Businesses and homeowners – who pays what

Indiana is among the top third of states for business property taxes, while Hoosier homeowners’ percentage of property taxes paid ranks in the bottom third of all states.

In fact, business property represents only 44% of Indiana’s total property assessments and homeowners comprise 56% (net assessed value); nevertheless, businesses pay more than 50% of all property taxes.

How does that happen? Businesses get taxed on both real property (actual building, land, etc.) and personal property, which translates to moveable items not permanently affixed to the real estate. This is primarily machinery and equipment, but could comprise anything from computers to a printing press to nursery plants already harvested from the ground.

See Chart 1 for details on these tax allocations.