, The nonbusiness credit, which applies to properties other than residential, will be phased out starting with the tax year 2026 bills, seeing a reduction to 7.5%, while the owner-occupancy credit will receive a bump to 5.7% from its current 2.5%, and land utilized for agriculture continues to enjoy the nonbusiness credit exemption; these changes will set the stage for a full phase-out of the nonbusiness credit by tax year 2029, elevating the owner-occupancy credit to 15.38% for qualifying homeowners," as quoted in the post by the Delaware County Auditor's Office.
Reshufflings in the school funding formula are expected to result in fewer school districts sitting at the banned 20-mill floor, as all levies for school operations will now count towards it, doing away with past exclusions like emergency and substitute levies; and in an aim to alleviate voter confusion, replacement levies will no longer grace the ballot, instead, terms like renewal levies will stand solitary on the docket. Amid these changes, the next sexennial reappraisal, initially slated for 2029, will be moved to 2030, enabling property owners additional time to adjust or contest their property valuations with the Board of Revision by the March 31, 2026, deadline, with requisite forms available via the Auditor's website.
