Property tax in Howard County, Indiana
In Howard County, the property tax bill comes from the Howard County Treasurer. The 2025 pay 2026 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due November 10, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Howard County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Howard County, Indiana is $1,189 a year, which is about 0.72% of the county's median home value of $165,000. That effective rate is higher than the typical Indiana county (0.66%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in Howard County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Howard County Treasurer. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Howard County Assessor, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
The Howard County Treasurer in Kokomo collects the tax. Indiana bills a year in arrears: the 2025 assessment is taxed in two installments during 2026. Center Township has its own elected township assessor in the Administration Center; the rest of the county is valued by the Howard County Assessor. Online payments go through the county's processor, Invoice Cloud: cards cost 2.95% (at least $2.95) and electronic checks $1.75, with $0.95 more for a phone payment. Community First, BMO Harris, First Farmers and Star Financial banks accept on-time payments. Deductions such as the homestead deduction are filed with the County Auditor, completed and dated by December 31, and apply to the next year's bill.
When are property taxes due in Howard County?
For the 2025 pay 2026 bill, Howard County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due May 11, 2026 and the last November 10, 2026. The next one due is the fall installment, on November 10, 2026. Under Indiana law, a late installment is charged a penalty of 5% of the unpaid tax if it is paid within 30 days of the due date and the property owes no back taxes. If it is not paid within 30 days, or the property already owes back taxes, the penalty is 10%.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Spring installment | May 11, 2026 (passed) | Indiana law sets May 10 and November 10, and a due date that falls on a weekend or holiday moves to the next business day. May 10, 2026 fell on a Sunday, so the spring installment was due Monday, May 11. |
| Fall installment | November 10, 2026 | November 10, 2026 is a Tuesday. The Treasurer accepts partial payments, and a drop box to the right of the entry doors of the Administration Center takes payments when the office is closed. |
From Howard County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Howard County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Howard County's average effective rate of 0.72% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $1,188 / year
Property tax in Howard County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $1,189 |
| Median home value | $165,000 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.72% |
| Typical Indiana county rate | 0.66% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does Howard County compare in Indiana?
Among Indiana's 92 counties, Howard County has the 30th highest effective property-tax rate: 29 rank higher and 62 rank lower. That is on the higher side for Indiana. Nationally, it ranks 1818th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Indiana county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Howard County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Howard County's 25,119 owner-occupied homes, 8% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 22.1% pay at least $2,000, and 30.8% pay under $800. Another 4.6% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 7,735 | 30.8% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 7,677 | 30.6% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 3,006 | 12% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 3,547 | 14.1% |
| $3,000 or more | 2,011 | 8% |
| No property tax paid | 1,143 | 4.6% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,220 and owners without one pay $1,127. That is within 10% either way, so in Howard County paying off the house does not go with a noticeably different bill. Census table B25103.
How does the Howard County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $1,189 is about 1.5% of the median income of Howard County homeowner households, $78,766 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 70.6% of Howard County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in Howard County?
Yes. The median bill went from $791 in 2015-2019 to $1,189 in 2020-2024, a 50.3% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 50.7%, from $109,500 to $165,000.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to Howard County
Howard County borders 6 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County, IN | 0.72% | $884 | $122,300 |
| Howard County, IN (this county) | 0.72% | $1,189 | $165,000 |
| Cass County, IN | 0.68% | $910 | $133,800 |
| Tipton County, IN | 0.65% | $1,139 | $174,600 |
| Clinton County, IN | 0.6% | $980 | $164,100 |
| Miami County, IN | 0.6% | $756 | $126,200 |
| Carroll County, IN | 0.56% | $1,015 | $180,900 |
How is a home assessed in Howard County?
Indiana assesses homes at 100% of market value in every county, Howard County included. How Indiana assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Howard County?
Yes, but it is shrinking. Indiana's homestead standard deduction is $40,000 for assessment year 2026 and reaches $0 from 2030; a bill paid in 2026 reflects the $48,000 figure. That is the Indiana rule, and it applies in Howard County. Indiana's exemptions and relief programs in full.
On top of the Indiana programs, Howard County runs its own:
- Local income tax property tax credit: Howard County imposes part of its local income tax for property tax relief (the state certified about $12.6 million of this revenue for 2026). State law lets the county decide who gets the credit, whether all property owners, only residential property or only homesteads, and the county's own pages do not say which; any credit shows as a local credit on the tax bill. There is no application.
How to appeal your Howard County property assessment
In Howard County you appeal to the Howard County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals (PTABOA). The deadline: File Form 130 by June 15 of the assessment year if the notice of assessment (Form 11) was mailed before May 1; for the 2026 assessment that deadline, June 15, 2026, has passed. If the notice was mailed on or after May 1, the deadline is June 15 of the year the tax bill is mailed. File it with your township assessor where there is one (Center Township has its own) and otherwise with the Howard County Assessor. The appeal flowchart the county still posts shows an older 45-day filing window; state law now sets the June 15 deadline. A decision of the county Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals can be appealed to the Indiana Board of Tax Review on Form 131 within 45 days of its notice. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How Indiana's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
Indiana rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Indiana page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with Howard County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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Indiana income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what Indiana actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Howard County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Howard County, Indiana: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.