Meaning & use
property tax
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable or uncountable
A tax that owners pay on the value of land, buildings, or other real estate they own.
Grammar: Can be countable (a property tax) or uncountable (pay property tax).
Patterns
- pay property tax
- property tax on something
- a property tax increase
The city collects property tax from all homeowners twice a year.
Their property tax went up after the house was reassessed.
Businesses also pay property tax on the buildings they own.
Word forms
| plural | property taxes |
|---|
Common combinations
- property tax rate
- The property tax rate in that county is quite high.
- property tax assessment
- The property tax assessment determines how much you owe.
- property tax bill
- She received her property tax bill in the mail.
- property tax exemption
- Some seniors qualify for a property tax exemption.
- pay property tax
- You must pay property tax on any land you own.
Synonyms and how they differ
- real estate tax
- A synonym used especially in American English for taxes on buildings and land.
- land tax
- Often refers specifically to tax on land rather than buildings.
Word family
Commonly confused: property tax or income tax?
property tax vs income tax
Income tax is paid on money you earn, while property tax is paid on the value of property you own.
Practice
Homeowners in this area pay _______ on the value of their houses.
Choose one answer.
Property tax is the tax on the value of property you own. Income tax is on earnings, sales tax is on purchases, and value-added tax is on goods and services.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “property tax”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.