If you are thinking about moving to Tucson, Property Taxes might be something you are interested in learning more about. Regardless of whether Property Taxes are an important part of your decision or not, it is best to understand them now, so that there are no surprises later.

Arizona charges a property tax on all owner-occupied residential real property.
By Law, all Tucson Real Estate transactions must be reported to the Pima County Tax Assessor and must include the price paid for your Tucson Home.

There are different classifications of property with various assessment ratios. The current assessment ratio for owner-occupied residential property is ten percent of the full cash value (Market Value). People get confused over that 10% number. Would that mean that a $400,000 home would have a tax bill of $40,000 per year? No, No indeed, Our Property Taxes here in Tucson are not that high.

The confusing part is the difference between Assessed Value and Market Value. Remember, Arizona property taxes are levied based on the Assessed Value, not Market Value. Thus in our $400,000 example above, your property tax would be based on the assessed value of $40,000 (10% of the Market Value).

The Tax Rate is different in every jurisdiction and is the total of the state, county, municipal, school, and special district rates. Tucson and Oro Valley are under the jurisdiction of Pima County, which sets the Tax Rate Annually. For budgeting purposes we recommend an estimated rate of 1.25% of the Sale Price. Using our $400,000 example that would work out like this: $400,000 x .0125 (1.25%) = $5,000 (Your tax bill would be approximately $5,000 per year)

What is the Assessed Value of the Tucson Home you are considering purchasing? We can provide that information to you upon request, or you can go the Pima County Tax Assessors site and obtain it yourself by entering the parcel number or the address.

The Full Cash Value of the home as listed on the Assessors Site will never exactly match the Asking Price for the home. This is because the assessments usually lag the market by some margin. Thus if you use the Listing Price of the home as an estimate to compute your taxes, your Property Tax Bill will probably be lower once you actually receive your bill.