Overview of Mississippi Taxes
Property taxes in Mississippi are quite low. The median annual property tax in Mississippi is $841. That is less than half the national average and is lower than in all but four states.
| Enter Your Location Dismiss | Assessed Home Value Dismiss |
| Average County Tax Rate 0.0% | Property Taxes $0 (Annual) |
| of Assessed Home Value | |
| of Assessed Home Value | |
| National | of Assessed Home Value |
| Searching for Mortgages...  |
| Searching for Mortgages... |
| Searching for Mortgages... |
- About This Answer
To calculate the exact amount of property tax you will owe requires your property's assessed value and the property tax rates based on your property's address. Please note that we can only estimate your property tax based on median property taxes in your area. There are typically multiple rates in a given area, because your state, county, local schools and emergency responders each receive funding partly through these taxes. In our calculator, we take your home value and multiply that by your county's effective property tax rate. This is equal to the median property tax paid as a percentage of the median home value in your county.
Mississippi Property Taxes
In Mississippi taxes on real estate are a key source of local revenue. Property taxes support school districts, as well as city and county governments. Nonetheless, property taxes in Mississippi are quite low. The median annual property tax in Mississippi is $841. That is less than half the national average and is lower than in all but four states.
Property taxes in Mississippi are low, in part, because home values are relatively low. Mississippi also has a number of rules that reduce the tax burden on homeowners. Read on to learn more about those rules and property tax rates in Mississippi. If you are considering becoming a homeowner in Mississippi, a good place to start is with our Mississippi mortgage guide. It includes important information about rates and the different types of loans available.
You can also learn more about your mortgage payments with our mortgage calculator.
Mississippi Property Tax Rules
Property taxes in Mississippi are due by February 1st of each year. Taxes are based on rates and assessed property values determined during the preceding year.
For owner-occupied residential properties the assessed value is equal to 10% of market value (also called true value). The rate for all other real estate is 15%. Each county has an assessor, who is required to revalue each property in the county at least once every four years.
Homeowners may also be eligible for the Mississippi homestead exemption. This exempts the first $7,500 in assessed value from taxation, up to a maximum of $300 off your tax bill. Seniors who are 65 or older receive a full exemption on the first $7,500 of their property’s assessed value.
Mississippi Property Tax Rates
Tax rates in Mississippi are determined by local tax authorities based on the amount of revenue they need to fill their budgets. Tax rates are expressed in millage rates. One mill is equal to $1 of tax for every $1,000 in assessed value.
So, for example, if your assessed value (before applying the homestead exemption) is $15,000, and your millage rate is 100, your tax bill would be $1,500. After applying the maximum homestead exemption of $300, your total taxes due would be $1,200.
Another way of determining property tax burden is by looking at effective tax rates. An effective tax rate is the annual property tax payment as a percentage of home value. An average effective tax rate is the median property tax payment as a percentage of the median home value. The table below shows average effective property tax rates for every county in Mississippi.
| County | Median Home Value | Median Annual Property Tax Payment | Average Effective Property Tax Rate |
| Adams | $89,400 | $638 | 0.71% |
| Alcorn | $86,500 | $552 | 0.64% |
| Amite | $73,100 | $369 | 0.50% |
| Attala | $74,700 | $581 | 0.78% |
| Benton | $73,300 | $449 | 0.61% |
| Bolivar | $86,100 | $800 | 0.93% |
| Calhoun | $67,400 | $572 | 0.85% |
| Carroll | $89,900 | $723 | 0.80% |
| Chickasaw | $60,000 | $613 | 1.02% |
| Choctaw | $77,400 | $371 | 0.48% |
| Claiborne | $56,200 | $404 | 0.72% |
| Clarke | $68,200 | $388 | 0.57% |
| Clay | $81,600 | $620 | 0.76% |
| Coahoma | $62,500 | $730 | 1.17% |
| Copiah | $88,800 | $575 | 0.65% |
| Covington | $72,300 | $419 | 0.58% |
| DeSoto | $155,000 | $1,200 | 0.77% |
| Forrest | $111,300 | $1,075 | 0.97% |
| Franklin | $74,400 | $410 | 0.55% |
| George | $97,700 | $699 | 0.72% |
| Greene | $88,300 | $594 | 0.67% |
| Grenada | $94,900 | $713 | 0.75% |
| Hancock | $129,900 | $896 | 0.69% |
| Harrison | $138,400 | $1,035 | 0.75% |
| Hinds | $107,300 | $1,087 | 1.01% |
| Holmes | $51,800 | $465 | 0.90% |
| Humphreys | $61,500 | $720 | 1.17% |
| Issaquena | $57,400 | $514 | 0.90% |
| Itawamba | $84,400 | $597 | 0.71% |
| Jackson | $120,800 | $1,008 | 0.83% |
| Jasper | $65,500 | $554 | 0.85% |
| Jefferson | $59,900 | $410 | 0.68% |
| Jefferson Davis | $81,400 | $491 | 0.60% |
| Jones | $85,400 | $711 | 0.83% |
| Kemper | $63,400 | $406 | 0.64% |
| Lafayette | $163,500 | $1,221 | 0.75% |
| Lamar | $169,500 | $1,170 | 0.69% |
| Lauderdale | $87,800 | $849 | 0.97% |
| Lawrence | $90,100 | $585 | 0.65% |
| Leake | $78,200 | $556 | 0.71% |
| Lee | $120,400 | $997 | 0.83% |
| Leflore | $73,600 | $727 | 0.99% |
| Lincoln | $91,400 | $704 | 0.77% |
| Lowndes | $118,800 | $732 | 0.62% |
| Madison | $208,800 | $1,478 | 0.71% |
| Marion | $76,400 | $677 | 0.89% |
| Marshall | $93,100 | $848 | 0.91% |
| Monroe | $82,000 | $636 | 0.78% |
| Montgomery | $76,400 | $681 | 0.89% |
| Neshoba | $79,700 | $636 | 0.80% |
| Newton | $80,400 | $571 | 0.71% |
| Noxubee | $67,700 | $561 | 0.83% |
| Oktibbeha | $148,900 | $1,126 | 0.76% |
| Panola | $75,300 | $618 | 0.82% |
| Pearl River | $120,300 | $872 | 0.72% |
| Perry | $76,700 | $484 | 0.63% |
| Pike | $87,600 | $693 | 0.79% |
| Pontotoc | $87,800 | $669 | 0.76% |
| Prentiss | $82,200 | $640 | 0.78% |
| Quitman | $52,700 | $501 | 0.95% |
| Rankin | $157,000 | $1,034 | 0.66% |
| Scott | $69,600 | $581 | 0.83% |
| Sharkey | $52,600 | $642 | 1.22% |
| Simpson | $84,100 | $552 | 0.66% |
| Smith | $77,800 | $472 | 0.61% |
| Stone | $112,900 | $748 | 0.66% |
| Sunflower | $71,100 | $814 | 1.14% |
| Tallahatchie | $61,500 | $516 | 0.84% |
| Tate | $110,000 | $1,092 | 0.99% |
| Tippah | $82,700 | $615 | 0.74% |
| Tishomingo | $79,300 | $383 | 0.48% |
| Tunica | $87,500 | $404 | 0.46% |
| Union | $86,700 | $617 | 0.71% |
| Walthall | $93,300 | $553 | 0.59% |
| Warren | $109,500 | $799 | 0.73% |
| Washington | $73,000 | $665 | 0.91% |
| Wayne | $74,000 | $460 | 0.62% |
| Webster | $79,900 | $650 | 0.81% |
| Wilkinson | $61,900 | $487 | 0.79% |
| Winston | $80,400 | $522 | 0.65% |
| Yalobusha | $72,300 | $500 | 0.69% |
| Yazoo | $72,100 | $624 | 0.87% |
Hinds County
The most populous county in Mississippi, Hinds County has property tax rates that are significantly higher than the state average. The average effective tax rate in the county is 1.01%. That is the fifth highest rate in the state. Hinds county also has the third highest total millage rate (156.38 not including local rates) of any county in Mississippi. Local millage rates vary within the county from 15 in the small town of Learned to over 60 in Jackson, the largest city in the county.
Harrison County
Situated on the Gulf of Mexico in southern Mississippi, Harrison County has tax rates slightly below state averages. The county’s average effective tax rate is just 0.75%. A homeowner facing that rate with a home worth $140,000, would pay just $1,050 annually in property taxes.
DeSoto County
DeSoto County’s average effective tax rate of 0.77% is close to the state average. DeSoto County sits across state line from Tennessee. It’s worth noting that property taxes in DeSoto County are well below those in Tennessee’s Shelby County, home to Memphis. The rate in Shelby County is 1.49%, almost double the rate in Mississippi’s DeSoto County.
Rankin County
If you are looking for low property taxes in Mississippi, Rankin County might be a good choice. The most recent county average millage rate in Rankin County is 122.72 mills. At that rate you would pay taxes of about $1,540 annually (including the homestead exemption) on a home valued at $150,000.
Jackson County
Homeowners in Jackson County pay higher-than-average property taxes. The median annual property tax in Jackson County is $1,008. That is about $170 higher than the state average.
Madison County
This central Mississippi County has the highest median home value of any county in the state, at $208,800 (according to the U.S. Census Bureau). So while tax rates in Madison County aren't especially high (the average effective tax rate is 0.71%), homeowners in the county pay more in dollar terms than homeowners in any other Mississippi county. The county’s median annual property tax is $1,478.
Lee County
The average effective property tax rate in Lee County is 0.83%. That ranks as the 27th highest property tax rate in the state. At that rate, the annual taxes on a home with a market value of $100,000 would be $830.
Lauderdale County
Taxes on real estate in Lauderdale County are among the highest in the state. The county’s average effective property tax rate is 0.97%, ninth highest in the state. However, because of the county’s relative low home values, most homeowners in the county pay less than $900 annually in property taxes.
Forrest County
Forrest County is located in southern Mississippi and contains the city of Hattiesburg. The county’s average effective tax rate is 0.97%. This is the 10th highest rate in the state. Forrest county is also one of just 11 counties in the state where the average homeowner pays more than $1,000 in property taxes.
Jones County
The majority of homeowners in Jones County pay less than $750 annually in property taxes. That payment amount is low partly because the county has relatively low home values (just $85,400 on average). Otherwise, tax rates in the county are slightly above average for Mississippi. The average effective property tax rate in Jones County is 0.83%.
Places Receiving the Most Value for Their Property Taxes
SmartAsset’s interactive map highlights the places across the country where property tax dollars are being spent most effectively. Zoom between states and the national map to see the counties getting the biggest bang for their property tax buck.
Methodology
Our study aims to find the places in the United States where people are getting the most value for their property tax dollars. To do this, we looked at property taxes paid, school rankings and the change in property values over a five-year period.
First, we used the number of households, median home value and average property tax rate to calculate a per capita property tax collected for each county.
As a way to measure the quality of schools, we analyzed the math and reading/language arts proficiencies for every school district in the country. We created an average score for each district by looking at the scores for every school in that district, weighting it to account for the number of students in each school. Within each state, we assigned every county a score between 1 and 10 (with 10 being the best) based on the average scores of the districts in each county.
Then, we calculated the change in property tax value in each county over a five-year period. Places where property values rose by the greatest amount indicated where consumers were motivated to buy homes, and a positive return on investment for homeowners in the community.
Finally, we calculated a property tax index, based on the criteria above. Counties with the highest scores were those where property tax dollars are going the furthest.
Sources: US Census Bureau 2018 American Community Survey, Department of Education
