Your Home Just Got a New Value From the County. Here's What to Do With It

If you own a home in Greene or Montgomery County, you probably got a letter from the county auditor this summer with a new value on it. And if your first reaction was "wait, my taxes are going up how much?", you weren't alone. I've had that conversation more than a few times lately.

Here's what's going on, what it actually means for your tax bill, and the one deadline worth putting on your calendar.

Why the values changed

Ohio law requires every county to reappraise every property once every six years, with a smaller sales-based update in between. 2026 was the big one for both of our counties, and it sets the values your 2027 tax bills are based on.

• Montgomery County: residential values rose about 19% on average. Every community in the county saw an increase.
• Greene County: residential values rose about 17.8% on average. Xenia saw the biggest jump of any city in the county, close to 26%, which the auditor tied largely to new construction. Farmland values more than doubled as large farms get split into 5 and 10 acre lots.

As someone who lives in Xenia, that 26% didn't shock me. Drive around the east and west sides of town and you can see why.

None of this should be a huge surprise if you've followed home prices here. The Dayton-area median sale price was $271,450 in August, up 4.4% from a year ago, and it's been climbing for years. The county is catching its numbers up to what homes are actually selling for.

One Greene County note: the number you got in June was a tentative value. Final values get posted to the auditor's website in December, so it's worth checking yours again then.

Your taxes won't go up by the same percentage

This is the part that trips people up. A 19% higher value does not mean a 19% higher tax bill.

When values go up across the board, Ohio's tax reduction factors lower the effective rate on most voted levies so they bring in roughly the same dollars they did before. Montgomery County's auditor has said most owners should expect something closer to a 1.5% to 2% increase on their 2027 bills. Ohio also passed a round of property tax reforms at the end of 2025 that limit certain increases, with some of that relief showing up starting in 2027.

Your own number depends on your school district and levies, so it can land higher or lower. New levies on the ballot are a separate thing and can still add to your bill. But in most cases, the reappraisal itself moves your bill a lot less than the headline percentage.

Should you challenge your value?

Only if it's actually wrong. The informal review windows closed over the summer, but you still have a formal option.

You can file a complaint with your county's Board of Revision between January 1 and March 31, 2027. If you go that route, come with evidence:

• Recent sales of homes similar to yours (within the last couple of years)
• A private appraisal
• Proof of condition issues the county wouldn't know about, like a bad foundation or an old roof

One thing the Board won't consider: "my taxes are too high." They're only looking at whether the value is right, so keep your case about the house.

Check your property card on the auditor's website first. Sometimes the problem is simpler than market value, like the wrong square footage, an extra bathroom you don't have, or a finished basement that isn't finished.

A quick word on the "abolish property taxes" push

You may have seen signs about eliminating Ohio property taxes entirely. That amendment didn't collect enough signatures to make this November's ballot. The organizers have said they're aiming for 2027. Whatever you think of it, nothing changes on your bill because of it right now.

Where I can help

I'm not a tax attorney, so I can't tell you whether to file. What I can do is pull recent comparable sales around your home, which is the same kind of evidence the Board of Revision wants to see. If your value looks off, send me your address and I'll take a look, no strings attached.