How these estimates work

What’s on the ballot

Each Hamilton County school district this tool covers has an operating referendum on the November 3, 2026 ballot. Each authorizes a rate of up to a district-specific maximum, per $100 of net assessed value, for up to 8 years (pay-2027 through 2034), replacing that district’s current operating referendum. The specifics differ by district:

• Some districts also levy a separate referendum debt rate that continues regardless of this vote (Noblesville, Hamilton Southeastern, Westfield Washington). For them, “fails” does not mean zero referendum tax — the debt line stays.
• Carmel Clay is different: its 2026 question repeals and replaces both of its current referendums — the operating rate and a school-safety rate — with a single new operating rate. If it fails, both current rates end.
• Sheridan has no separate debt or safety component, so its whole current referendum is what’s up for renewal.

The exact rates, maximum levy, and ballot language for your district come from its DLGF determination — the same document the results panel links to (see Sources below).

Why the “if it passes” figure sometimes shows two rates

Every ballot authorizes a maximum rate, and a district’s board sets the actual rate each year within that ceiling. When a district has publicly committed to a specific first-year rate below its maximum, we show the bill at both the committed rate and the authorized maximum, so you see both the plan and the ceiling. When a district has not published a fixed first-year rate (its board will set it annually), we show the authorized maximum only.

For example, Noblesville Schools authorizes up to $0.57 but has publicly committed to $0.385 for 2027 (replacing its current $0.37 operating rate) (source), so both figures are shown for Noblesville addresses.

Why might my estimate go down if it passes?

For many higher-value owner-occupied homes, the estimate with the referendum passing can be slightly lower than the current bill. That isn’t an error — it’s how the 2025 property tax law interacts with the referendum rate:

• Above a certain assessed value, the 1% constitutional cap already limits the non-referendum part of the bill, so that part is the same whether the referendum passes or fails.
• What changes is the referendum line: today’s operating rate applies to this year’s net assessed value; the proposed rate would apply to next year’s net assessed value, which the 2025 law makes substantially smaller — and the reduction is proportionally larger for higher-value homes.
• Above a district-specific threshold, the shrinking net assessed value can outweigh the rate change, so the estimated bill dips slightly below today’s.

The exact crossover depends on the district and taxing-district rate. As a worked example, in Noblesville City’s taxing district (at Noblesville’s committed $0.385 rate) the 1% cap already binds above roughly $333,000 of assessed value, and the estimate dips below today’s above about $124,900. Above that, the estimate at the district’s committed 2027 rate is generally lower than the current bill, because SEA 1’s larger supplemental deduction shrinks net assessed value faster than the referendum rate rises. At a district’s authorized maximum, the estimate generally increases at every value — which is why, when a commitment exists, both figures are shown.

This comparison holds non-referendum rates at their certified pay-2026 levels, which is flagged estimated throughout. If non-referendum rates rise for pay-2027, the decrease shown here shrinks or reverses. It also compares the whole tax bill; the referendum line by itself rises at every rate above $0.37.

The 2025 property tax law (SEA 1)

Indiana’s 2025 reform changes homestead deductions each year: for taxes paid in 2026 your home’s assessed value is reduced by $48,000 and then by 40% of the remainder; for taxes paid in 2027 it’s $40,000 and 46%. It also adds a credit of 10% of your bill (up to $300) that excludes referendum taxes. Because referendum rates apply to that shrinking net assessed value, a given maximum rate raises fewer dollars per home in 2027 than it would have in 2026 — which is the districts’ stated reason a replacement maximum is set higher than the expiring rate. DLGF guidance memo

Estimates, not bills

• 2027 non-referendum rates are not certified until January 2027; we hold them at certified 2026 levels (2026 budget order).
• Assessed values come from Hamilton County’s public parcel data at lookup time and reflect the most recent assessment.
• This tool resolves each parcel’s constitutional cap class (1% homestead, 2% other residential and agricultural, 3% all other) from Hamilton County’s public parcel attributes, applies the matching cap to each class, and applies homestead deductions only to homestead value and the SEA 1 Cap 2 deduction only to cap-2 value. The inference identifies a parcel’s dominant class only; it cannot derive how a single parcel’s value splits across classes, because Hamilton County’s live public parcel service doesn’t expose that split (Indiana’s statutory PARCEL file does — the county’s live feed used here doesn’t). You can correct the split yourself in the cap-class panel.
• Other deductions some households have (mortgage age 65+, veteran, etc.) are not modeled and would lower all columns.

Privacy

Addresses you enter are forwarded to Hamilton County’s public parcel service to find your assessed value. They are never stored, logged, or sent to analytics. County responses are cached in memory for up to ten minutes to reduce load during busy periods — never written to disk or logs. We collect basic anonymous usage statistics (page views) via Google Tag Manager; nothing you type into this site is included. All tax math runs in your browser.