- Assessor site
- https://www.michigan.gov/treasury/local/assessing ↗
- Search by
- office contact via the Michigan Treasury assessing/equalization directory; parcel search via local assessor / BS&A
- Reassessment cycle
- LOCAL city/township ASSESSORS set assessed values (50% of true cash value) as of DECEMBER 31 (Tax Day); each county's EQUALIZATION DEPARTMENT (MCL 211.34) equalizes across local units and is the county office of record; the Michigan STATE TAX COMMISSION finalizes State Equalized Value. THREE-VALUE system under PROPOSAL A: ASSESSED VALUE = 50% of true cash value; STATE EQUALIZED VALUE (SEV) = AV after county/state equalization; TAXABLE VALUE = lesser of SEV or capped value, and TV drives the bill (TV × millage).
- Reassessment trigger
- Assessed value is re-set every year at 50% of market. TAXABLE VALUE moves only by the capped amount (lesser of CPI or 5%; 2026 = 2.7%) UNTIL a TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP, which UNCAPS it the following year to that year's SEV. The Headlee Amendment separately rolls back millage when assessments outpace inflation.
- Personal & intangible property
- Business tangible personal property is generally taxable and self-reported (Form 632), though eligible manufacturing personal property is exempt (it pays the state Essential Services Assessment instead), but commercial/industrial personal property under $180,000 true cash value per local unit is exempt — a one-time claim below $80,000, annual Form 5076 filing for the $80,000–$180,000 band (due Feb 20). Utility personal property remains taxable.
- CRE forecasting note
- The lever is UNCAPPING: a long-held asset carries a taxable value far below its SEV, but a purchase uncaps it to the full SEV (50% of true cash value) the next year — underwrite the uncapped number, not the seller's capped bill, and note a >50% entity-ownership transfer triggers uncapping with no deed (property transfer affidavit due within 45 days). Commercial/industrial appeals go to the Michigan Tax Tribunal by MAY 31 (residential July 31), and unlike residential, commercial/industrial may file directly with the Tribunal — no March Board of Review protest required (MCL 205.735a(4)). Watch classification and the county equalization factor. Business personal property under $180,000 per local unit is exempt (annual filing required above $80,000).
- Residential note
- Your Notice of Assessment shows three numbers, and only TAXABLE VALUE drives your bill (taxable value × millage). Assessed value and SEV are both about half your home's market value; taxable value is usually lower because Proposal A caps its annual growth at the lesser of inflation or 5% (2.7% for 2026) — as long as you keep the home. The big surprise is UNCAPPING: the year after you buy, taxable value resets up to the SEV, so a new owner's bill can jump well above the prior owner's. File a Principal Residence Exemption (PRE) affidavit with your local assessor by June 1 to drop 18 mills of school operating tax (it does not stop uncapping), and file the property transfer affidavit within 45 days of any purchase. To contest value: appear at the March Board of Review, then the Michigan Tax Tribunal by July 31.
CAP RESET ON TRANSFER — Michigan's signature trap. Under Proposal A your TAXABLE VALUE (what the bill is figured on) grows only at the lesser of inflation or 5% a year while you own the home, so it drifts well below the State Equalized Value (50% of market). But the year AFTER a transfer of ownership it 'UNCAPS' and jumps to the full SEV — often a big increase for the buyer. Underwrite the uncapped number, not the seller's capped bill, and note that a land contract or a >50% entity-ownership shift can trigger uncapping with no deed; a property transfer affidavit is due within 45 days.
RATIO CAUTION — Michigan shows THREE numbers and only one drives the tax. Assessed Value and State Equalized Value are both about 50% of market value; TAXABLE VALUE (usually lower, thanks to the Proposal A cap) is what's multiplied by millage. Reading the SEV as your 'assessment' overstates the base for a long-held home and hides the coming jump for a buyer — the gap between SEV and taxable value is the whole story.
SPLIT RATE — Assessment starts at a uniform 50% of true cash value, but the PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE EXEMPTION removes 18 mills of local school operating tax from an owner-occupied home — so a principal residence and an identical rental or second home carry materially different effective rates. Property is also classified (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and so on), and qualified-agricultural land gets its own school-tax treatment.
APPEAL DEADLINE — Michigan gives essentially ONE shot a year: protest to the local MARCH BOARD OF REVIEW (you cannot appeal when the July or December bill arrives), and for most disputes you must go there first to preserve the right to the MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL. Tribunal deadlines are firm and split by type — residential/small-claims by JULY 31, commercial/industrial by MAY 31 — and missing them forfeits the year.
STATE ASSESSED — Individual assessments are set by LOCAL city/township assessors, but the county EQUALIZATION DEPARTMENT and the Michigan State Tax Commission equalize them: if a jurisdiction's class sits above or below the constitutional 50% level, a county equalization factor (multiplier) is applied to pull it back, producing the State Equalized Value. The Headlee Amendment separately rolls back millage when assessments outpace inflation.
Note: In Hillsdale County, local city and township assessors set values (50% of true cash value) and the Hillsdale County Equalization Department in Hillsdale equalizes them and holds the county assessment records. Reach it through the Michigan Treasury assessing directory at the link; the Michigan State Tax Commission supervises statewide. The number that drives your bill is TAXABLE VALUE, which Proposal A caps at the lesser of inflation or 5% a year — until a sale UNCAPS it to the State Equalized Value. To contest: appear at the March Board of Review, then the Michigan Tax Tribunal (residential by July 31, commercial by May 31). File a property transfer affidavit within 45 days of any purchase, and claim the Principal Residence Exemption by June 1.
Primary sources: Michigan Dept of Treasury + State Tax Commission (AV/SEV/TV, Tax Day Dec 31, 2026 multiplier 1.027, uncapping); MCL 211.27a/211.34 + Const. Art. IX (Proposal A cap lesser of CPI/5%, 50% true cash value, Headlee); Oakland/Washtenaw/Ingham county equalization (local assessor sets AV, county factor, March Board of Review one annual protest); LegalClarity/Detroit assessor notices (uncapping to SEV, transfer affidavit Form 2766 within 45 days, PRE 18 mills by June 1, Tax Tribunal residential Jul 31 / commercial May 31); county equalization directory + MAAO (as of 2026-07-05). Confirm current rules and figures with the assessing authority before any use.