COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan 22, 2026, 01:20 (EST)
- Ohio Farm Bureau says late-2025 tax changes could bring more than $2 billion in property-tax relief for farmers over three years
- New inflation-based limits target parts of school and local tax bills that can rise with valuations, without a new vote
- County-by-county timing and impact will vary, and schools are watching the revenue hit
Ohio Farm Bureau says a package of state property-tax changes passed late last year could deliver more than $2 billion in relief for farmers over the next three years, as counties begin applying new limits meant to blunt valuation-driven spikes. “Many of our farmland owners are going to see that inflation limit applied to their tax bills,” the group’s associate general counsel, Leah Curtis, said, pointing to credits meant to help owners who already went through a reappraisal cycle. (Brownfield Ag News)
The first visible changes will not land everywhere at once. A Fairfield County auditor’s office explainer said the initial impact should show up on tax bills due in mid-2026, with larger savings continuing through 2027-2029 as credits phase in and reappraisal cycles roll through; it put projected statewide savings at roughly $2 billion to “$3+” billion. The same release said homeowners who live in their homes are set to see a larger owner-occupancy credit over several years, while a 10% non-business credit for rental and investment property will be phased out, excluding agricultural land. (Oh)
Curtis said the run-up in property taxes has become a dominant political issue in Ohio, with lawmakers introducing more than 40 bills tied to the topic over the past year. “Property taxes are probably the top issue being discussed across the state,” she said in an Ohio Farm Bureau podcast, outlining four measures: House Bill 186, aimed at limiting growth tied to the “20-mill floor” for school funding; House Bill 129, which changes how that floor is calculated; House Bill 335, which adds an inflation limit to inside millage; and House Bill 309, which expands county budget commission authority to reduce levies to avoid excess collections. (Ohio Farm Bureau)
A “mill” is a tax rate of $1 per $1,000 of taxable value, and the 20-mill floor refers to a minimum level of school operating revenue required under state law. Inside millage is the first slice of property tax allowed without a direct vote, while other levies are typically approved by voters.
What landowners actually see will depend on where the property sits and when local values are reset. Ohio updates valuations on set cycles, and the relief mechanisms tied to inflation caps and credits can land differently across counties that are at different points in those cycles.
But the changes are threaded through school funding and local government budgets, which makes the downside scenario messy: slower growth in property-tax collections can tighten district finances, especially in places that rely heavily on automatic increases. When Governor Mike DeWine signed the package in December, he said, “No longer will families see dramatic spikes in their real estate taxes,” while lawmakers also rewrote parts of the bills after schools warned an earlier version of HB 335 could have driven deep staffing cuts. (The Statehouse News Bureau)
Local officials are already trying to sort out what that means in practice. In Napoleon, Ohio, school district leaders told their board they could lose some revenue under the new property-tax laws, though they expected the hit to be smaller than in other districts. (Muck Rack)
The debate is spilling beyond the Statehouse. An op-ed carried by Morning Ag Clips said the administration had delivered more than $30 billion to farmers nationwide and framed the farm economy as under pressure from costs, markets and weather, while marking a year since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2025. (Morning Ag Clips)
For Ohio farmers, the next test is plain and unglamorous: the bill envelope. The Farm Bureau says the relief is real, but the math will be local, and the political fight over what comes next is not close to over.
