Assessment Regressivity and the Homestead Exemption

Daniel McMillen and Ruchi Singh

National Tax Journal, 2026, vol. 79, issue 2, 393 - 407

Abstract: The statutory incidence of the property tax is not regressive across jurisdictions when regressivity is defined as having higher effective tax rates for lower-valued properties. However, a long-standing tendency toward higher assessment rates for low-priced homes commonly leads to a regressive tax structure. Using CoreLogic data, we calculate the size of the homestead exemption that would eliminate regressivity for 9,091 municipalities, of which the vast majority (92.3 percent) have at least somewhat regressive assessment practices. The median value of the required exemption is $24,639, and the interquartile range is $10,268–$47,514.

Date: 2026
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