Understanding Your Property Taxes

Why Are Property Taxes Important?

• Property taxes are a primary source of funding for local governments
• They support essential services like public safety, education, infrastructure, and community development
• Understanding how property taxes are calculated can help you manage your finances and engage with local governance
• You will notice below that almost half (46%) of your property taxes go to the Ocean Springs School District. If you are interested in how they spend the money they receive, see the attached OSSD 2025 Financial Report

What Is Millage?

• Millage is simply the tax rate expressed in 'mills,' where 1 mill = $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value of a property
• The assessed value is typically 10% of the market value for residential properties and 15% of the market value for rental properties
• Market value is the county tax assessor's estimate of what your property would sell for on the open market. It's based on recent comparable sales, location, condition, square footage, improvements, etc. It's not always the same as what Zillow or a real estate agent might quote
• So, if your home is determined to have a market value of $400,000, then it is assessed value is $40,000, and if the millage rate is 80.00 mills, you'd pay: 80.00 x ($40,000 ÷ 1,000) = $3,200
• Millage rates are set annually by the City (Aldermen), County (Board of Supervisors), and School District (School Board). They each have their own rate

How Your Total Bill Is Calculated

Your annual bill is based on the sum of three millage rates:

• City of Ocean Springs: 28.92 mills
• Jackson County: 50.36 mills
• Ocean Springs School District: 66.35 mills
• Total = 28.92 + 50.36 + 66.35 = 145.63 mills (that is, $145.63 per $1,000 of assessed value)
• If you qualify for the homestead exemption, you get a $300 credit off your bill
• If you are over 65 years old and claim homestead exemption, you get a reduction in your assessed value of up to $7,500 in lieu of the $300 credit

Example Tax Bills:

Home Value	Assessed Value	City (28.92)	County (50.36)	School (66.35)	Gross Total	Homestead Credit	Net Due
$100,000	$10,000	$289	$504	$664	$1,456	-$300	$1,156
$250,000	$25,000	$723	$1,259	$1,659	$3,641	-$300	$3,341
$500,000	$50,000	$1,446	$2,518	$3,318	$7,282	-$300	$6,982
Note: If the homeowner in these scenarios is 65 years or older, the assessed value would be reduced by $7,500. This means for any home, the tax would be reduced by $1,092 (@ the current total millage of 145.63) but wouldn not get the $300 credit

City Portion Breakdown

Of the 28.92 mills collected by the City, here's where it is allocated:

Account	Millage	Revenue 2023-24	Revenue 2024-25	Change
Operating	23.05	$5,016,953	$5,112,698	$+95,745
Debt	4.77	$1,038,215	$1,058,029	$+19,814
Library	1.10	$239,421	$243,990	$+4,569
Total	28.92	$6,294,589	$6,414,717	$+120,128

Debt Service Schedule

Below is a look at the major debt payments by the city:

Loan Purpose	Original Amount	Dates	Interest Rate	Monthly Payment	Outstanding (10/24)
Water Meters	$1.9M	Apr 2010 - Nov 2029	1.95%	$9,920	$585K
500K Gal Tank & Hydrants	$1.1M	Jul 2004 - Apr 2026	3.5%	$6,171	$114K
Deana Well & Main Lines	$1.0M	Dec 2008 - Aug 2028	1.95%	$5,236	$178K
MSDA Water Improvements	$329K	Sep 2010 - Dec 2027	2.0%	$1,872	$49K
Water Main Lines	$836K	Nov 2008 - May 2028	1.95%	$4,281	$182K
Sewer Lines & Stations	$1.1M	Apr 2013 - Dec 2032	1.75%	$5,289	$487K
Fire Trucks	$600K	Apr 2024 - Apr 2029	4.97%	$12,485	$600K
General Obligation Refunding	$2.67M	Dec 2019 - Dec 2029	3.27%	$26,215	$1.7M
General Obligation Refunding	$1.95M	Mar 2022 - Mar 2027	1.14%	$30,052	$357K
General Obligation Refunding	$7.955M	Mar 2021 - Jul 2034	1.0%	$54,513	$5.9M
Total	$19.44M	—	—	$654,157	$10.2M

History

Here's how the City's assessed base, millage and revenue have changed over the last eight years (Operating portion only--excludes Debt and Library millage):

Fiscal Year	Assessed Base (in thousands)	City Mills	Revenue Generated	Δ from Prior Year
2016-17	180,610	19.05	$3,440,616	—
2017-18	182,767	21.05	$3,847,255	+ $406,638
2018-19	185,196	21.05	$3,898,369	+ $51,115
2019-20	186,720	21.05	$3,930,459	+ $32,089
2020-21	190,182	21.05	$4,003,333	+ $72,875
2021-22	208,770	21.05	$4,394,610	+ $391,276
2022-23	210,796	23.05	$4,858,859	+ $464,249
2023-24	217,655	23.05	$5,016,953	+ $158,094
2024-25	221,809	23.05	$5,112,698	+ $95,745