Property tax in Ontario County, New York
In Ontario County, the property tax bill comes from your town's tax collector; in the cities of Geneva and Canandaigua, the city. The 2027 county and town taxes bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due January 31, 2027. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from Ontario County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in Ontario County, New York is $4,565 a year, which is about 2.05% of the county's median home value of $222,900. That effective rate is higher than the typical New York county (2.04%) and higher 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 Ontario County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from your town's tax collector; in the cities of Geneva and Canandaigua, the city. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, your town or city assessor (each municipality in Ontario County assesses its own properties), 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.
Most Ontario County homeowners get two or three property tax bills a year. The county and town tax, plus fire, water, sewer and lighting district charges, comes on one bill from your town tax collector by January 1. School taxes come on a separate bill from your school district, mailed in September in most districts and in October in the Canandaigua City School District, and that bill prints its own due date. Village residents also get a village bill in June. The county does not assess homes: your town or city assessor sets values and takes exemption applications. Town and county bills can be viewed on the county's online property map; current taxes are paid to your town tax collector or your city, and overdue taxes to the County Treasurer. If your escrow company pays late, the interest is its to pay, not yours.
When are property taxes due in Ontario County?
For the 2027 county and town taxes (bills mailed by January 1, 2027) bill, Ontario County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due January 31, 2027 and the last January 31, 2027. In the towns, interest is added from February: 1% if paid in February and 2% if paid in March. Town tax collectors must mail a reminder to anyone still unpaid by mid-March and cannot take payments after March 31; unpaid taxes then go to the Ontario County Treasurer for collection and enforcement. After two years of delinquency, the last day to pay to avoid foreclosure is the Friday before the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. Interest and penalties are owed even if you never received a bill.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| County and town bill (the towns) | January 31, 2027 | Paid to your town tax collector without interest through January 31. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday. State law moves a deadline that falls on a weekend or holiday to the next business day, so the last day without interest is Monday, February 1, 2027. A U.S. Postal Service postmark by the due date counts as on time; a postage-meter mark does not. You may pay in two equal halves instead: the first during the interest-free period in January, and the second in February with 1% interest or in March with 2% interest. |
| City of Geneva: county and city bill, first half | January 31, 2027 | Geneva mails one bill for county and city taxes by January 1 and accepts two equal payments: the first by January 31 and the second by May 31. January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, and state law moves it to Monday, February 1. May 31, 2027 is Memorial Day and the city has not said whether that date moves, so pay the second half by Friday, May 28 to be safe. Geneva adds a 5% penalty for the first month late and 1% a month after that. City of Canandaigua residents pay the county bill in full to the City Treasurer by January 31, with no installments, and get a separate city bill due by May 31. |
From Ontario County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. The county had not posted a calendar labeled for this cycle when we checked, so these dates come from state law and the county's standing schedule; the date on your bill is the one that binds you.
Estimate the property tax on a home in Ontario County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Ontario County's average effective rate of 2.05% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $4,569 / year
Property tax in Ontario County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $4,565 |
| Median home value | $222,900 |
| Effective tax rate | 2.05% |
| Typical New York county rate | 2.04% |
| 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 Ontario County compare in New York?
Among New York's 62 counties, Ontario County has the 30th highest effective property-tax rate: 29 rank higher and 32 rank lower. That is near the middle for New York. Nationally, it ranks 72nd of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every New York county ranked.
How much do homeowners in Ontario County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across Ontario County's 35,598 owner-occupied homes, 65.6% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 78.6% pay at least $2,000, and 2.6% pay under $800. Another 7.5% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 920 | 2.6% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 2,341 | 6.6% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 1,655 | 4.6% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 4,643 | 13% |
| $3,000 or more | 23,355 | 65.6% |
| No property tax paid | 2,684 | 7.5% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $4,744 and owners without one pay $4,181. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.
How does the Ontario County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $4,565 is about 4.7% of the median income of Ontario County homeowner households, $97,623 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 73.7% of Ontario 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 Ontario County?
Yes. The median bill went from $3,973 in 2015-2019 to $4,565 in 2020-2024, a 14.9% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 37.8%, from $161,800 to $222,900. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
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 Ontario County
Ontario County borders 6 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe County, NY | 2.63% | $5,616 | $213,700 |
| Wayne County, NY | 2.5% | $4,250 | $170,000 |
| Steuben County, NY | 2.46% | $3,386 | $137,900 |
| Livingston County, NY | 2.45% | $4,286 | $174,600 |
| Seneca County, NY | 2.19% | $3,403 | $155,400 |
| Ontario County, NY (this county) | 2.05% | $4,565 | $222,900 |
| Yates County, NY | 1.88% | $3,477 | $184,700 |
How is a home assessed in Ontario County?
New York sets the assessment rules and Ontario County applies them. How New York assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in Ontario County?
Not as a flat dollar amount. New York's main owner-occupancy benefit is STAR, which reduces school taxes for owners with income up to $500,000 (STAR credit) or $250,000 (STAR exemption). That is the New York rule, and it applies in Ontario County. New York's exemptions and relief programs in full.
How to appeal your Ontario County property assessment
In Ontario County you appeal to the Your town's or city's Board of Assessment Review. The deadline: File a written complaint (state Form RP-524) with your assessor or Board of Assessment Review so it is received by Grievance Day. In most communities that is the fourth Tuesday in May (May 25, 2027), but cities and some towns set a different date, so confirm it with your assessor. If the Board denies your complaint, you can file for Small Claims Assessment Review or a tax certiorari case within 30 days of the filing of the final assessment roll. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against state law, because Ontario County does not restate them on its own pages.
How New York's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
New York rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the New York 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 Ontario 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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New York income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what New York actually taxes.
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Sales tax in Ontario County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Ontario County, New York: 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.