Property tax expert predicts higher-than-usual bills for homeowners, farmers next year

One of Indiana’s leading experts on property taxes says he expects spikes in property tax bills won’t slow down soon.

A panel of tax experts hosted by the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute and Prosperity Indiana recently spoke to community organizations, lobbyists and lawmakers.

Indiana homestead property tax bills jumped 17 percent statewide in 2023, and another nearly 7 percent this year. Longtime Indiana property tax researcher and Purdue University Professor Emeritus Larry DeBoer said he sees that trend continuing next year.

“I’m expecting larger than usual increases in homestead and especially farmland property tax bills,” DeBoer said.

Indiana Association of Realtors Vice President Chris Watts disagreed. He said he thinks the sharp spikes of the last few years reached their peak this year and will settle back down to normal increases next year.

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Lawmakers are exploring potential property tax changes.

Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy analyst Neva Butkus said legislators should look at policies in more than two dozen other states that provide tax credits or rebates if their property tax bills significantly increase.

“A really effective way at ensuring that property taxes aren’t, again, eating up an unsustainable amount of a family’s household budget,” Butkus said.

Butkus said those policies can also be targeted at families that need the most support.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.