Lexington is lowering its property taxes. But your tax bill may not go down
Lexington will slightly lower tax rates next year, but homeowners may not see a decrease in their property tax bills.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council took its first vote during a Tuesday council work session to approve a tax rate that would generate a 4% increase in revenue, thanks largely to new properties being added to the tax rolls and increasing property values.
But the merged government’s portion of individual homeowners’ property tax bill is very small — about 6%. The remaining property taxes go to the state, the school system and other smaller taxing districts like Lextran.
Someone who owns a $260,000 home, the average home price in Fayette County, paid the merged government general fund $197.60 in taxes this year, said Melissa Lueker, director of budgeting for the city, during Tuesday’s work session.
That’s a tax rate of .076%, or 7.6 cents for every $100 of assessed property. (To do the math, take $260,000/100=$2,600, and multiply that by .076).
Next year’s rate will be .075% — or 7.5 cents for every $100 of assessed property. That means that same $260,000 homeowner will pay $195 in taxes to the general fund, the city’s main checking account. The general fund pays for police, fire and most city services.
The city also charges for waste pickup, street lights and street sweeping through the urban services fund. Different homeowners are in different taxing districts. Some districts receive all four services. Some receive only street lights or waste pick up.
An average homeowner pays $455 for all three city services. Under the new taxing rates for those services, that bill will drop slightly to $449.80.
Homeowners’ tax bills show which urban service district a home is in.
The council will hold a public hearing and take a final vote on the tax rate on Aug. 28. No council members voted against or raised objections to the rate during Tuesday’s council work session.
The bulk of personal and property taxes — 64% — go to the Fayette County Public School system, city officials said Tuesday.
The school system will set its property tax rate later this month. The majority of the revenue for the city’s budget comes from occupational taxes or taxes on wages.
Here’s where other property taxes go based on 2024 tax rates on a $260,000 house:
State: 9.1%
Fayette County Public Schools: 64.1%
Lextran: 4.7%
LFUCG General: 6.1%
LFUCG Urban Services
Waste collection: 11%
Street lights: 2%
Street cleaning: 0.7%
Fayette County Extension Service: 0.3%
Fayette County Soil and Water District: 0.1%
Lexington-Fayette County Health Department: 1.9%
Total property tax bill: $3,271.58
