What goes into a millage rate?

The millage rate is a number by which each $1,000 of real and personal property is taxed to provide funding for the operations of the City. The Cherokee County Tax Assessor is responsible for calculating the fair market value of the real and personal property in Cherokee County, including said property within the City of Canton. The fair market value is then discounted to a taxable value which is forty percent (40%). This taxable value is then multiplied by the millage rate to determine the taxes due for said property. Below is this equation and an example of this process:

Fair Market Value (FMV) x 40% = Taxable Value (TV) Taxable Value (TV) x Millage Rate = Taxes Due

James Smith’s Home is given a fair market value (FMV) by the Assessor of $200,000. The City of Canton’s current millage rate is 5.4 mills. $200,000 (FMV) x 40% = $80,000 (TV) $80,000 (TV) x .0054 (Millage Rate) = $432 (Taxes Due)

James Smith has a tax liability to the City of $432 for his property valued at $200,000.

Look up Property Data

Each year, the Assessor provides a draft digest of all property values to the City of Canton. This draft digest shows what the millage rate will generate in taxes to the City prior to appeals. If the tax digest is higher than prior years, the millage rate could be reduced to allow the total dollars collected in taxes to remain revenue neutral. This is referred to as a revenue neutral rollback millage rate. Any rate below the calculated revenue neutral rollback millage rate would be a true tax reduction. Likewise, if the digest value goes down, a higher millage rate would be necessary to capture the same amount of taxes. This is also considered a revenue neutral millage rate. According to state law, if the City of Canton utilizes any tax rate that is different than a revenue neutral millage rate (unless such rate is lower than the prior year), the City must hold three public hearings to adopt such rate. One of these hearings must be held between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. and two such hearings can be held on the same date if the first hearing begins no later than 12:00 noon. The schedule for these meetings must be advertised by legal notice in the paper at least 7 days prior to each hearing.

Canton's Millage Rate History & Quick Facts

The current millage rate for the City of Canton is 5.4 mills. Below is the historical millage rates of the City of Canton since 1997: