TAX RATES TAXING DISTRICTS Taxing districts are geographic areas of the county in which property taxes are levied at the same rate. Each of the incorporated cities in Madison County is a taxing district. In an unincorporated area of the county, the millage levy includes the rates levied by the Madison County Commission, the Madison County School Board, and the Suwannee Water Management District. Inside each city, the millage levy includes these same rates, plus the millage rate levied by that respective City Commission. For example, a property in the City of Madison would pay taxes based on the millages levied by the following taxing authorities. Madison County 8.9440 Public Schools 7.9450 City of Madison 6.0484 Suwannee WMD 0.4399 TOTAL 23.3773 A list of the individual taxing authority millage rates can be found in the chart below. MILLAGE RATES Taxing authorities levy annual taxes on the taxable property in their jurisdictions. The rate at which a taxing authority levies tax is usually expressed in mils. One mil represents a rate of .001, and can be confusing if millage is confused with millage rate. The easiest way to think of millage is in "dollars per thousand"; that is, a rate of one mil is equal to one dollar of tax for each 1000 dollars of taxable value. The following example may be helpful. If a taxing authority levies 10 mils on $1000 of taxable value... *The millage levy would be expressed as 10 mils *The millage rate would be expressed as .010 (.001 x 10) *The amount of tax would be calculated as $1000 x .010 = $10.00 *10 mils generates $10 of tax for each $1000 of taxable value. The calculation of taxes on your home might look like this, depending on the value of your home and the taxing district you live in. This is a hypothetical example. Assessed value $50,000 Homestead Exemption - $25,000 Taxable Value $25,000 Tax rate (20 mils) x 0.020 Tax amount $500.00 Millage rates are set each year during the budget hearings held by each of the taxing authorities. Two public hearings are held each year, usually July through September, at which time budgets and tax rates are set. The meetings are advertised and are open to the public. FINAL 2009 MILLAGE BY TAXING AUTHORITY Madison County 8.9440 Public Schools 7.9450 City of Madison 6.0484 Town of Lee 6.3800 Town of Greenville 8.7191 Suwannee WMD 0.4399