Powerful millage calculation tool online
MillageRate.com has published a high-powered tool to calculate millage rates and their impact on the individual taxpayer’s bill. You will find the interactive, self-calculating spreadsheet here:
This tool requires that you be able to install certain Microsoft web controls. You will need administrative authority on your PC and possibly even Microsoft Office; at the very least Microsoft Excel.
If you have Excel but cannot access the online calculator, email us at somebody@millagerate.com and we will be happy to send you the spreadsheet for offline use.
How to use the calculator…
To use the calculator, first open a browser window. Maximize the window; then paste the URL http://www.millagerate.com/maxcalc.htm into the address bar. Opening the page in this way allows the entire spreadsheet to open on your screen.
1. The yellow fields represent the basic data needed to calculate accurately. Enter the number representing the portion of the budget to be funded by property tax dollars in the yellow field at the top of the “Budget” column.
2. Enter the Net Tax Digest number in the yellow field at the top of the “Net Tax Digest” column.
3. Enter the adopted or proposed millage rate in the yellow field in the “Adopted Millage” column.
4. In the “Tax Bill” section, enter your property’s assessed value (100%) in the yellow “Fair Market Value” field. Exemptions can be entered in the appropriate yellow fields in this section.
Calculations
The mathematical millage will automatically be calculated and displayed at the top of the “True Millage” column. The calculator also shows the tax revenue expected from the true millage (it should match the “portion of the budget to be funded by tax dollars,” of course) as well as the amount that will be generated by the adopted millage. The “bottom line” will show how much the individual taxpayer will over/under pay, based on the assessed value minus exemptions, if any.
The green fields can be used to adjust the figures in the yellow fields. For example, if you want to calculate the effect of a hypothetical increase in the net tax digest on the individual tax bill, you would enter either a specific dollar amount in the green “Dollar Adjustment” field in the “Net Tax Digest” column OR a percentage increase in the green “Percentage Adjustment” field in the same column. The adjusted totals show just below the green fields; the rest of the spreadsheet automatically recalculates to show the effect of your hypothetical adjustment.
You can use this tool not only to calculate actual millage rates and tax bills, but to prove our contention that a mathematical millage is the only legal way that increases in property assessments can result in lower tax bills.
Try this example: Input basic data in the required yellow fields. Then adjust the figure in the “Budget” column by 3%. Adjust the figure in the “Net Tax Digest” column by 5%. You will see that the “true millage” decreased, as did the individual tax bill. You have just shown how tax bills are automatically and mathematically reduced when the property tax digest grows but elected officials hold increases in the cost of government to a lower percentage.
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