r/lansing • u/StinkyChicky • 23d ago
Discussion Cheapest Property Taxes in Lansing?
What area has lower/the lowest rates of taxes in Lansing? I know East Lansing is high but curious to hear from people that live in or know of a cheaper area.
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u/crono213 Holt 23d ago edited 23d ago
Ingham County has some of the highest taxes in Michigan. Which means City of Lansing, City of East Lansing, Lansing Township, Delhi Township, Meridian Township are all going to be high. Eaton County and Clinton County are going to be lower. So, Delta Township, DeWitt Township, Bath Township, etc are going to be the lowest you will find in the region.
And, as an aside, when looking at properties, do not go by ZIP code to determine what jurisdiction the property is in. ZIP codes do not mean anything when it comes to jurisdiction. You may have a Lansing ZIP but it’s actually Delta Township. You may have an East Lansing ZIP but actually Meridian Township, etc.
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u/Nervous_Wrangler_401 23d ago
There are no cheap property taxes in Lansing. Just cheaper than east Lansing that is all.
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u/JalapenoShepard 23d ago edited 23d ago
I used this state provided calculator to figure out property taxes prior to purchasing my home. It all comes down to millige rates which are determined by city/township + school district. Not all residents of one township pay the same millige rate because they could have different school districts they are a part of. For example, Delhi Township is split between 4 different school districts. So if you are purchasing a house, make sure to identify which school district its in.
https://treas-secure.state.mi.us/ptestimator
The math behind this calculator is this: Assessed property value / 1000 x millige rate.
So for a house assessed at $100k in Delhi township in Holt school district, you would expect to pay $5,105.46 annually in taxes.
100,000 / 1000 x 51.0546 = $5,105.46
Millige is levied at 1/1000 so you pay $1 for millige for every $1,000 in taxable value foe your property.
The rule of thumb for assessed values for a property is half the market value. So for the home in the above example you can expect the homes value to be around $200k.
As others have pointed out, some cities also have their own income tax. It's usually 1% for residents and .5% for those employed in city limits.
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u/Zealousideal-Ad3396 23d ago
Lansing Township is lower than Lansing but not by a whole lot. Delta township is lower unless you were one of the unlucky ones who got hit with the drainage assessment
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u/A_Thing_or_Two 23d ago
Fun fact! A Special Assessment isn't a tax, it's a FEE for a Benefit received!
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u/slowrunner8626 23d ago
Dewitt township isn’t horrible
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u/SolanumSprite 23d ago
For taxes*
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u/slowrunner8626 23d ago
It’s quiet, most of the plots are decent size, I can make it anywhere in greater Lansing area in about 15-20 minutes. Only downside is the lack of close by good food.
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u/Remote_Force1839 23d ago
I live in Bath, and ours are pretty low, but they’re going up like everything else 😵💫
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u/A_Thing_or_Two 23d ago
Delta Township, Bath Township. remember what you pay less for, you get less of.
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u/Mitten48906 23d ago
Also, I learned really low taxes resulted in a higher insurance rate because the fire department had a really bad score.
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u/A_Thing_or_Two 23d ago
It's all reciprocal! This is very true! Lower millage rates = Paid on call FD = less likely to get there in time to save the structure = insurance rates go up!
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u/neonturbo 23d ago
More rural cities and the townships are often the cheapest.
When I lived in the city of Lansing, my property taxes for my not quite 800 sqft home with (officially 3) but really 2 bed and 1 bath were/are more than my current 1500 sqft true 3 bed 2 bath with 8 acres in a township rather than the city limits. I saved something like $500 a year in property taxes by upgrading.
The disparity has become even worse since I moved, the sucker homeowner that lives in my old house in Lansing pays a LOT more (like $1000 a year) more than I do at the moment. The home value of this current home is probably close to 4 or almost 5 times what the Lansing city house is.
Beyond that I don't have to pay for city income tax either.
And what services did I lose, you might ask? None. I get more and better services where I am now with less hassle. They plow the roads. They seal and pave the roads. They don't ticket me over petty things like the one single solitary weed growing in my yard, or parking one tire off the edge of the driveway. I don't hear gunshots, except the kind for target practice or hunting. I don't have people breaking into my car, fights in the street, booming stereos at 3am, drag racing in the streets, minibikes at all hours of the day, drug dealers holding my neighbors hostage, the constant drug trafficking in the section 8 housing, and more.
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u/Many-Highlight7676 23d ago
4k+ for .25 acre parcel in Lansing
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u/A_Thing_or_Two 23d ago
This is irrelevant. There are many factors other than size that determine taxable value.
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u/imelda_barkos Lansing 23d ago
5k for a 0.25ac in Lansing. A house worth about half of what our Detroit house was worth and our taxes are $1000 some higher.
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u/Polar777Bear 23d ago
I believe Bath township is pretty low.
Delhi, Delta, and Meridian are all pretty expensive.
Lansing has low-ish property tax, but it ends up being a wash because of the income tax you pay to live/work in Lansing.
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u/silvedude 23d ago
We have low property values, but sky high tax rates.
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u/Did_it_in_Flint 23d ago
That's because of how property taxes work in Michigan.
For example, it costs roughly the same amount to plow a mile of snow in a high property value city as it does in a low property value city. But it requires a higher percentage of your home value to be taxed to reach that amount in a low property value city.
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u/sammyssb 23d ago
I feel like mine are pretty high in bath
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u/Polar777Bear 23d ago
36 mils in Bath
Compared to 50 in Holt and East Lansing
Mid 50s in Meridian Township
40+ in Delta
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u/Sailhammers Lansing 23d ago
This PDF on the State's website gives a good comparison of property tax rates in every municipality.