What is the difference between a tax levy and tax rate?
A. The tax levy is the total amount of money that must be raised through taxes. The district adds up revenue estimates from all available sources and the difference between that amount and the total budget amount becomes the tax levy. In other words, whatever cannot be funded from other revenue sources must be funded by local property taxes collected. The tax rate determines how much an individual homeowner will pay in property taxes. The tax rate is based on $1,000 of assessed value. A $17.23 tax rate, for example, on a $150,000 home would mean a tax bill of $2,584.50 ($150,000 divided by $1,000 multiplied by the $17.23 tax rate). Because towns typically finalize their tax rates in August, the tax rate the school establishes in April is an estimate.
